Microfinance Intervention in Poverty Reduction: A Study of Women Farmer-Entrepreneurs in Rural Ghana

This paper examines microfinance intervention in rural poverty reduction in Ghana by surveying 100 rural women farmer-entrepreneurs. The findings reveal that microfinance interventions that emphasize both credit provision and social intermediation improve access to credit, improve business performance, and contribute to a higher standard of living for female farmer-entrepreneurs and their families. The results show that the microfinance scheme has been successful due to a strong social network and group relationships among the farmers. An implication of the study is that poverty reduction programs in developing countries need to emphasize social and human development components in microfinancing policies.     

Re-examining the Determinants of Non-Performing Loans in Ghana’s Banking Industry: Role of the 2007–2009 Financial Crisis

This paper uses robust econometric methods to estimate the determinants of non-performing loans (NPLs) with a specific focus on the role of the 2007–2009 financial crisis in explaining NPLs in the banking industry of Ghana. Findings suggest that non-performing loans are significantly affected by bank-specific, industry, and macroeconomic variables. We observed heterogeneity in the determinants of NPLs for sub-samples of the data. The effect of the financial crisis on NPLs is observed to be conditional on the level of credit risk in our sub-sample analysis. The results from the impulse response corroborate that of the regression estimation.     

New Paths to Capitalist Agricultural Production in Africa: Experiences of Ghanaian Pineapple Producer–Exporters

With the global restructuring of agri‐food markets since the 1980s, an impressive amount of scholarship has examined its impacts in African countries. However, little has been written on the emergence of local medium and large‐scale commercial farmers selling to export companies or controlling their own export marketing arrangements. This article examines Ghanaian commercial farmers producing and exporting fresh pineapples to European markets. This group of pineapple producer–exporters represents a path to capitalist agricultural production that can be conceptualized as capitalism from outside: where capital flows into the countryside, rather than accumulation occurring from above or below within the agrarian economy. The emergence of this form of agrarian capitalism is stimulated by opportunities in new high‐value agricultural export markets, but its stabilization depends on country‐specific characteristics such as rural social structures, property rights and state support. The article documents the conditions of emergence of this new group of Ghanaian capitalist farmers, the period of destabilization caused by increasing international competition that resulted in a small number of large‐scale agribusiness firms surviving, and the challenges that these agribusiness firms faced in stabilizing their capitalist agricultural production.     

Dynamics of Money Market Interest Rates in Ghana: Time-Frequency Analysis of Volatility Spillovers

As the second longest practicing inflation targeting economy in Africa, it is of interest to investigate the degree to which policy interest rate influences other money market rates so as to gauge the overall effectiveness of monetary policy transmission in Ghana. This study evaluates the degree of connectedness among money market rates and also determines the most dominant money market rate(s) in Ghana. The basic finding is that the monetary policy rate has a low-to-moderate influence on volatility dynamics of other money market rates in Ghana across historical time-interval and time-frequency domains. This is a reflection of a generally weak capability of policy interest rate to drive other market rates in Ghana. Both monetary policy rate and Treasury bill rate are net transmitters of shocks, while interbank, lending and saving rates are net receivers of shocks in the money market. However, the Treasury bill emerges as the largest shock transmitter in the money market, across all forecast horizons and analytical domains. The lending rate is the largest shock recipient in the money market, largely from the Treasury bill rate which suggests ample evidence of fiscal dominance in Ghana. The study accentuates the exigency for monetary and fiscal policies to expeditiously address the domestic structural bottlenecks, especially in the financial sector and the fragile fiscal profile, in order to strengthen policy transmission in Ghana.     

Social Marketing: Using Stages of Change Model to Assess HIV/AIDS Testing Intentions Among University Students in Ghana

This research sought to utilize the stages of change model to assess HIV/AIDS testing intentions among university students in Ghana. A quantitative research method using a questionnaire based on a random sampling method was employed to interview 167 students of the University of Ghana Business School in Accra. The analysis of variance and one-sample t-test statistical methods were employed to establish the relationship between variables. The study found that most university students in Ghana (80.9%) are at precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation stages. This suggests that social marketing intervention programs encouraging university students to know their HIV/AIDS status have not been effective, since most university students in Ghana have not yet taken action to test for HIV/AIDS. The study also found some university students at more than one stage at a time.     

Exploring the potential of wireless technologies to accelerate universal Internet access in Ghana

Ghana was one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to be connected to the Internet, yet has very low Internet usage (5.3 users per 100 inhabitants). A qualitative study including in-depth interviews with ISPs explored Internet diffusion in Ghana. Findings suggest that due to Ghana's inefficient and outdated fixed-line infrastructure, universal Internet access goals might not be achievable through fixed-line technologies. Rather, wireless technologies may be more efficient. However, high access costs continue to be a barrier. Policy options to encourage widespread deployment of wireless broadband and cost reduction are presented as suggestions for further research. These include using universal service funds to expand the national backbone with an open access high capacity wireless backbone to reach unserved and underserved areas, reducing license and regulatory fees for the wireless industry to encourage coverage and capacity expansion, and mandatory infrastructure sharing to reduce cost.     

The Development of Accounting and Reporting in Ghana

In this paper, we examine the economic, political, and legal systems as well as the institutional factors that influence the accounting and disclosure practices in Ghana. The impact of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on disclosure is also investigated, as Ghana has recently completed full adoption. We find that the accounting and reporting practices are significantly influenced by legal, political, institutional, and economic factors and that the regulatory environment is neither effective nor efficient due to the weak monitoring and enforcement of compliance. Although there has been some recent progress, the Companies' Code, which is the corporate legal framework of Ghana, must be updated to reflect the dynamic nature of world operations. This study advances the course of standards setters, regulators, accounting practitioners, and policymakers to improve the corporate reporting and accounting practices. Urgent measures need to be undertaken to reform and build the capacities of institutions charged with the responsibility of regulating and monitoring Ghanaian accounting and reporting practices to ensure best practices and build investors' confidence.     

Does human capital constrain the impact of foreign direct investment and remittances on economic growth in Ghana?

This article empirically investigates whether human capital constrains the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and remittances on economic growth in Ghana. An economic growth model for Ghana is specified and estimated using Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) estimator and employing annual data spanning the period 1965 to 2008. Empirical results indicate that FDI and remittances are key determinants of economic growth in Ghana. Results indicate that human capital enhances the impact of FDI and remittances on economic growth. Although both government expenditure and trade openness are growth-enhancing, government expenditure appears to crowd-out private investment. Empirical results also indicate that domestic inflationary pressures, unstable political environment and volatile global economy exert a negative impact on economic growth in Ghana.     

Rural 'Community', Chiefs and Social Capital: The Case of Southern Ghana

Social capital emphasizes community and social cohesion as the foundation of development. In Africa, this has prompted the promotion of traditional authorities as agents of development because chiefs and elders are assumed to embody communal norms. Critics have argued that this vision is ahistorical. In response, social capitalists have attempted to 'historicize' their analyses. But in many cases, 'history' simply refers to the micro-level production of trust, networks and norms. From a historian's perspective this is problematic because it ignores historical processes that often produce social hierarchies and inequality within 'traditional' communities. Using a case study from southern Ghana, I argue that, because of their particular view of history, many social capitalists remain blind to differentiation and conflict at the community level. As a result, social capital-driven projects run the risk of reproducing deeply rooted inequalities.     

Sensory characteristics of fufu prepared with cassava roots (Manihot esculenta Crantz) stored in polyethylene sacks

This study was carried out to assess the effect of storage of cassava roots in polyethylene sacks for periods of 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks on the sensory characteristics of cassava fufu, a popular Ghanaian dish. Freshly harvested cassava roots were dipped in tap water and packed into polyethylene sacks in 2‐kg batches and stored at room temperature (25°C ± 1°C). Samples of fresh cassava fufu were evaluated and then at two weekly intervals for a period of 8 weeks. Attributes evaluated were colour, smell, elasticity, smoothness and taste. A structured six‐point ranking scale ranging from 6 (excellent) to 1 (very poor) was used for the evaluation. The data were analysed using analysis of variance, and the least significance difference test at P < 0.05 was used to determine differences between means. The results showed that storage of cassava roots for up to 8 weeks did not significantly affect the colour, smell, elasticity and taste of cassava fufu. However, smoothness of fufu prepared with cassava stored for 6 and 8 weeks was significantly different from the samples of the fresh cassava, and those stored for 2 and 4 weeks. It was concluded that cassava roots stored for periods up to 8 weeks in polyethylene sacks produced fufu of similar characteristics as fresh cassava fufu. This method is therefore recommended for use by homemakers, food service operators, cassava retailers and processors to save them time, energy and money used for the frequent trips for purchases. The method would also reduce post‐harvest losses to a large extent.