ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Empirical analysis of the determinants of dairy consumption expenditure in the Accra and Kumasi Peri-Urban communities in Ghana

The main purpose of the study was to examine the level of expenditure on dairy products and to identify the principal factors that influence the level of consumption expenditure on dairy products across households. Structured questionnaire was used to elicit primary information from a total of 303 households in the Accra and Kumasi pen-urban areas through a multi-stage sampling approach. A double logarithmic multiple regression model was used to examine the major determinants of household dairy consumption expenditure level. The principal determinants of the aggregate dairy consumption expenditure level were identified as income level, distance from home to purchase point and the level of urbanization of consumer’s home location. A 10% increase in consumer income was found to result in 4.2% increase in the consumption expenditure on dairy products. This means that the marginal propensity to spend on dairy products is 0.42. Also a 1Km increase in the distance from home to purchase point results in 0.1% increase in aggregate dairy consumption expenditure level. The study revealed that urban consumers spend more on dairy products than their rural counterparts. Regarding the individual dairy products, the study further revealed that the elasticity of consumption expenditure with respect to own price is unity, suggesting a constant marginal expenditure on specific dairy products for successive increases in the levels of product’s own price. However, the elasticity of specific dairy product expenditure with respect to income level and prices of substitutes was found to be less than unity, indicating diminishing marginal expenditure on specific dairy products for each percentage increase in income level and prices of substitute dairy products. It became evident from the study that raw fresh milk is an inferior commodity in Ghana as expenditure on it decreases with increasing level of consumer income. However, yoghurt and evaporated milk were found to be normal commodities. It was also found out that a 100% increase in the distance from consumer’s home to purchase point will warrant a 5% reduction in raw 1iesh milk consumption expenditure. Apart from vigorous consumer education to erase the negative perceptions people have about fresh milk, the study also recommended that marketing agents and producer sellers should explore the possibility of increasing the selling/purchase points of raw fresh milk in urban communities which are dominated b low income earners so as to boost the consumer demand for the product.

Source: KNUST
Empirical analysis of the determinants of electricity supply in Ghana.

The importance of electricity in business and employment activities cannot be overemphasized. It serves as a critical and complementary input in the production process of firms. Electricity is thus a significant input in driving economic growth and poverty reduction. Nonetheless, electricity production in Ghana has undergone several supply challenges which has adversely affected production and consumption activities in the country. It is therefore imperative to unravel the drivers of electricity supply in Ghana. This study therefore investigates the drivers of electricity supply by employing econometric techniques to investigate the drivers of electricity supply in Ghana, using time series data from 1995 to 2016. The study finds that foreign direct investment, trade openness, and GDP per capita drive electricity supply positively. In other words, an increase in these variables increase electricity supply significantly. However, carbon emission influence electricity negatively, suggesting that an increase in CO2 decreases electricity supply. Specifically, a percentage increase in FDI increases electricity supply by 1.62 percent. Statistically, this is significant at 1 percent. This could be due to the high electricity consuming gadgets normally brought into the country for foreign direct investments. In addition, a percentage increase in the economy’s openness to trade, increases the supply of electricity by 0.05 percent. This is statistically significant at 10 percent. Furthermore, percentage increase in CO2 decreases electricity supply by 1.54 percent. Finally, a percentage increase GDP Per capita increases electricity supply 0.16 percent. The study recommends that government through the energy authorities endeavor to adopt clean or renewable energy technologies to augment the country’s electricity supply.

Source: KNUST
An empirical analysis of the determinants of trade balance in post-liberalisation Ghana

The study investigates the determinants of trade balance in post-liberalisation Ghana. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag Bounds test approach to cointegration was used for the estimation. Further, the study employed the variance decomposition and impulse response functions to investigate the dynamic simulations of the variables included in the estimated model. The results show evidence of an equilibrium long-run relationship (cointegration) between trade balance, exchange rate, household consumption expenditure, government consumption expenditure, money supply, foreign income, domestic prices and agricultural growth rate. The study finds that in the long-run increasing levels of household consumption expenditure, government consumption expenditure, money supply, and domestic prices worsens Ghana‟s trade balance whilst foreign income improves it. Exchange rate and agricultural growth rate were insignificant in the long-run. The short-run result also shows that exchange rate, household consumption expenditure, government consumption expenditure and money supply cause a decline in Ghana‟s trade balance. Foreign income, agricultural growth rate and domestic prices were insignificant in the short-run. The long-run and short-run effects of exchange rate on the trade balance show the absence of the Marshall-Lerner condition and the J-curve effect. Further the variance decomposition results show that innovations in household consumption expenditure highly contributed to the forecast error of Ghana‟s trade balance compared to other explanatory variables. The findings and recommendations of the study provide vital information for trade policy reforms

Source: KNUST
An empirical analysis of the effect of exchange rate on foreign direct investment in Ghana

In spite of the several policies being implemented by the government of Ghana to enhance the flow of FDI into the economy, available data indicates that the level of FDI inflows has also been falling. This is worrying for a nation like Ghana which depends so much on FDI for growth and development. In the same vein, the exchange rate of the Cedi to major trading currencies has also been increasing. This is a key factor which most foreign investors before embarking on an investment in a nation, take into consideration. This call for this study which seeks to analyse the effect that exchange rate has on foreign direct investment in Ghana using annual time series data covering the period 1980 to 2013. The study employs the ARDL technique to empirically ascertain the long run and short run relationship between the variables. The study finds that exchange rate has a negative effect on foreign direct investment inflows in Ghana both in the long run and short run. However, the negative effect of exchange rate on FDI is only statistically significant in the short run. This shows that a depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi brings about a decrease in the FDI inflows into the economy. Therefore, to ensure high FDI inflows into the economy, there i s the need for the central Bank of Ghana to embark on a contractionary monetary policy in order to reduce money supply in the economy. The decrease in money supply would bring about an increase in interest rate and hence make domestic interest bearing assets more lucrative. This will cause both local and foreign investors to demand these interest bearing assets which in turn brings about an increase in the demand for the cedi. The resultant effect would be an appreciation of the Cedi and hence an increase in FDI inflows.

Source: KNUST
An Empirical Analysis of the Effects of Stakeholder Management on Construction Project Delivery: Case-Study of the Construction of Access Bank Head Office

This current study was aimed at examining the effects of stakeholder management on project performance using the case study of the construction of Access Bank head office building in Accra. Objectives for the study included: to identify the stakeholder management strategies, policies and practices adopted on the project, to investigate the effects of stakeholder management on the project delivery and to establish the stakeholder management challenges encountered during the course of the head office project. To operationalize this broad objective, the case study approach was used and the study employed the purposive sampling technique which enabled the researcher to use their judgment and intuition to collect data from a specific group. A semi structured interview was administered to 4 (four) key personnel, thus the Project Consultant, the project Contractor and Access bank who were deemed to be informative, knowledgeable and could speak on the subject matter of the study. The data was collected in a week and the use of the Thematic analysis was applied to enable the study to detect the patterns and themes from the information gathered and in the process discuss the finding. The study found that there were many diverse stakeholders with a multiplicity of interests and expectations and that overall, these stakeholders were consulted and involved throughout the duration of the project. It was again found that project leaders and supervisors used different methods and practices to engage, involve and manage stakeholders. In relation to the second objective of establishing the effect of stakeholder management practices on project success at Access bank, it was found that overall; stakeholder management facilitated the timely delivery of the Head office Project. In relation to the third objective, it was established that the project team encountered several challenges such as language barriers, failure to identify certain stakeholders, delays in the release of funds, unreasonable demands and failure to meet regularly with salient stakeholders to discuss issues pertinent to the execution of the project. Recommendations made to improve upon Access bank’s stakeholder strategies included the bank taking time and investing in the most appropriate methods of identifying specific stakeholder needs, that Access bank should employ different methods of identifying and communicating with different stakeholders so that they understand and appreciate all issues being discussed in relation to the project and that all team members on site should be regularly trained on key issues and areas such as safety, preservation of resources, waste reduction, and treatment of waste materials.

Source: KNUST
Empirical Analysis of the Potency of Fiscal Policy on Economic Growth in Ghana

Although the finance-growth relationship has been looked at in many African countries such as Ghana, the outcomes have been mixed while the causal direction between the two variables has particularly not been examined. This study, therefore, applied ARDL approach and Granger causality test to investigating the relationship and the causal direction between financial development and economic growth in Ghana during the period 1970-2013. The study revealed that the amount of credit from domestic sources to the private sector maintained a positively significant nexus with the growth of the economy whereas the domestic deposit was not the case. Also, the results established that there is a dependence of the Ghanaian economy to the changes in domestic credit to private sector whilst there exists a uni-directional causality running from the variations in economic growth to the domestic deposit in Ghana. Consistent with the findings, it is recommended that the authorities concentrate on improving the efficiency of the financial system to allow deposits to be channelled to growth-inducing investments to bring about the long-term growth of the economy.

Source: KNUST
Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between Industrial Performance and Macroeconomic Factors in Ghana

The conscious attempt to ascertain the wide range of macroeconomic factors that drive industrial production in Ghana necessitated this study. The main purpose of this study is to ascertain the impact that macroeconomic factors have on industrial performance in Ghana over the period 1980 to 2013. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model was employed to examine the long run and the short run dynamics of macroeconomic factors and industrial output. The study found cointegration relationship between industrial output and the macroeconomic factors. The results indicated that the major macroeconomic factors that affect industrial performance in Ghana are lending rate (+), inflation (+), employment (+) and government expenditure (+). Based on the findings, the study recommends that the government of Ghana should stabilize the macroeconomic environment of Ghana in order to achieve industrial growth and development.

Source: KNUST
Empirical correlation between BOD5 and COD of effluents from selected industries in the Kumasi Metropolis

During the past few years, interest has grown at a phenomenal rate in matters concerning the environment. This work aims at establishing an empirical correlation between Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of effluents from selected industries in the Kumasi Metropolis to facilitate speedy effluent quality assessment or optimal process control. BOD5 being the most widely used parameter of organic pollution measurement takes a lengthy time to obtain (5 days) and is also of low reproducibility. However, COD measurement is simple, reliably carried out in the laboratory and results available within 2 - 3 hours. Hourly effluent samples were collected for an eight-hour period 3 times per week and brought to the Environmental Laboratory of the KNUST for analysis of the principal parameters COD and BOD5 using the ‘Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater’ (1992). The pHs of the samples were also determined using the pH-meter. The flow rates for Ghana Brewery Limited and The Coca- Cola Bottling Company of Ghana were measured and based on the flow rates recorded, three and eight-hour composite sample was prepared using proportional flow. The correlation coefficients of Ghana Brewery Limited, Guinness Ghana Limited, The Coca- Cola Bottling Company of Ghana and the Kumasi Abattoir Company Limited were 0.9252, 0.1584, 0.8143 and 0.2225 respectively. The fitted equations for prediction for GBL and Coca- Cola were successful. The correlation coefficient of the fitted equation for prediction for Ghana Brewery Limited and The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Ghana, having proved to be successful can be used to facilitate rapid effluent quality assessment or optimal process control by these industries once the chemical oxygen demand (COD) is measured.

Source: KNUST
Empirical estimation of risk preference structure among maize farmers: a case study of Wa District

This study attempts to find out the risk attitudes of some selected maize farmers in the face of risk within the Wa Municipality. Individual risk attitudes of respondents were estimated and analysed. Further, the effects of some socio-economic variables on farmer's response to risk were estimated and analysed. The strategies employed by farmers in mitigating such risk and general perception of irisks in the maize industry were also analysed. ' The risk attitudes of farmers were determined using the Arrow-Pratt measure of risk aversion after having elicited farmer's certainty equivalents from comparable choices. Psychometric scales or Likert-type scales and descriptive statistics were used in obtaining estimates on the perception of farmers on risk. The study revealed that the most patronized risk management tools in the district are storage, diversification and adjusting input use. The rest are production and marketing contract (although the crop of interest culturally is not grown for sale but consumption). The respondents rated diversification, adjusting input use and off-farm employment as the most effective strategies in combating risk with being a low cost producer, maintaining financial reserves and liquidity having been regarded as not being effective. Off-farm employment and adjusting input use and outputs were perceived as the strategies that are most comfortable to use. On the perceptions of sources of risk, changes in weather, personal health and family plans were perceived as being the major source of risk in the district's agriculture; which is contrary to that of earlier findings where output and yield risk have always been cited as the major source of variability. This is an indication of the non-economic goals that the district attaches to the cultivation of the maize crop and therefore fails to integrate monetary risk in evaluating the riskiness of the whole enterprise. The risk aversion coefficients estimates obtained from the study suggest a risk loving tendency (not risk averse), decision makers in the standard economic sense. One hundred and twenty-six (126) out of one hundred and fourteen (114) estimated Arrow-Pratt risk coefficients suggest risk loving attitudes. This result therefore suggests that farmers are likely to behave in a risk loving manner when contemplating decisions in enterprises with less commercial approach. Farmers behave in a risk averse manner only when decisions have the potential of offsetting their overall wealth status. - The information criteria suggest the cubic utility function as the most reliable and whose estimates pan be relied upon for meaningful policy formulation.

Source: KNUST
Empirical Investigation of the Impact of External Debt on Economic Growth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

This study investigated the long and short-run impact of external debt on economic growth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from 1972 to 2012. In addition, it investigated the relationship between external debt servicing and economic growth. The theories and different empirical investigations explained that external debt can either be positively related to economic growth or negatively related depending on the economic activity in which the external debt is injected. The variables used were integrated of different order (i.e. I(0) and I(1)) based on this the Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds test to co-integration was used for the estimation. The result showed that external debt has a negative impact on economic growth in the Democratic Republic of Congo in both the long and the short-run. This outcome was statistically significant. However, the result demonstrated that external debt servicing has a positive impact on economic growth in the long-run. Yet it has a negative impact on economic growth in the short-run. The study recommended to policy makers to use the hedging strategy when contracting the external debt.

Source: KNUST
An empirical investigation into leasing as a financing option for small and medium scale enterprises in Ghana

Many Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries such as Ghana have problems getting the requisite financing to procure the necessary equipment/capital assets required for their growth and development. For most SMEs in Ghana, medium to long term financing of assets has been an increasing problem and forestalled their development efforts. For the advancement of their own initiative and for the utilization and expansion of resources and potentials SMEs must be provided with the basic prerequisites for financial and economic independence and flexibility. Crucial to this is a financing option that is suited to their structure, financial requirements and cash flow needs. The study therefore, interviewed lessors and lessees both existing and prospective ones to solicit their experiences with the lease finance option. The results were analyzed based on their responses and also through the various interactions with them. A critical look at the results revealed that, the suitable financing options available to SMEs in this environment is the leasing option, since it eliminates the advance payment problem, the collateral security problem and many others that have bedeviled the growth of the SME sector for many years. Consequently, it is revealing to note that, all the stakeholders encountered in this research have a common resolve to remain in the lease financing industry, a fate that promises a success story for SME equipment financing and hence accelerated development of the Ghanaian economy

Source: KNUST
Empirical models for estimating global solar radiation over the Ashanti Region of Ghana

Te performances of both sunshine and air temperature dependent models for the estimation of global solar radiation (GSR) over Ghana and other tropical regions were evaluated and a comparison assessment of the models was carried out using measured GSR at Owabi (6∘45�0��N, 1∘43�0��W) in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Furthermore, an empirical model which also uses sunshine hours and air temperature measurements from the study site and its environs was proposed. Te results showed that all the models could predict very well the pattern of the measured monthly daily mean GSR for the entire period of the study. However, most of the selected models overestimated the measured GSR, except in April and November, where the empirical model using air temperature measurements underestimated the measured GSR. Nevertheless, a very good agreement was found between the measured radiations and the proposed models with a coefcient of determination within the range 0.88–0.96. Te results revealed that the proposed models using sunshine hours and air temperature had the smallest values of MBE, MPE, and RMSE of −0.0102, 0.0585, and 0.0338 and −0.2973, 1.7075, and 0.9859, respectively.

Source: KNUST