ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Financial Implication of Electricity Use and Distributional Losses on Industrial and Economic Performance in Ghana

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship among electricity consumption, distributional losses, service value added and GDP per capita growth rate in Ghana. The analysis of the study consider the effects of electricity from both industrial and national level using service value added and GDP per capita growth rate. The study used time series for the period of 1984 to 2018 on the economy of Ghana. The study used time series for the period of 1988 to 2018 on the economy of Ghana. The quantitative research approach was followed for the analysis which allows for series of hypothesis on the relationship among the variables to be tested. The Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model was followed to test the various electricity consumption-economic growth hypotheses as explained in the literature review. The results indicated a negative simultaneous relationship between per capita electricity consumption and GDP per capita growth rate in Ghana. That is, electricity consumption and GDP per capital growth rate explain each other in the Ghanaian context. The results observed an expected negative relationship between electricity distributional losses and GDP per capita growth rate. That is, reducing distribution losses could increase GDP per capita income of Ghana. The Distribution companies must invest into modern technologies to reduce distributional loses since the overall effects of reducing distributional loses shall be positive on both industries and economic performance. The metering department of the distribution companies must ensure proper metering regulation and reduce the number of companies that are located in house who are using residential rate for commercial purposes.

Source: UCC
Financial Inclusion and Health Well-Being of Older Adults Visiting the University of Cape Coast Hospital

The research studied on the effect of financial inclusion on health of older adults visiting the University of Cape Coast Hospital. Three objectives were established in order to achieve the purpose of the study. Objective one was to examine the impact of financial inclusion on the physical health of older adults visiting the University of Cape Coast hospital. The objective two was to determine the impact of financial inclusion on the psychological health of older adults visiting the University of Cape Coast hospital. The third and final objective was to analyze the relationship between financial inclusion and the health-well-being of older adults who visit the University of Cape Coast hospital. The ―study employed the explanatory research design since the study tested the relationship between the various variables. The data collection instruments were questionnaire. The study employed the quantitative research approach. The simple random sampling technique was used in selecting a respondent of 154. Descriptive and Structural Equation were also used to analyse the objectives of the study. With respect to the first objective of the study, the study found that there was a positive and significant relationship between financial inclusion and physical health of older adults visiting the University of Cape Coast Hospital. Also, there was a positive and significant relationship between financial inclusion and psychological health of older adults visiting the University of Cape Coast Hospital. Also, it was found that there was a positive and significant relationship between financial inclusion and social well-being of older adults who visits the University of Cape Coast Hospital. The study recommended that management must develop and implement programs to enhance the financial literacy of older adults.

Source: UCC
Financial Inclusion and Poverty Incidence in Ghana: The Moderating Role of Gender, Location and Household Size

The main aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between financial inclusion and poverty incidence and how gender, location and household size conditions the relationship. The study employed a quantitative approach and an explanatory design to explore the relationships among the variables. Secondary data was obtained from the Ghana Living Standards Survey (2017) and the logistic regression and bivariate probit models were used for the estimations. The results revealed that financial inclusion significantly reduces poverty incidence in Ghana irrespective of the proxy adopted for financial activities. In terms of effectiveness, it was observed that savings had the greatest impact on poverty incidence followed by loans and then insurance. Poverty was also, found to have negative effects on households’ likelihood to purchase an insurance policy. The results further suggested that the gender of the household head, location of household head, and the size of the household significantly moderate the effects of financial inclusion on poverty incidence. The household size indicate an inverted U-shape relationship with poverty incidence in the presence of financial inclusion. Household heads in the Savannah zone benefited less from the impacts of financial inclusion on poverty incidence as compared to those in the Coastal and Forest zones. Financial inclusion was found to benefit male-headed households more than female-headed households. The study, therefore, recommends that savings and loans must be the target of policy makers in reducing poverty incidence in areas where poverty incidence is high in Ghana. The Central Bank must create a specialized inclusion program in the Savannah zone of Ghana to reduce poverty incidence in the area.

Source: UCC
Financial Inclusion, Digitization, and Resilience: A Global Comparative Analysis

Financial inclusion (FI) is a crucial aspect of development, yet 1.4 billion individuals worldwide are still excluded as of 2021. The concept and measurement of financial inclusion remained keenly contested, and there is scanty research on why FI gender and locational gaps continue to persist. Thus, this study examined three objectives: (i) regional differences in the incidence of financial inclusion, (ii) factors causing FI gender and locational gaps, and (iii) the effect of digital financial inclusion on financial resilience. Data for the study was sourced from the Global Findex Database (2021), which contains over 140,000 individuals from 138 countries. Four main econometric techniques namely the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke methodology, general dominance analysis, Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition and Multilevel probit model were used to address the objectives. Results show significant regional variations in the incidence of financial inclusion, with EAP and ECA regions as the best-performers while SA, MENA and SSA regions being the worst-performers. Again, the most important predictor of people being unbanked globally is that their family member already owns an account, and this factor alone contribute to nearly 43.0 percent of the explained variations in the unbanked. Employment, education, age, and location are the four key factors for closing FI gender and location gaps. Digital financial inclusion significantly stimulates financial resilience across all regions, but its effect is more pronounced in deprived regions like SA, MENA, and SSA. Based on these findings, the study among others, recommended that policymakers should strengthen digital infrastructure and regulatory frameworks to ensure inclusive and resilient financial systems.

Source: UCC
Financial Inclusion, Governance and Social Welfare in Ghana

The evolution of Social welfare after the world’s economic downfall in 2008 has been documented to contribute significantly to reduction in poverty and inequality of all forms, through good governance and financial inclusion, which enables all individuals to partake in economic activities by gaining access to finance. Hence understanding the nexus among financial inclusion, governance and social welfare will enable decision makers formulate policies and programme that will alleviate social welfare challenges in Ghana. The study sought to: find the effect of financial inclusion on social welfare; the effect of governance on social welfare and finally, examine how governance moderates the effect of financial inclusion on household’s social welfare in Ghana. The main data source for the study was the most recent Ghana Living Standard Survey data (GLSS 7) compiled by the Ghana Statistical Service between 2016 and 2017. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) techniques were adopted as the estimation techniques for the study. The result of the study revealed that both financial inclusion and governance had positive significant effects on household’s social welfare in Ghana. In the context of how governance moderates the effect of financial inclusion on household’s social welfare in Ghana; the results were insignificant. The study concludes that getting more households financially included serves as a catalyst for empowering many households to improve their social welfare level. Also, implementation of more social welfare programs by good governance would help improve household’s social welfare level in Ghana.

Source: UCC
Financial Inclusion, Subjective Social Welfare And Mental Health In Ghana

This paper examines the effect of financial inclusion on mental health and subjective social welfare in Ghana. It also makes the first attempt to examine how subjective social welfare influences the relationship between financial inclusion and mental health. Data from the Ghana Socio-economic Panel Survey was utilized. Mental health was proxied by depression. The study utilized the Fixed Effect Model for the baseline specification and the IV method to solve issues of endogeneity. The results show that financial inclusion significantly reduces depression by approximately 1.86 points. Additionally, there is an improvement in individuals' subjective social welfare, reflecting increases of 2.21 and 1.27 points at the community and national levels, respectively. Using the Structural Equation Model for mediation analysis, we reveal that subjective social welfare at the community level partially mediates the financial inclusion-depression nexus. The results of this study support mounting evidence that inclusive finance reduces the symptoms of depression and increases subjective social welfare, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, which aims to promote mental health and well-being.

Source: UCC
Financial Innovation and Financial Fraud in Some Selected Countries in Africa

ABSTRACT The banking industry is witnessing a revolution as a result of financial innovations that have become a common feature of banking in the contemporary business environment. The increasing activities of the internet and the proliferation of mobile telecommunication companies in financial activities present both an opportunity and a challenge to banks on the continent. The surge in fraud activities in the finance sector, despite recent convenience, has raised questions as to whether one should use and trust these innovations. The purpose of this research is to identify the effect of financial innovations (product and process) on financial fraud in some selected African countries. This study is a quantitative research (explanatory design) of 17 countries in Africa over a seven-year period (2013-2019). The study explored the fixed effect and random effect models in order to solve heterogeneity issues in the panel data and the Generalised Method of Moments. The study found that domestic credit to private sector by banks, the number of automated teller machines and research and development expenditure had negative relationship with fraud loss (dependent variable). On the other hand, broad money (M3) and the number of patent applications had a positive relationship with fraud loss. Also, unemployment, as a control variable, had a positive relationship with fraud loss. The study concludes that product and process innovations have both positive and negative implications on financial fraud. The study recommends that domestic credit to private sector and research and development expenditure should be increased in countries. In addition, patent application process should ensure that security features are secure and the number of ATMs in the countries are increased

Source: UCC
Financial Intermediation and Economic Growth: The Case of Ghana

Ghana‟s financial sector has undergone several reforms due to regulatory noncompliance and poor supervision, which led to the cleanup of many unprofitable banks in 2018. Directives from the Bank of Ghana (BOG) to the commercial banks to keep high reserves ratio and maintain interest rate ceilings may negatively affect the competitiveness of the financial sector. A quantitative research approach embedded with Explanatory Sequential Survey Design was employed. Financial institutions in Ghana and uniform distribution of bank outlets across its population were used. The study used the census sampling method to select all the twenty-three commercial banks in Ghana that survived the minimum capital requirement increment. Bank assets, credit administration, and financial transactions through e-banking services were used to measure the impact of financial intermediation on economic growth. It was established that a significant positive relationship exists between financial intermediation and economic growth in Ghana. Bank asset to GDP has a positive relationship with economic growth. There was a positive relationship between economic growth, which was proxied by per capita income and bank assets. It was recommended that there should be a policy and educational campaigns by the government and Bank of Ghana through the National Council for Civic Education that will promote financial intermediation by ensuring more financial inclusion among those in the informal sector and the rural areas.

Source: UCC
Financial literacy among owner-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis

The low level of financial literacy among owners of SMEs is detrimental to the collapse of many SMEs in Ghana. As at 2015 about 46% of SMEs failed to exist and this was attributed to the low level of financial literacy among the owner- managers of the SMEs. The purpose of this research is to examine the financial literacy among owner-managers in small and medium-sized enterprises in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. The study used correlational research design with quantitative research approach. With this the t-test, and correlation analysis were performed to investigate the relationship between gender, age, educational level and financial literacy. The study used primary data from a sample of 375 of which 368 valid responses were obtained. The study concluded that gender, age and educational level of the owners of the SMEs have some relationship with their financial literacy. There was no significant relationship between gender and financial literacy. However, there was a moderate positive and significant relationship between age, educational level and financial literacy among the owner-managers of the SMEs. It was recommended that, the owners of the SMEs should focus on furthering their education on financial aspects, since it was noted that high level of education have significant and positive relationship with financial literacy level.

Source: UCC
Financial literacy among public sector workers in the Cape Coast Metropolis

Financial literacy among public sector workers is important following the large number of people in the sector and the many personal financial responsibilities they often assume in their homes and workplaces. The study assessed the level of financial literacy, factors influencing financial literacy, and level of application of financial literacy among public sector workers in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Cross-sectional and descriptive study designs were employed for the study. A total of 375 respondents were sampled from a population of 13,163. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to sample the respondents. Statistical Product and Service Solutions version 15 was used to process the data. Frequencies, percentages, regression and ANOVA were used to analyse the data. The study found that public sector workers with different sociodemographic characteristics had different levels of financial literacy. Level of education, experience and exposure to finance had significant influence to variations in the levels of financial literacy among public sector workers in the Metropolis. The existing posture of the financial sector is unable to provide the necessary financial information, opportunities and services to public workers with different levels of financial literacy. The study recommends that the Metropolitan branch of the Public Sector Workers Union in collaboration with financial institutions in the Metropolis should educate public sector workers on financial products and opportunities and financial concepts. The study suggests that financial institutions in the Metropolis should develop more financial opportunities for people in different socio-economic classes

Source: UCC
Financial Literacy Among Public Sector Workers in the Cape Coast Metropolis

Financial literacy among public sector workers is important following the large number of people in the sector and the many personal financial responsibilities they often assume in their homes and workplaces. The study assessed the level of financial literacy, factors influencing financial literacy, and level of application of financial literacy among public sector workers in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Cross-sectional and descriptive study designs were employed for the study. A total of 375 respondents were sampled from a population of 13,163. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to sample the respondents. Statistical Product and Service Solutions version 15 was used to process the data. Frequencies, percentages, regression and ANOVA were used to analyse the data. The study found that public sector workers with different socio demographic characteristics had different levels of financial literacy. Level of education, experience and exposure to finance had significant influence to variations in the levels of financial literacy among public sector workers in the Metropolis. The existing posture of the financial sector is unable to provide the necessary financial information, opportunities and services to public workers with different levels of financial literacy. The study recommends that the Metropolitan branch of the Public Sector Workers Union in collaboration with financial institutions in the Metropolis should educate public sector workers on financial products and opportunities and financial concepts. The study suggests that financial institutions in the Metropolis should develop more financial opportunities for people in different socio-economic classes.

Source: UCC
Financial Literacy among Teachers in the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly in the Northern Region of Ghana

This research assess the degree of Financial Literacy (FL) among teachers in the Tamale Metropolis, which is located in the Northern Region of the country. Principal goal of the research is to determine how well instructors understand personal finances. In this study, the primary objectives are to identify if certain groups of teachers are more knowledgeable about financial matters than others and whether teachers' knowledge influences their opinions and decisions about personal finance issues. In addition, the study will look into how teachers' knowledge influences their opinions and decisions about personal finance issues. This study makes use of both explanatory and descriptive techniques of research. The population of this research consists of 3152 teachers in the Tamale Metropolis. In this study, a total of 300 instructors were selected using a mix of stratified and convenience selection techniques. The research instrument was a questionnaire consisting of 46 questions that evaluated components such as background information, general finance knowledge, savings and borrowing knowledge, personal financial management practises, and financial management problems. Teachers in the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, according to the results on overall FL, have a high level of FL.

Source: UCC
Financial literacy and financial behaviour of college of education students in the central Region of Ghana

The study investigated the level of financial literacy and financial behaviour of College of Education students in the Central Region of Ghana. The objectives that supported this study were to assess the financial literacy level of College of Education Students in relation to sex and level of study. The study also examined the relationship between financial literacy and financial behaviour of College of Education Students in the Central Region of Ghana. The study employed descriptive statistics, cross tabulation, chi-square and linear regression in analysing the objectives of the study. The study used questionnaire in the survey and selected actual sample of 450 from a population of 2,395 (Krejcie & Morgan, 1970). The key findings obtained from the study were that there is no significant difference between sex and level of study in relation to financial literacy. The study also found a positive relationship between savings and borrowing and financial behaviour of College of Education students. However, the relationship between insurance and financial behaviour was found to be negative. The study recommends that Colleges of Education in the Central Region of Ghana should specifically design programs on finance to enhance the financial literacy of students.

Source: UCC
Financial Literacy and Financial Performance of Sme’s In Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis: the Mediating Role of Financial Management Practice

ABSTRACT Despite the significance and involvement of small and medium enterprise to the economy, several empirical studies indicate that most SMEs fail to grow with some folding up within the first few years of their operation. This study achieved the objectives of assessing the financial performance of SMEs and the mediating role of financial management practice on the effect of financial literacy on financial performance. The study discussed the financial management practice theory, resource-based theory, the principle of financial literacy and financial performance evaluation as part of the theoretical and conceptual analysis. The study adopted the descriptive statistics and correlation analysis in a quantitative approach. In all, 327 SMEs in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis were included in the study and the research employed a questionnaire to elicit the required data for the study. The study employed frequency tables, structural equation modelling and correlation analysis to examine financial literacy and financial performance with the mediating role of financial management practice between SMEs in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. The study concluded that financial management practices mediate financial literacy and financial performance nexus. Based on the discoveries of the research, we can conclude that sampled SMEs in the metropolis were performing well financially and financial management practices mediated financial literacy. Moreover, the study recommended that, policies should be directed ensuring that first, managers of SMEs are trained to become financial literate. Again, regular studies should be conducted for SMEs manager on how to undertake financial management practices.

Source: UCC