Climate Change,Crop Selection and Agricultural Revenue in Ghana: A Structural Ricardian Analysis

We apply a Structural Ricardian Model (SRM) to farm‐level data from Ghana for seven principal food crops in order to model the factors which influence farmers' decisions about which food crops to grow and the revenue conditional on these choices. Our application of the SRM incorporates a flexible functional form to allow for the possibility that the effects of temperature and rainfall may not be linearly separable. We use this model as a basis for simulations of the effects of climate change. These simulations suggest that extreme climate change will lead to a significant reduction in the average net revenue per hectare from maize, which accounts for over half of current food production. Across a range of climate change scenarios, there is also substantial substitution of maize for heat‐tolerant millet, and a reduction in the cultivation of other crops. Under most of the climate change scenarios that we consider, these results imply a substantial reduction in the aggregate value of agricultural production, since millet is the lowest‐value crop.     

Market Orientation and Firm Performance: An Empirical Analysis of Ghanaian Microenterprises

ABSTRACT

While previous researchers have explored the relationship between market orientation and firm performance in larger organizations, such studies in microenterprises are scarce. This empirical study uses a structural equation model to examine the role of market orientation on firm performance of microenterprises operating in Ghana. To measure market orientation, we used a well-known scale (MARKOR), and the data (N = 347) for this study were collected from Ghanaian microenterprises using personal interviews. Study results indicated that the MARKOR scale provided a good measure of market orientation in Ghanaian microenterprises. The conceptualized model provided a good fit to the relationship between market orientation and the performance of Ghanaian microenterprises, indicating that market orientation as measured by MARKOR had a statistically significant positive impact on performance. However, the explanatory power of the model was relatively low, indicating the potential impact of other factors that were not incorporated in the model. Study implications are discussed.     

A socio‐economic assessment of cowpea diversity on the Ghanaian market: implications for breeding

Given the importance of cowpea [Vignaunguiculata(L)Walp] in fighting malnutrition and poverty, a socio‐economic assessment of cowpea diversity found on the Ghanaian market was conducted. The objective was to investigate emerging consumer preference for cowpea and make recommendations for the development of tailor‐made varieties. Forty‐seven cowpea accessions were collected from traders interviewed for morphological characterization to ascertain the degree of diversity. Data was subjected to Hierarchical Cluster Analysis using Genstat Discovery Edition 3 software and variations among the cowpea varieties based on the selected seed traits established. Cowpea varieties found on the markets were broadly categorized into foreign and local varieties and usually named after their sources. Foreign Cowpea varieties were very popular on the markets surveyed as reflected in the per cent distribution of respondents by cowpea varieties sold; Niger (52%), Burkina Faso (50%), Togo (46%), Lagos (36%) and Ghana (18–21%). At the trader level, the order of preference for cowpea characteristics was cleanliness (stone free and no dirt), colour (white seed colour), easy to cook, taste, size, less weevil damage, dryness and place of origin ranked in decreasing order of importance. At the consumer level, cleanliness that was also tied to the extent of weevil damage was ranked most important. This was followed by seed colour (preferable white), short cooking time, size and taste. From the sociological perspective, concerns are raised on the impact of past cowpea breeding activities giving the level of competitiveness and market performance of locally improved varieties observed. Recommendation is made for traders and consumers to be considered as relevant actors in all the stages of crop improvement and breeding activities. This is crucial for enhanced small‐holder farmer market access and strengthened food networks in rural economies.     

Corporate political activity in less developed countries: The Volta River Project in Ghana, 1958–66

The article expands existing categorisations of political and economic governance by including literature on less developed countries (LDCs). In four consecutive negotiations between the US multinational Kaisers and the US and Ghana governments in the early 1960s, it is argued that the company reached levels of influence that are at odds with existing explanations. In order to understand corporate political activities in LDCs, analysis needs to go beyond static factors (political risk) and include dynamic factors such as diplomatic relations and ‘arenas of power’, and consider the role of the investor's home country relative to the host economy.     

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.     

Revisiting the World Bank's land law reform agenda in Africa: The promise and perils of customary practices

This paper revisits the World Bank's land law reform agenda in Africa by focusing on two central issues: (1) land law reform as a tool for resolving land conflicts, and (2) the role of land law reform in addressing gender inequalities. While the Bank's recent land report provides insights for improving land governance in Africa, it fails to acknowledge the exploitative and contentious politics that often characterize customary land tenure systems, and the local power dynamics that undermine the ability of marginalized groups to secure land rights. Using insights from recent fieldwork, the paper analyses the links between land law reform and conflict in Ghana, and the gendered dynamics of reforming land governance in Tanzania. These “crucial cases” illustrate how land law reform can provoke conflicts over land and threaten the rights of vulnerable populations (e.g. migrants and women) when customary practices are uncritically endorsed as a means of improving land governance. As such, the paper concludes with a series of recommendations on how to navigate the promise and perils of customary practices in the governance of land.     

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.     

Travel behaviour in Ghana: empirical observations from four metropolitan areas

The paper examines the travel behaviour of residents in four key metropolitan areas in Ghana with data from 926 respondents including 451 females obtained at intra-commuter vehicle terminals. The analysis of the data showed that the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) continues to dominate in the intra-urban commuter service. Also, in spite of persistent complaints from consumers about the high cost of transport fares, it is rather the cost of food, children’s education, clothing and to some extent personal entertainment which consume a disproportionate share of residents’ disposable incomes. Notwithstanding this finding, respondents’ expectation is to pay less than they are doing now for commuting within the study areas.     

The effect of service quality and satisfaction on destination attractiveness of sub-Saharan African countries: the case of Ghana

This paper examines the functional forms of service quality (SQ) and satisfaction in relation to destination attractiveness. It focuses on the varying influence of destination characteristics, customer economics, and demographic variables to explore how SQ might be used to improve value positioning and, therefore, potential attractiveness of Ghana as a destination choice for tourists. Using methods triangulation data collection protocol, the paper finds causal links between SQ and selected composites of destination attractiveness (destination attributes, support services, facilities, and people-related factors) in the degree to which they influence customer satisfaction and return-visit intentions. The paper contributes refreshing insights useful for segmentation marketing, tour planning, and product/service development. The implications are far-reaching when considered alongside the fact that Ghana is relatively a new entrant into the organised tourism marketing arena and has the consequent imperative to scale-up structural and human capabilities to compete effectively with the more established global competitors.