ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Effect of excess working capital, accounts payable and operating capital on investment and financing pattern of firms in ghana

Over the last decade, researchers have examined a number of different approaches to working capital management at various businesses. Several Ghanaian banks have merged or closed as a result of the global financial crisis and the subsequent cleanup of the country's financial sector. The study's goals were to draw conclusions about the implications of the Excess Net Working Capital to Sales ratio and the Net Trade Cycle for publicly traded companies on GSE, as well as to determine the impact of these ratios and cycles on the investment and financing decisions of enterprises (both small and large). This study looked specifically at Ghanaian manufacturing firms that are publicly listed. The nine companies included in this study were chosen at random from the pool of candidates. Additional details were gleaned from the company's yearly reports. The data was compiled using a variety of sources, including company annual reports from 2011 to 2021, information from the Bank of Ghana's website detailing the performance of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), and other materials. Both a Static model and a Dynamic model were used to estimate the parameters of interest to the investigation. An ENWCSR of 1.287 indicates that WCM activities are, on average, inefficient. The study uses both static and dynamic methods to estimate working capital's entire effect. When looking at the impact of WCM practises on manufacturing businesses, the authors found the expected result that excess ENWCSR had a detrimental effect on investments in physical assets. The ability of a business to undertake long-term capital expenditures is shown to decrease when working capital rises relative to the average of its industry. There is evidence to suggest that enterprises with a higher net trade cycle have a lower level of fixed assets, which may mean they are prioritising the acquisition of assets with a shorter lifetime over those with a longer one, and therefore are missing out on the opportunity to maximise their profits over the long run. A decrease in return on investment might be expected as the time it takes to collect payments from clients increases. According to these results, increasing investment activity in Ghana's industrial sector requires careful management of working capital.

Source: KNUST
Effect of Exchange Rates Volatility on Stock Prices: Evidence From The Ghana Stock Exchange

This study looked at the effect of exchange rate volatility on stock prices in Ghana. The Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model was used to establish the relationship between exchange rate volatility and stock prices. It was revealed that there is a negative relationship between stock prices movements and exchange rates volatility and the relationship is weak and insignificant. This implies that an increase in exchange rate volatility will lead to a decrease in stock market volatility. It is therefore recommended that policy makers should focus on other macroeconomic variables such as inflation, and interest rates so as to simulate growth in the local economy through investments in the Ghana Stock Exchange.

Source: KNUST
Effect of Farmer Seed Management practices on the Quality of Maize (Zea mays L.) and Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. (Walp)) Seeds from Five Ecological Zones of Ghana

A field research to assess seed management practices of farmers and quality of seed maize and cowpea used by farmers in crop cultivation in the five ecological zones of Ghana was conducted from September 2009 to January 2010. All the five ecological zones of Ghana were sampled for seed maize while four ecological zones were sampled for cowpea seeds. A total of 90 maize and 29 cowpea seed samples were collected for the study. Formal questionnaires were administered to 119 farmer respondents concerning their seed management practices. The use of farmer-saved seed maize and cowpea seed in Ghana was predominantly common across all the five ecological zones of Ghana sampled with a minimum of 23% in the Coastal Savannah zone and a maximum of 67% in the Transition zone. Their method of seed storage was found to be 60% of farmers using store rooms and only 10% stored their seed in the cold room across all the agro-ecological zones. However, 60% of the farmers across the agro-ecological zone treated their seeds with insecticide before storage with 83% in the Transition zone, and 80% of the farmer across the agro-ecological stored their seed for a maximum duration of six month. With the method of seed processing 100% and 51% of the farmers across the agro-ecological zones used manual method for cowpea and maize respectively. The use shelling machine for maize was 83% in the Transition zone the highest among the five agro-ecological zones. Seed purity percentages were extremely high across all the five ecological zones of Ghana with a minimum of 96.6% in the Coastal Savannah zone and a maximum of 99.4% in the Forest zone. The widespread incidence of Fusarium monoliforme (37.1-49.4%), Botryodiplodia theobromae (1.8-10.3%), Acremonium strictum (0.6-5.6%), Fusarium pallidoroseum (0.03-0.07%) and Bipolaris maydis (0.06-0.14%) were encountered in maize samples across all the ecological zones of Ghana. The seed health test of cowpea sampled in four ecological zones also revealed the presence of four major seed-borne fungi namely Fusarium oxysporum, (14.3-49.7%), Fusarium pallidoroseum (4.5%), Macrophomina phaseolina (0.6%) and Colletotrichum lindemuthianum (0.06%). The Forest zone recorded all the five seed-borne fungal pathogens isolated in the seed health analysis of seed maize samples. Fusarium monoliforme, Botryodiplodia theobromae and Acremonium strictum were detected in the maize samples from all the five ecological zones of Ghana. Fusarium oxysporum was also identified in cowpea samples from all the four ecological zones of Ghana

Source: KNUST
The Effect of Employee Orientation on Performance in the Ghana Education Service: A Case of the Greater Accra Region

It is an undisputable fact that the world is changing at a very fast pace. It therefore requires a change if every organization and institution are to respond to these changes. It is for these reasons that organizations need to initiate orientation to their employees to prepare and equip them with current skills and knowledge. This study was conducted to find out the effects of employee orientation on performance in Ghana Education Service (GES) – Greater Accra. The methodology that was used in collecting the research data was a survey design that used a purposive random sampling technique where questionnaires were distributed. The results indicated that the organization needs quality orientation programmes for its employees. It also pointed out that an orientation practice in the institution is facing many problems. However, there are certain factors that affect orientation practices in the Ghana Education Service. Based on the findings, a number of recommendations have been made. Among these include, frequent orientation programme with improved quality should be organized for GES employees alongside the provision of suitable working environment and motivation such as promotion for high performance should be used to enhance effectiveness of the programmes on employee performance in the Ghana Education Service to adopt a more comprehensive approach to orientation; and the Ghana Education Service should provide information in a way that can be engrossed, helpful and retained. In the same way, GES can use the orientation program to enhance employee performance and to develop a team atmosphere, and to ensure that orientation is effectively and efficiently carried out and managed for the realization of the purpose and objectives of Ghana Education Service.

Source: KNUST
Effect of extrinsic factors on internal audit effectiveness in public sector organisations: a case study of upper west region.

The rise in financial scandals in recent times in government institutions and entities despite the existence of internal audit units in the public sector has made the role of internal audit effectiveness to attract the attention of academic researchers, professional bodies, the financial community and regulators. The purpose of this study was to examine extrinsic factors that influence internal audit effectiveness in the Ghanaian Public Sector. A sample size of one hundred and fifty-five (155) is used for the study. An explanatory research design is used in this study. Stratified random sampling technique is used in selecting respondents. One of the objectives of this study is to examine the relationship between the extrinsic factors that influence internal audit effectiveness. Questionnaire is used as survey instrument to solicit data from the respondents. The study used multiple linear regression model to estimate the factors that influence internal audit effectiveness. The study found out that, independence of internal auditors, competence of internal auditors and top management support have significant positive influence on internal audit effectiveness in the public sector in the Upper West Region. However, task complexity has a negative influence on internal audit effectiveness. The result reveals that the level of internal audit effectiveness among the public sector institutions in the Upper West Region of Ghana was high. The finding also indicates that auditor’s independence, competence, and management support drive internal audit effectiveness and that the internal auditor’s propensity to perform effectively does not depend on task complexity. The study recommends that there should be regular training and development of internal auditors on new internal audit policies, rules and procedures and sharing of experiences among internal auditors across various public institutions and organization to enhance the competence level of the internal auditors.

Source: KNUST
Effect of fertilizer type and age of plant on quality of beans of two varieties of cocoa

Yield of cocoa in Ghana over the years keeps on declining despite government’s interventions and this is as a result of the inability of some farmers to apply fertilizer on cocoa in their various farms. Soil amendments through the application of granular fertilizer, have made impact in areas where farmers do timely applications at the recommended dosages. However, little information is known about the foliar fertilizers recently introduced into the cocoa industry. This study, therefore, sought to assess the effect of Lithovit, a foliar fertilizer, and two others; Elite(organic) and Asaase wura(inorganic/conventional) edaphic fertilizers, on the physical and chemical qualities of two varieties of cocoa; Amelonado (Tetteh Quarshie) and Hybrid, at two different ages (6 and 8 years). Field work was done at Adansi Brofoyedru in Adansi North District in Ashanti Region of Ghana. Application of the three different types of fertilizers were carried out according to manufacturer’s recommendations after which harvesting, fermentation and drying of the cocoa beans were done. The cocoa beans were then taken to the laboratory for physical and chemical assessment. The experimental design used was 2x2x3 factorial. From the study, the conventional fertilizer (Asaase wura) produced cocoa beans with low germinated beans (0.75%), purple beans (15.98%), mouldy beans (0.00%), weevil count (0.00%) and percentage purity (79.75%). Lithovit produced cocoa beans with good FFA content (1.68%), fat content (35.88%) and low moisture content (3.08%). Cocoa beans aged 8 years from the Amelonado (Tetteh Quarshie) variety also had cocoa beans with better quality such as low slaty count (257%: 2.57%), other defects (0.22%: 0.28%) and pH (5.26%: 5.32%) content, respectively, compared to cocoa beans 6 years of age and from the Hybrid variety. Generally, however, cocoa beans from all the treatments had good quality characteristics and were graded as GRADE 1 cocoa beans. The cocoa beans were within the recommended standard for quality beans and were suitable for export irrespective of the fertilizer type, age of plant or variety of cocoa used.

Source: KNUST
Effect of financial development on economic growth in sub Saharan African count

Due to the imperativeness of the nexus between financial development and economic growth several researchers have underscore this topic as important and effective for quantifying the economic wellbeing of a country. For many years, how financial development is contributing to economic growth has been the subject of matter in a number of debates among economists. As such there are several empirical and theoretical assumptions attempting to shed more emphasis on these debates. The main objective of the study is to examine the effect of financial development on economic growth. Specifically, the study aimed to address the effect of financial development on economic growth and the determinants of economic growth. The study adopted an explanatory research design. The study was based a quantitative research approach. For estimation strategy, the study applied the ordinary least squared. The study used the pooled Ordinary Least Square, fixed effect and random effect. The study employed secondary data from the period of 10 years from 2012 – 2021. The study used eviews in performing the analyses. The following analyses were performed; descriptive statistics, correlation, Hausman test as well as regression analysis. The study found that exchange rate, monetary policy, and human development index are positive and significant determinants of GDP. However, inflation and trade openness are significant and negative determinants of GDP whereas FDI is a positive and insignificant determinant of GDP. The study recommends that finding the government should implement policies to maintain a stable exchange rate and promote monetary policies that stimulate economic growth. Investing in human development is also recommended to promote economic growth. Additionally, the government should control inflation and promote trade openness to boost economic growth. The government should also encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) to promote economic growth, but other factors should be considered when making decisions about FDI.

Source: KNUST
Effect of financial development on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: a dynamic panel data analysis.

This study attempted to analyze and verify empirically the controversy on the effect of financial development on economic growth. From the data observed on 43 Sub- Saharan Africa (SSA) countries and by using the Dynamic Panel GMM technique, the study was able to show that there exists a positive linkage between financial development and economic growth. The study find that the growth effect of financial development is valuable to the choice of proxy. These indicators domestic credit to the private sector as percentage to GDP (DCP/GDP), domestic credit provided by financial sector as percentage to GDP, broad money stock to GDP ratio and the amount of outstanding deposit with the commercial banks as a percentage of GDP are all conducive for growth. Meanwhile all the control variables also appeared to be robust determinants of real out in SSA except quality of political institution not growth-inducing. The findings here suggest that whether financial development is good or bad for growth depends on the indicator used to proxy for financial development. Hence, the need to develop the financial sector through appropriate regulatory and macroeconomic policies.

Source: KNUST
Effect of financial inclusion on economic growth in ghana

Financial inclusion has emerged as an important approach and framework for economic development of a country. Even though empirical research on financial inclusion in developed countries is much more intensive than in developing countries, the demand for financial inclusion in developing countries is greater, as these countries have few individuals in the country who benefit from formal financial services. The main objective of the study was to analyze the effect of financial inclusion on economic growth in Ghana using quantitative research approach. Iii Specifically, the study sought: (1) to determine the level of financial inclusion and economic growth in Ghana; (2) to examine the effect of financial inclusion on economic growth in Ghana. The study, employed time series data from 2008 to 2021, used “ATM per thousand adults, commercial bank branches per thousand adults, bank account with commercial bank per thousand adults, deposit with commercial bank per thousand adults and inflation” – as financial inclusion and GDP growth as economic growth. The study found that, commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults (P – value, 0.004) and atms (P – value 0.001) as a financial inclusion variable have a significant effect on economic growth in Ghana. Inflation has a positive and significant (p-value=0.042) effect on GDP growth in Ghana. The results showed that financial inclusion index which is computed using the principal component analysis of the financial inclusion variables have a positive and significant effect on economic growth in Ghana. This finding have implications on theories and practices. From the perspective of practice, there is a need for the policy makers to adopt policies that ensures that atms and commercial bank branches are available to everybody, for depositors and savers to gain access to financial inclusion to increase economic development.

Source: KNUST
Effect of financial development on economic growth in sub saharan africa: the role of institutional quality

Recent literature focuses on the influence of institutions on economic development. Given this, a threshold analysis from other studies investigates the threshold level of financial development after which accommodation can be achieved. However, studies that apply the system GMM on the institutions on the finance-growth nexus are limited in SSA leading to a gap in SSA literature. This study investigates the direct effect of financial development on economic growth, and, further examines the effect of quality institutions in this relationship in 28 countries in SSA from 2010 to 2022. Using the system GMM, the study finds an inverse association between financial development and economic growth, highlighting the underdeveloped financial market in SSA countries which has not reached a point where it can foster economic growth. Moreover, the results show that a sound institutional environment promotes economic growth. Finally, the results reveal that given efficient institutional environments such as political stability, rule of law, regulatory quality and overall institutional quality index, financial development can promote economic growth. The results remain robust with a fixed effect estimator. Based on these findings, the study recommends governments and policymakers implement policies that strengthen the financial markets. For instance, frictions in the financial market such as asymmetry information must be avoided through regulations that support quality information and transparency which increases funding and investments in the financial market to support private sector development. In addition, government and policymakers must also implement sound institutions, particularly those that protect investors, encourage political stability, enhance sound policies and promote quality information in the financial market to achieve higher economic growth.

Source: KNUST
Effect of Fertilization Frequency on the Productivity of Earthen Ponds Cultured with All-Male Oreochromis Niloticus (Nile Tilapia).

This study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of fertilization effect on the productivity of earthen ponds cultured with all-male Oreochromis niloticus (Nile tilapia) at Tano-Odumasi between June to December, 2014 in Ashanti region of Ghana. The effect of manuring regime was assessed on the water qualities of pond (which included nutrients in the form of nitrates and phosphates), plankton production, fish monthly growth rate and yield as well as the microbial contamination of the ponds water, fish skin and muscles. There were three replications per treatment and each pond was stocked with 600 fingerlings of the average 10.3g. All the experimental ponds received the same total manure inputs (600 kg). Fertilization frequencies used were 50 kg and 100 kg on biweekly and monthly basis respectively. Bagging method of manuring and supplementary feeding (2% of fish wet body weight) were used throughout the experimental periods of 180 days. Samples were collected on monthly basis apart from the microbial data of the ponds water, fish skin muscles which were done once. The data gathered were analyzed using independent T-test of variance at 95 % confidence level. Results indicated that ponds that were fertilized biweekly intervals gave greater net yield (7898.4±110 kg/ha), specific growth rate (0.833% day -1) and individual fish yield (315.59 g) than once a month fertilized ponds net yield (6504±62.6 kg/ha), specific growth rate (0.797% day -1) and individual fish yield (269.64 g) respectively. All the physico-chemical parameters and nutrients of the ponds water did not differ significantly and remained in an acceptable range for Oreochromis niloticus culture except ammonia concentration which was high. At the end of the study, it was also revealed that ponds water, fish skin and muscles had been contaminated by coliform bacteria including Total coliform, Faecal coliform, Enterococci coliform and Faecal enterococci when analyses was done using Most Probable Number (MPN) method. Although no Salmonella was present prior treatment of the fish is required before consumption.

Source: KNUST
Effect of financial inclusion on poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa: estimating the threshold level.

In sub Saharan Africa, poverty levels are still very high, despite efforts of governments and development partners to address it. This work is necessary due to the high poverty rates in SSA and one of the means to reducing poverty is through financial inclusion but unfortunately in SSA, it seems not yielding the needed result. The work seeks to determine factors that influence financial inclusion in the sub region, estimate the threshold level and subsequently estimate the effect of financial inclusion on poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa. This thesis has used the Hansen‘s estimation method to estimate the threshold level of financial inclusion that will reduce poverty. The following macroeconomic variables are used in the study- inflation, money supply, economic growth and mobile phone subscription. Also the Differenced GMM method was used to estimate the factors that influence financial inclusion, using dependency ratio, domestic credit to private sector, gross national income per capita, rule of law and education as control variables with a data that span from 20102017. The study showed that beyond a threshold level of 0.365, financial inclusion would lead to poverty reduction with money supply been positively significant towards poverty reduction in SSA. The results further indicated that domestic credit to the private sector affects financial inclusion positively. Dependency ratio and rule of law variables have negative effect on financial inclusion with GNI per capita and education been insignificant. It is recommended that development partners and governments in the sub region should implement policies that are aimed at providing an enabling environment for financial institutions to provide financial services that are readily available and affordable to the public in order to benefit from the desired poverty reduction effect of financial inclusion. Central banks in the sub region should implement expansionary policies that would reduce the cost of assessing funds so that households and businesses would have easy and affordable financial access in order to escape poverty.

Source: KNUST