Recent studies have suggested that women's business decisions are influenced by members of their household, especially their spouse, and that these intrahousehold dynamics contribute to gender gaps in entrepreneurship outcomes.
... See More + This in-depth qualitative study among microentrepreneurs in urban Ghana sought to understand the connections between women's businesses and their households' management of economic resources. The findings show that women’s business decisions are influenced by: (1) a desire to reinforce their partner's responsibilities as a primary provider, (2) attempts to fulfill normative expectations regarding daily provision of needs for the family, and (3) a need to prepare for long-term security. To reinforce their husband's responsibilities as a provider, women hid income and savings, and sometimes explicitly limited business growth. To ensure their ability to smooth household consumption and respond to emergencies, women prioritized savings over investment. And, to plan for their long-term security, women opted for cautious business investment, maintaining pressure on their partner to meet current needs and investing in children and property for the future. More broadly, the findings illustrate that interpersonal interactions concerning the management of economic resources are an integral part of how household members negotiate their rights and responsibilities in relation to each other.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8550 AUG 13, 2018
In June 2015, about 53,000 people were affected by unusually severe floods in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana. The real impact of such a disaster is a product of exposure ("Who was affected?")
... See More + , vulnerability ("How much did the affected households lose?"), and socioeconomic resilience ("What was their ability to cope and recover?"). This study explores these three dimensions to assess whether poor people were disproportionally affected by the 2015 floods. It reaches four main conclusions. (1) In the studied area, there is no difference in annual expenditures between the households who were affected and those who were not affected by the flood. (2) Poorer households lost less than their richer neighbors in absolute terms, but more when compared with their annual expenditure level, and poorer households are over-represented among the most severely affected households. (3) More than 30 percent of the affected households report not having recovered two years after the shock, and the ability of households to recover was driven by the magnitude of their losses, sources of income, and access to coping mechanisms, but not by their poverty, as measured by the annual expenditure level. (4) There is a measurable effect of the flood on behaviors, under-mining savings and investment in enterprises. The study concludes with two policy implications. First, flood management could be considered as a component of the poverty-reduction strategy in the city. Second, building resilience is not only about increasing income. It also requires providing the population with coping and recovery mechanisms such as financial instruments. A flood management program needs to be designed to target low-resilience households, such as those with little access to coping and recovery mechanisms, even those who are not living in poverty before the shock.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8469 JUN 07, 2018
Over the past decade, financial services for the poor have undergone a dramatic transformation. For years, financial institutions like banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) struggled to sustainably serve the world’s poor.
... See More + But advances in technology have led to innovative business models, and with them, new opportunities for expanding the reach of financial services. At the heart of this financial transformation is the rise of digital payments services through which nearly any individual or business can send or receive money in real time for almost any purpose and from nearly anywhere in the country, an inclusive payment ecosystem. Overall, the main message that emerges from a review of both country experiences is that interoperability is important, but it is best pursued in mature markets. Engagement with industry is important, and regulators should be cautious when mandating interoperability so as not to hinder early investment. Stakeholders need to focus on governance and business rules, as was the case in the year-long negotiations between providers in Tanzania, and not just the technical implementation, which is currently the overwhelming focus in Ghana. As both markets continue to mature, it will be important to monitor the Tanzanian and Ghanaian experiences in the years to come to fully understand the impact of interoperability on DFS.
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This publication provides a baseline exploration into gender diversity in the Ghanaian boardroom.It examines gender diversity—across sectors, ownership types, legal status, listing status, and anumber of organizational and board-level characteristics— to provide empirical evidence to guidethe development of organizational and national policy.
... See More + The study, launched in Accra in October 2016, mainly focused on generating a balanced and objective analysis of the issues surrounding women in the boardroom to ascertain the business case for having females on boards in Ghana. The objectives of the study were to examine the nature of gender diversity in public and private sector boards in Ghana, examine the determinants of board diversity in Ghanaian organizations, examine the relationship between gender diversity and organizational performance in Ghana, and to explore the experiences of women on boards. The first section of this report provides contextand background for the study, beginning with a summary of global trends in gender diversity and,more specifically, an overview of the regulatory and legal framework on gender diversity in Ghana.It also states the purpose of the study and cites significant previous studies. And it describes the research methodology used for this study. The second section presents and discusses the study’s findings, including a look at the firms sampled. It examines the nature of boards and gender diversity in Ghanaian boardrooms and explores gender dynamics within the corporate setting.The final two sections consider the implications of the study’s findings, particularly the challenges, prospects, and experiences of women on boards, followed by a presentation of conclusions and policy recommendations.
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Asset ownership indices are widely used as inexpensive proxies for consumption. This paper shows that these indices can be augmented using dichotomous indicators for consumption, which are equally easy to obtain.
... See More + The paper uses multiple rounds of Living Standards Measurement Study surveys from Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Ghana to construct indices with different item subcategories and performs a meta-analysis comparing the indices to per capita consumption. The results show that the standard asset indices, which are derived from durable ownership and housing characteristic indicators, perform well in urban settings. Yet, in rural samples and when identifying the extreme poor, household rankings and poverty classification accuracy can be meaningfully improved by adding indicators of food and semi-durable consumption. The study finds small improvement from using national weights in urban samples but no improvement from using alternative construction methods. With most of Africa’s poor concentrated in rural areas, these are important insights.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8362 MAR 08, 2018
In September 2017, Ghana's economy expanded for the fifth successive quarter by 9.3 percent compared to just 4.3 percent in September 2016. This reflects continued high levels of growth in the industry sector, driven by mining and petroleum.
... See More + Oil production rose by 16.6 percent compared with a contraction of 11.2 percent for the similar period of 2016, as production increased in all existing oil fields and some new production came online. For instance, the Jubilee Fields increased production with the resolution of technical difficulties that arose in March 2016; and new production came online in the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) Fields.
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Enrollment in early childhood education has increased dramatically in Ghana, but the education sector now faces the challenge of ensuring young children learn and develop school readiness skills.
... See More + This study evaluated the impacts of a scalable, in-service training and coaching program for kindergarten teachers, with and without parental awareness meetings, on teaching practices and children’s learning and development.
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Global cocoa production faces mounting environmental and economic challenges. Despite long-term global demand, cocoa producers are confronting the triple challenge of increasing productivity on limited land, reducing pressure on forests and ecosystems, and increasing their resilience to climate change.
... See More + This report aims to inform governments, companies, and civil society partners on ways to enhance sustainability and encourage smallholders to make deforestation-free, climate-smart choices. The focus is on actions that lead to scaling up renovation and rehabilitation (‘R&R’) efforts in Côte d`Ivoire and Ghana so farmers can grow more cocoa on less land.
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This brief presents: Ghana snapshot; existing national plans and policies to achieve universal health coverage (UHC); key challenges on the way to UHC; and collaborative efforts to accelerate progress toward UHC.
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Doing Business 2018 is the 15th in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it.
... See More + This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Ghana. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulation and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies; for 2018 Ghana ranks 120. Doing Business measures aspects of regulation affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year’s ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in this year’s ranking. Data in Doing Business 2018 are current as of June 1, 2017. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where, and why.
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Ghana has been remarkably successful in extending its national grid into the rural areas. According to its Ministry of Power, about 83.4 percent of communities with more than 500 people have access to grid electricity.
... See More + The main remaining frontier is to bring electricity to communities living on islands in Lake Volta and in isolated lakeside locations. The summary of this report first highlights some areas where clear recommendations have emerged, and then presents areas where choices are to be made between options with different advantages and disadvantages. The purpose of this assignment is to explore the most feasible business models for mini and micro grids for Ghana’s island and lake-side communities, together with a pragmatic policy and regulatory regime that will reinforce the development of such systems. The remainder of the report is arranged as follows: 1) Chapter 1 does the Analysis and discussion of the various options for business models of mini grids; (ii) Chapter 2 is about Analysis and discussion of the costs of mini grid delivery, tariff calculations and financing options; (iii) Chapter 3 discusses on the Review and proposals for required policy, legislation, regulations, permits, and institutional arrangements; and (iv) Chapter 4 concludes with Review and recommendations for necessary technical assistance to implement the delivery of mini grids.
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Financial consumers often fail to compare across different products and do not choose the most cost-effective product or the one most suitable to their needs.
... See More + This is because the decision of which product to purchase may not only involve unfamiliar concepts but also because financial institutions shroud prices to maximize profits. Many governments have tried to encourage comparison shopping by introducing legislation to improve disclosure and transparency.In some cases, governments have also tried to reduce the cost of financial products by mandating that low-cost savings products be offered in the marketplace or have imposed usury laws capping the interest rate that can be charged on credit products. The fact that large price dispersion still persists, however, indicates that these efforts may not have been successful.
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The objective of the Ghana Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD) is to identify the main opportunities for the private sector that will have a strong development impact in Ghana and to highlight the key constraints (both cross-cutting and sector-specific) hampering private sector growth.
... See More + The CPSD consists of a systematic assessment of all of Ghana’s economic sectors along two dimensions: (a) desirability: how private investments in these sectors could help Ghana to address its development challenges; and (b) expected feasibility: how the constraints standing in the way could be removed. This sector scan led to identification seven priority sectors, of which, three were selected to conduct deep dive studies: namely agribusiness, ICT and education.Four main opportunities exist for the private sector to make a major contribution by creating markets in Ghana. First, the private sector can help to develop new high-value export markets, such as horticulture and ICT-enabled services, in which Ghana is already well positioned. Second, the private sector can leverage ICT to improve the performance of Ghana’s most important sectors, including for improving government activities and services. Third, the private sector can help to promote efficiency and innovation in the key social sectors of education and health. Fourth, the private sector can play an important role in helping to address the main cross-cutting constraints, such as facilitating trade, providing competitive green energy, opening rural land markets, developing technical skills, and financing promising small and medium enterprises (SMEs).There are fewer opportunities for transformative private sector investments in the other sectors (mining, tourism, retail, construction, water and sanitation, and manufacturing).Ghana can seize these opportunities through a mix of public and private interventions:The government should pursue essential economic reforms to resolve the energy crisis by reforming the regulatory framework for electricity tariffs; facilitating trade, through customs reforms and the Ghana Community Network Systems;These reforms would pave the way for the private sector to invest in projects with a high development impact, including through large firms. Such opportunities already exist in Ghana in the three priority sectors of ICT, agribusiness and education that are reviewed in this report.The government should also consider supporting the entry of ‘pioneer’ investors, which are often in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI).Supporting promising SMEs will also be critical, especially during their acceleration phase.This could be achieved through a combination of public financing and capacity building, technical support adapted to the sector in which they operate, and risk-sharing and mezzanine finance facilities. Similar to the pioneer investors, such support should be provided in an inclusive, transparent and competitive manner. Examples of promising SMEs were found in all three deep-dive sectors.
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This paper analyses the evolution of fiscal and monetary variables in Ghana, from the discovery of oil in 2007 through to 2014. It documents the deterioration of fiscal and monetary discipline over this period, which resulted in a rebound of debt, a deterioration of the external balance, and a decrease in public investment.
... See More + The paper goes on to analyse the potential causes of this deterioration, including the political economy context, and the fiscal and monetary institutional framework. The suggested causes include the politics of Ghana's dominant two-party system. Finally, the paper discusses what Ghana could have done differently to avoid the various damaging effects associated with the oil discovery. It does not aim to provide specific fiscal policy recommendations for Ghana, but rather to give an empirical account of Ghana's experience that may be useful for other countries that discover oil.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8209 OCT 03, 2017
The authors study the role of traditional norms in land allocation and human capital investment. The authors exploit a policy experiment in Ghana that increased the land that children from matrilineal groups can inherit from their fathers.
... See More + Boys exposed to the reform received 0.9 less years of education - an effect driven by landed households, for whom the reform was binding. The authors find no effect for girls, whose inheritance was de facto unaffected. These patterns suggest that before the reform matrilineal groups invested more in education than they will if unconstrained, to substitute for land inheritance, underscoring the importance of cultural norms.
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Since the establishment of Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2003, the government of Ghana has made substantial progress toward its goal of universal health care.
... See More + This study’s goal is to inform policy makers on improving financial sustainability of the NHIS based on quantitative evidence of claim expenditure patterns. The study generates quantitative evidence on patterns of claims expenditures. It also offers insights into how to strengthen country systems for making evidence-based policies in health sector in general and NHIS in particular. The study examines the NHIS’s basic features and its role in health financing. A statistical analysis at the service-provider and member levels reveals patterns in claims expenditure, highlighting key factors affecting the level and efficiency of NHIS claims expenditures. This book comprises six chapters. Following the introduction, chapter 2 provides an overview of the country context and the key features of the health sector. Chapter 3 describes the NHIS, including its revenue structure, expenditure composition, enrollment information, claims-management system, benefits package, provider-payment system, and accreditation services, as well as a summary of its members’ knowledge of its essential features. Chapter 4 presents the results of an NHIS claims-expenditure review, which includes historical trends at national level, an overview of claims expenditures in the Volta region, the composition of claims expenditures, and variations among service providers and members. Chapter 5 identifies factors that affect the level and efficiency of NHIS claims expenditures, focusing on behaviors of service providers and patients, as well as NHIA internal management. Chapter 6 concludes with a set of recommendations for designing customized policies for efficient spending in Ghana NHIS.
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The Skills Toward Employment and Productivity (STEP) survey is an initiative of the World Bank in cooperation with other development partners and nongovernmental agencies.
... See More + STEP was carried out in more than 14 countries globally. In Ghana, the first phase of the survey, focusing on adults in urban communities, was undertaken in partnership with the University of Ghana’s Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research; the Ministry of Education; the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training; and the Ghana Statistical Service. Stepping Up Skills in Urban Ghana provides detailed insights from the survey for policy makers. These insightscover areas including investments in early childhood education, the role of improvements in the quality of education, and the creation of incentives for economic actors to invest in on-the-job training to improve Ghana’s competitiveness and the well-being of its citizens.
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The Skills Toward Employment and Productivity (STEP) survey is an initiative of the World Bank in cooperation with other development partners and nongovernmental agencies.
... See More + STEP was carried out in more than 14 countries globally. In Ghana, the first phase of the survey, focusing on adults in urban communities, was undertaken in partnership with the University of Ghana’s Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research; the Ministry of Education; the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training; and the Ghana Statistical Service. Stepping Up Skills in Urban Ghana provides detailed insights from the survey for policy makers. These insights cover areas including investments in early childhood education, the role of improvements in the quality of education, and the creation of incentives for economic actors to invest in on-the-job training to improve Ghana’s competitiveness and the well-being of its citizens.
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Seminal arguments in political economy hold that citizens will more readily demand accountability from governments for taxes than for non-tax revenue from oil or aid.
... See More + Two identical experiments on large, representative subject pools in Ghana and Uganda probe the effects of different revenue types on citizens' actions to monitor government spending. Roughly half of all subjects willingly sign petitions and donate money to scrutinize all three sources. However, neither Ghanaians nor Ugandans are more likely to take action for tax revenues than for oil or aid. The results also suggest no differences among taxes, oil, and aid in citizens' perceptions of transparency, misappropriation risk, or public goods provision. The results are robust to several alternative specifications and subgroup partitions, including the better educated, wealthier, and taxpaying population, suggesting a need for rethinking the axiom that taxation strengthens citizens' demands for accountability in developing countries.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8137 JUL 05, 2017
de la Cuesta,Brandon; Milner,Helen V.; Nielson,Daniel Lafayette; Knack,StephenDisclosed
Ghana has experienced an extended period of robust growth since the early 2000s, supported by a favorable external environment and large investment inflows, particularly in the extractive industries.
... See More + In 2011, as the start of oil production drove a surge in per capita income, Ghana graduated from low-income to lower-middle-income status. Despite the key role of the extractive industries, recent growth has been relatively inclusive, and Ghana achieved its Millennium Development Goal of halving the poverty rate by 2015. However, macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated since 2012, giving rise to substantial domestic and external imbalances. Although external shocks have underscored Ghana's vulnerability to global commodity and financial markets, the recurring nature of its imbalances reflects deeper structural deficiencies in its macroeconomic policies and public financial management (PFM) framework. A heavy focus on commodity exports has accelerated Ghana's recent growth, but the country's economic outlook increasingly hinges on a narrow range of volatile commodity prices.
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