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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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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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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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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The objective of this note is to help the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) identify strategic policy directions and reform areas that are fundamental to accelerate and sustain agriculture sector growth.
... See More + Sustained agricultural growth will contribute to overall resiliency ofthe economy as it undergoes structural transformation as it moves beyond lower middle-income status.The Agriculture Sector Policy Note is based on a number of sector studies and reports prepared by the Bank to support the existing investment projects. The objective of the Agricultural Sector Policy Note is to help Ghana achieve transformation and modernization of its agriculture sector. There are both challenges and opportunities towards achieving transformation and modernization of the agriculture sector in Ghana. The agricultural sector accounts for one fifth of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employs nearly half of the workforce and is the main source of livelihood for the majority of the country’s poorest households.Ghana’s agricultural sector is characterized by low yields for both staple and cash crops.Ghana is a net importer of basic foods (raw and processed) including rice, poultry, sugar, and vegetable oils.Ghana has significant agricultural potential, particularly in the semi-arid NorthernSavannah (agro-)Ecological Zone (NSEZ), including the Afram Plains.The first priority is to improve public expenditure allocation and management as well as budget coordination in agriculture.The second priority is for MoFA to improve the collection and analysis of agriculturalstatistics to produce high quality and credible data for sector planning on a regular basis.Third, MoFA should improve the efficiency and effectiveness of input subsidy programs and fix gaps in input supply legislation.Fourth, prioritization of public investments in infrastructure, particularly in high agricultural potential areas, such as the NSEZ (including the Afram Plains) is critical to sustain Ghana’s agricultural growth. The government should promote coordination in the the implementation of its National Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Security Action Plan, following the principles laid down in the National Climate Change Policy as well as the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC). The Government should also strengthen research on climate-smart agricultural technologies, strengthen the research-extension linkages to promote farmers’ technology adoption especially in fragile but high potential environments such as the NSEZ.
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This edition of the Ghana Economic Update is the second edition of the annual series on Ghana’s economic prospects. Every issue includes both a broad overview of the country’s macroeconomic, political, and structural dynamics, and a section dedicated to one particular issue.
... See More + In this update, the focus is on Ghana’s international competitiveness and the policies that will help it to shift it into a higher gear.
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Systems approach for better education results (SABER) - engaging the private sector (EPS) research in Ghana has found that enrollment rates for primary and secondary education have increased significantly.
... See More + At both the primary and secondary levels, quality, and equity remain challenges. The private sector plays an increasingly significant role in education at both levels. Based on a review of existing policies, SABER-EPS offers the following recommendations for Ghana to enhance private sector engagement in education and meet the challenges of access, quality, and equity: (1) strengthen policies to ensure independent private schools are more accountable for learning outcomes; (2) provide greater incentives to support a diverse number of private school providers while ensuring equitable access; and (3) encourage innovation in schools by ensuring greater flexibility in managing schools, services, and staff. This report presents an analysis of how effectively policies in Ghana engage the private sector in basic (primary and secondary) education. The report provides an overview of the SABER-EPS tool, followed by a description of the basic education system in Ghana that focuses on the private sector and government policies related to the private provision of education. The report then benchmarks Ghana’s policy environment utilizing the SABER-EPS framework and offers policy options to enhance access and learning for all children in primary and secondary school.
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Working Paper 117519 JUN 01, 2017
Abdul-Hamid,Husein; Baum,Donald Rey; Lusk-Stover,Oni; Tettey,Leslie Ofosu; De Brular,Laura LewisDisclosed
Who are the civil servants that serve poor people in the developing world? This paper uses direct surveys of civil servants -- the professional body of administrators who manage government policy -- and their organizations from Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan and the Philippines, to highlight key aspects of their characteristics and experience of civil service life.
... See More + Civil servants in the developing world face myriad challenges to serving the world's poor, from limited facilities to significant political interference in their work. There are a number of commonalities across service environments, and the paper summarizes these in a series of 'stylized facts' of the civil service in the developing world. At the same time, the particular challenges faced by a public official vary substantially across and within countries and regions. For example, measured management practices differ widely across local governments of a single state in Nigeria. Surveys of civil servants allow us to document these differences, build better models of the public sector, and make more informed policy choices.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8051 MAY 04, 2017
The Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) is one of the fastest-growing city regions in West Africa. GAMA is exposed to recurrent shocks and stresses on top of numerous developmental challenges and climate change issues that threaten development gains.
... See More + The deadly floods of June 2015 are a reminder that creating a resilient and inclusive city must be a priority at all government levels. This report summarizes the outcomes of the process and outlines the recommendations that were identified jointly by national and local stakeholders in Ghana and World Bank specialists. Furthermore, the report provides evidence that can be leveraged by the government to request further support from the World Bank and other development partners to implement follow-up actions. The overarching message of this report is that actions are needed now to better manage and mitigate the risks and exposure of Accra to climate change and the associated shocks and stresses, gravely affecting the economy, key sectors, and the lives of households and families. Without any action, Accra remains exposed to significant and recurrent hazards, with a risk of diminishing the development gains made over the last decades. Therefore, as government moves forward to take action on this challenge, this report provides a concrete and detailed forward-looking strategy that may guide and inform policy and budget decisions, and thus eventually leading to a thriving, inclusive and more resilient Greater Accra Metropolitan Area.
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