ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Political business cycles, bank pricing behaviour and financial inclusion in Africa

This paper analyses financial inclusion in Africa focusing on the role of political business cycles and pricing behaviour of banks. We employ a sample of 330 banks operating in 29 African countries to test for two related hypotheses. Panel fixed and random effects were estimated for the period 2002 to 2013. The regression results that ensued suggests first that loan price increases in pre-election and election years. Building on this result and employing various specifications of financial inclusion, the second results suggest that, high bank loan prices in election years tend to increase financial access more, compared to non-election years, and that, high deposit price reduces financial usage but increases financial access in election years, compared to non-election years. By extension, these results have important policy implications for policymakers.

Source: UG
Political Communication in Ghana’s Emerging Democracy. Saarbrücken, Germany

This book studies newspaper coverage of two governments in Ghana's Fourth Republic investigating whether and how differences between two opposing political administrations' media relations affect the quality and amount of political news coverage. It demonstrates the extent to which media restriction of one political regime and openness of another affect media activity and content looking at four main factors: nature and level of reporting, influence of incumbency factor, freedom of expression, and relationship between government and media. It reports that coverage suggests systematic bias and concentrates less on key political actors than on their political parties. Furthermore, "journalistic newsgathering" exceeds "information subsidies" as there is minimal use of official news sources to prove that relations between Ghanaian political news sources and reporters do not constitute cardinal determinants of political news. Such relations, the book explains, fit into the separate source-reporter role option of Gieber and Johnson's (1961) three-role typology: neither characterised as negotiations/mutual exchanges nor manipulation but as a relationship of mutual mistrust and suspicion.

Source: UG
Political Conflict and Elite Consensus in the Liberal State

When Ghana’s current experiment at constitutional rule began in January 1993 against the background of a flawed presidential and an opposition boycott of parliamentary elections, there was pessimism that it would not travel beyond the 27 months that both the Second and Third Republics had done. By 2003, Ghana’s Fourth Republic has witnessed two other elections; the third resulting in a change of regime from one political party to another. A fourth election was in the offing with promises of a very competitive contest. How do we account for the relative success of an initially flawed transition; more so in the West African environment, where over the last one and half decades has been far better known for violent civil conflict than democratic development? This work takes a snap shot of the vicissitudes of the first decade of Ghana’s democratic transition and distills some lessons from that experience

Source: UG
Political considerations in the choice of medium of instruction

Recent debates in Ghana over the English-only educational policy have brought into sharp focus ideological and political concerns, making necessary a re-examination of this all too familiar but still contested terrain. In this paper, we theorize about the factors that shaped the policy, but which remained as subtexts in the minister’s announcement. We observe that global participation and maintenance of political power could have been the motivation for the change. We suggest that this outward-orientation of the government, which policy makers placed above educational principles and pedagogical practice, is not new in policy making in Ghana or in any similarly-positioned African nation. We argue for a reconsideration of the policy for ideological reasons.

Source: UG
Political Corruption in Ghana: A Case Study of the Colonial Akyem Abuakwa Traditional State

Corruption exists in all political jurisdictions globally, but it is believed to be more prevalent in developing societies where their administrative structures are not fully developed and functional. High levels of corruption have significantly undermined and continue to undermine the development of the continent of Africa and have plundered its people into a quagmire of poverty. Using colonial Akyem Abuakwa traditional state in Ghana’s Eastern region as the case study, this paper views political corruption as not a new development in Ghana; in particular, the paper asserts that political corruption dates back centuries and was rife in the traditional states. The article also explores how, in the Akyem Abuakwa situation, political corruption led to popular disenchantment with the traditional ruling elites. The study is intended to contribute to African studies generally and also the literature on corruption and development

Source: UG
Political Ecology and Contours of Vulnerability to Water Insecurity in Semiarid North-Eastern Ghana

Vulnerability to water insecurity in Ghana has often been characterised as a biophysical phenomenon that can be objectively solved using technical and rational approaches to manage water resources use and allocation – thus, making vulnerability to water security discourse politically neutral. Contesting this orthodoxy, this article shows the multiple mechanisms and structures that undergird vulnerability of households to water insecurity in semiarid Ghana. Vulnerability to water insecurity is often veiled in political and economic imbalances that constrain the choices of people in their daily water realities. We argue that a rigid fixation on the biophysical conceptualisation of water insecurity separates nature from society while simultaneously ignoring the lived insecurities resulting from the contours of power. Policy formulation based on this conceptualisation without addressing the access rights and differentiated vulnerabilities could be misleading while yielding minimal impact.

Source: UG
Political economy analysis of the production and marketing of shea nut products by women in the Northern Region of Ghana

Shea nut, a crop which is currently picked mostly by women in the wild, offers an opportunity for empowering women to increase their incomes and reduce overall poverty in the three northern regions of Ghana (Upper East, Upper West and Northern). These three regions have very high absolute poverty levels, both in the Ghanaian and African contexts, with women bearing the greater burden of the poverty. This paper was based on a survey of 226 women farmers in the Northern Region of Ghana which is the most important producing shea nut producing region of Ghana. Farmers’ satisfaction for prices received for shea products was linked to their membership of farmer-based organizations, having savings accounts and having enforceable contracts with buyers. There were extensive market failures in the production and processing of shea nut products. The reduction of these market failures has largely been undertaken through efforts from farmer-based organizations. Some government intervention is required to help to improve market outcomes and livelihoods of the women.

Source: UG
The political economy of ‘linked’ progressive taxation in Africa and Latin America

Abstract: One key element in the reduction of poverty and (in Latin America) inequality has been the achievement of greater fiscal equity; we analyse one key part of this process, which is the earmarking of portions of tax revenue to be spent on progressive public expenditures such as social protection, health, and education. Such ‘linkage’ yields a political dividend, and may also help to strengthen the tax base, but at the same time constrains the flexibility with which public revenue can be switched between sectors. We examine, principally by regression methods, the impact of ‘linked taxation’ in five countries—Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Zambia, and Ghana—and find that it significantly reduces political instability and raises tax revenue in all those countries. ‘Linked progressive taxation’ has evolved over recent years to become more flexible, in particular through reforms in the sources and types of taxation which are used to finance priority expenditures, and we argue that these adaptations have helped to reduce the inefficiencies associated with linked taxation.

Source: UG
Political Economy of Climate Compatible Development: Artisanal Fisheries and Climate Change in Ghana

Interest in prospects for policy processes that contribute to development, climate change adaptation and mitigation, known as ‘climate compatible development’, has been growing in response to increasing awareness of the impacts of climate change. This paper provides insight into the complex political economy of climate compatible development in Ghana’s artisanal fisheries, a sector that has received comparatively little attention in climate change literature and policy processes. It focuses on two contentious policy areas where there is potential for climate compatible development, namely the subsidized premix fuel provided to artisanal fishermen, and mangrove protection. Regarding the premix subsidy, while there is theoretical scope for a ‘triple win’ outcome by removing the subsidy to reduce incentives to unsustainable fishing and supporting alternative policies, in practice this is highly problematic. Artisanal fishermen strongly oppose removing the subsidy on the grounds that it would damage their livelihoods, and do not have the confidence that they would be appropriately compensated for any hypothetical reform. Moreover, it is argued that removing it could have negative unintended consequences if fishermen are forced into alternative livelihoods that are themselves unsustainable. There is, however, a need to make considerable improvements to the distribution of the premix fuel so that it reaches the intended beneficiaries and is not siphoned off for contraband. Meanwhile, although improved mangrove protection could have significant ‘triple-win’ benefits, this area suffers from a lack of funding and administrative coordination across ministries and agencies, leading it to be neglected. The case studies reveal, therefore, that the major constraint to climate compatible development is institutional failing, rather than a lack of policies per se. The paper emphasizes the need to conceptualize climate compatible development as a process which is dynamic across space and time, such that potential for triple win outcomes is fluctuate to vary according to changing circumstances. It is necessary to recognize, furthermore, that pressures from a number of actors, including those at the grass roots, may demand short term improvements to current problems rather than aspiring to triple win outcomes in the long term, creating a major challenge for climate compatible development.

Source: UG
Political Economy of Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers: The Rural‐Urban Dynamics in Ghana

This study examined the political economy dimension of fiscal transfers from the national government to district assemblies based on the formula distribution policy created under Ghana's 1992 Constitutional democracy. The two‐step system GMM for dynamic linear panel analysis was estimated from locational perspectives of rural and urban in relation to political swing and aligned districts. Data on annual District Assemblies Common Fund transfers and election results were used for the analyses from 1994 to 2014 covering 167 assemblies. From the results, average transfers to each district was Ghafdr12310-gra-0001 6.28 million but it increased by 3.5 per cent in politically aligned rural districts and by 6.4 per cent in urban swing districts. During election years, the increases were even higher, precisely 5 per cent and 10 per cent for rural aligned and urban swing districts, respectively. These suggested that the government generally targets more urban swing voters than rural aligned voters. The allocation formula was influenced by political factors, as election years tended to be associated with higher transfers. The swing effects dominated the sharing mechanism. Therefore, to reduce political influence on the allocation formula, an independent body should be established to make recommendations directly to parliament. This should dampen the political influence of incumbent governments on the allocations.

Source: UG
The Political Economy of Regional Inequality in Ghana: Do Political Settlements Matter?

Abstract This article argues that the concept of political settlements can deepen our understanding of the political economy drivers of spatial inequality, particularly through its focus on the distribution of power among elites and how this shapes the distribution of public resources. This approach has particular potential for understanding the politics of spatial inequalities in developing countries where inter-elite competition over scarce resources often fuels unbridled clientelism. However, a political settlements approach also suffers from significant limitations, especially its purely rational-actor interpretation of elite behaviour and its exclusive focus on national elites and domestic political processes. The article concludes that an adapted political settlements approach that explicitly recognizes the influence of transnational actors and discursive forms of politics such as ideas can greatly enhance the explanatory power of this concept. This argument is illustrated through an examination of the politics of resource distribution around the US funded Millennium Challenge Account programme in Ghana.

Source: UG
The political economy of transitory mining in Ghana: Understanding the trajectories, triumphs, and tribulations of artisanal and small-scale operators

While artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and its impact on socio-economic development have produced voluminous studies, knowledge of the underlying migratory dynamics of artisanal miners remains incomplete. Using Ghana as a case study, we explore the trajectories, adaptation responses ("triumphs"), and implications ("tribulations") associated with ASM operators. Based on in-person interviews, participant observations, and mining-site visits conducted from 2005 to 2012, the study reveals that several factors influence how migrant miners strategically "hop" from one mine to another - a phenomenon we describe as "transitory mining" - to exploit low-yield gold (and, to a lesser extent, diamond) deposits. We find that miners are forging strong bonds with host communities by sending pre-mining negotiation teams and employing extended family networks to arrange mutually beneficial agreements with local actors. These strategies and techniques lower the entry barriers into ASM by facilitating access to mineral-bearing lands. Even though transitory mining has increased mineral discoveries and personal incomes, we examine how such "triumphs" are hindered by vexing "tribulations". First, there are growing human security threats posed by armed thugs who prey on miners and mining communities as well as police raids of illegal mining that often involve violence. Second, the deleterious environmental impact of transitory mining continues unabated. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Source: UG
Political Marketing Strategies in Africa: Expert Opinions on Recent Political elections in Ghana

This study focuses on expert views of the importance of political marketing and electoral victory in African nations with an emphasis on Ghana. There is a particular focus in this article on understanding political marketing communication issues pertaining to the 2008 Ghanaian presidential elections. Following Peng and Hackley (2007), we used “elite interviews,” dyadic depth interviews with highly regarded marketing and communication practitioners who were also MBA students at Ghana's premier business school. We also employed Butter and Collins' (1994) political marketing structure model in eliciting and analyzing the study findings. We found that all four of the themes discussed by Butler and Collins (1994) played a role in the defeat of the incumbent party—New Patriotic Party (NPP). Product factors was the key theme followed by organizational, process, and market factors, respectively. This paper is an important initial step in highlighting the significance of political marketing to the fortunes of political parties in Africa.

Source: UG
Political Parties and Party Politics

Political parties are widely regarded among the key institutions of modern democracy. In contrast to the Madisonian view that regards parties as ‘sinester interests’ capable of undermining, perverting or usurping the popular will of the majority, contemporary democratic governance is anchored on parties. Indeed, it is parties that are revered as institutions that bring people together for the purpose of exercising political power within the state: parties are the institutions that provide the linkage between citizens and the political process in democratic politics; party platforms offer the best possible arenas for aggregating diverse interests and passion into coherent system-wide mix of public policies

Source: UG
Political Parties and Party Politics

Political parties are widely regarded among the key institutions of modern democracy. In contrast to the Madisonian view that regards parties as ‘sinister interests’ capable of undermining, perverting or usurping the popular will of the majority, contemporary democratic governance is anchored on parties. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine politics without parties in contemporary democratic states. Parties are revered as institutions that bring people together for the purpose of exercising political power within the state: parties are the institutions that provide the linkage between citizens and the political process in democratic polities; party platforms offer the best possible arenas for aggregating diverse interests and passions into coherent system-wide mix of public policies, among others. It is against this backdrop that this chapter examines the nature and quality of party politics in Ghana’s Fourth Republic, and the contribution they have made or are making towards the economic, social and democratic development in Ghana

Source: UG
Political party activism in Ghana: Factors influencing the decision of the politically active to join a political party

This article analyses the factors that influence some Ghanaians to join a political party and become active in the party. It seeks to illuminate the multi-dimensionality of the motivational basis of party activism in Ghana by exploring the following problematics: Why join the National Democratic Congress (NDC)/New Patriotic Party (NPP)? and Why be active in the NDC and NPP? Based on interviews, it argues that some Ghanaians signed up for the membership of political parties and became party activists because of the selective incentives the parties dispense to their members. The decision to join a party is thus part of a survival strategy and serves practical ends, immediate or remote, social and individual. © 2012 Taylor & Francis.

Source: UG
Political Settlements and Structural Change: Why Growth Has Not Been Transformational in Ghana

This chapter explores the extent to which political settlements interacting with the rents space affect the nature of the deals space and consequently help explain economic growth in Ghana. The discussions are centred around four break points and therefore five growth episodes for Ghana: pre-1966, 1966-74, 1974-83, 1983-2001, and 2001-14. First, there are signs that the post-2001 period has been more ordered and open than the first twenty-five years after independence. Second, the political settlement has also changed somewhat over the years, from a dominant to a more competitive type. However, it is argued that political patronage remains rife. Third, the chapter finds that the interplay of political settlements and rent space has been important in shaping the nature of the deals space in Ghana. Finally, it highlights two types of positive and negative feedback loop relating to these variables over the years.

Source: UG
Political settlements and the governance of extractive industry: A comparative analysis of the longue durée in Africa and Latin America

This paper synthesises findings from research in Bolivia, Ghana, Peru and Zambia to address the following three questions: 1) How does the nature of political settlements affect the governance of the mining and hydrocarbon sectors and the relationships between those sectors and patterns of social inclusion and exclusion? 2) How do the circulation of ideas and the materiality of the resources in question affect this relationship? 3) What is the role of transnational ideational, institutional and political economic factors in these relationships? These questions are approached by considering the relationships between political settlements and extractive industry since the late 19th century, with special emphasis on the last three decades. The paper concludes that the nature of settlements has had important implications for the relationships between resource-dependent economies and the nature and degree of social inclusion, but far less effect on productive structure, with no political settlement having particular success in fostering economic diversification or reducing the weight of resource rents within the national economy. The paper also concludes that the very nature of the extractive economy influences the dynamics of national political settlements for the following reasons. First, the potential rents that resource extraction makes possible, and the high cost of engaging in mining or hydrocarbon industries, create incentives for particular forms of political exclusion. Second, colonial and post-colonial histories of resource extraction give political valence to ideas that have helped mobilise actors in ways that change relations of power and institutional arrangements. Third, the materiality of subsoil resources has direct implications for subnational forms of holding power that can influence resource access and control. Finally, the global nature of mineral and hydrocarbon economies, combined with the materiality of resources, bring both transnational and local political actors into the constitution of national political settlements. This makes for a particularly complex politics of scale surrounding settlements in resource-dependent economies.

Source: UG
Political Settlements and the Management of Cocoa Value Chain in Ghana

This paper relies on literature review and primary data collected through in-depth interviews with 21 respondents to examine the political economy dynamics of the cocoa value chain in Ghana. The historical analysis, which was based on the political settlements framework, has shown that the policies implemented in the cocoa sector went through four periods. The colonial era was characterised by a fairly corporate governance system and struggle between European traders and farmer cooperatives for monopoly over internal marketing of cocoa. This was followed by the early post-independence era (1957–1980), which was characterised by neopatrimonialism and over-taxation of cocoa farmers. The third phase (1980–2000) witnessed economic reforms and liberalisation. The fourth phase (2000 to present) saw increased public– private partnerships aimed at empowering women and promoting environmentally friendly farming activities. The paper concludes that the policies in the cocoa sector have, historically, created more benefits (rents) to political elite and their crony capitalists. Given that rent-seeking behaviour is a threat to the sustainability of the cocoa sector, the paper urges international development partners and civil society groups to demand greater accountability and transparency from the political elite and state institutions in the cocoa sector.

Source: UG