Policy dialogues have become topical in the development arena in recent time. This arose, in part, from the concern for issues on rights and marginalisation. Methodologies for dealing with such dialogues are however rare. In this paper, we make an effort to contribute to this 'grey area' by presenting one experience as a case study. We start the paper by making an entry through endogenous development as a paradigm shift for development intervention. We highlight the need for co-evolution of k...
The paper seeks to establish the implication of occupational distribution on income inequality. Data was collected from five independent sub-groups, two from the formal and the other two from the informal sectors with a fifth sample generated from these four samples. Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients were used to measure income inequality. The results show that though formal sector income sub-groups generated higher incomes they produced lower inequalities than the informal sector income su...
The study investigates how perceived rice quality characteristics influence household preference for local and imported rice and its effect on prices. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 400 rice consuming households from Tamale, Yendi and Savelugu in the northern region. A structured questionnaire was used to interview one consumer (the woman in charge of purchasing and cooking of food) in each household on the quality characteristics that influence their demand for either lo...
Social cash transfers as a strategy for poverty reduction acquired prominence in Latin America but spread later to the rest of the developing world because earlier poverty reduction strategies did not make many gains. Most studies on cash transfer schemes seem tilted towards evaluating their impacts while neglecting the arguments surrounding their design and operations. As such, this paper reviews some of the debates that engulf social cash transfers as a form of social assistance. The review...
Maternal mortality has global impurtance. It has assumed both local and interna- tional dimensions, in spite of assessment challenges. This is supported by the fact that in some parts of the world, vital registration systems are either inadequate or totally absent, thereby making the scanty available information unreliable. Avail- able statistics reveal that there are at least twelve causes of maternal mortality with Abortion, Hemorrhage, Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and Tetanus record...
The desire of my students in the University for Development Studies - Ghana, for knowledge and information, and some practical guide to practitioner conduct motivated me to do this paper. 1 start by giving a theoretical exposition to the concept of endogenous develop- ment and link it up with current issues of globalisation and poverty. I briefly dis- cuss ongoing work on among European institutions and professors that suggest shifts in Europe from exogenous to endogenous development. Encoura...
This paper utilizes household level data to ascertain the capacity-building role of District Assemblies (DAs) in the Northern Region of Ghana with emphasis on indigenous sheanut producers. One hundred and three (103) respondents were interviewed in three Districts of the Northern Region of Ghana during the 200112002 farming season. The study reveals that women constitute the primary producers and sellers of sheanut products in the Region. Poor access to finance (credit) is the most severe con...
This study used the stochastic frontier model to examine the technical, allocative and economic efficiency of maize production in northern Ghana using cross-sectional data for the 2011/2012 cropping season. Conventional inputs such as farm size, seed, fertilizer, labour and weedicides were statistically significant and had positive effects on maize output in northern Ghana using the Cobb-Douglas functional form. The mean estimates were 85.1%, 87.8% and 74.7% for technical, allocative and econ...
Global debates on social protection have raised concerns about the appropriateness of the targeting approach for better inclusion. This study contributes to these debates by exploring the specific challenges associated with the targeting mechanism adopted by the Ghana Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) program within the Upper West Regional program district of Wa Municipality of Ghana. Qualitative data on beneficiaries’ perceptions and experiences with the LEAP programme were col...
The study examined the contributions of food aid provided by the World Food programme (WFP) towards ensuring girl-child enrolment and retention at the basic level in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality. The study resorted to qualitative and quantitative approaches in data collection, analysis and presentation. Qualitatively, observation, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were the main techniques used. Quantitatively, the study employed face to face interviews for questionnaire...
Despite the increasing cost of supplying potable water to poor rural communities under Public-Private partnership models, mainstream literature has very little to offer about the effectiveness of these and other emerging models in capacity building projects for local participation in the determination and collection of water tariffs. This study adopted the before-and-after and the cross-sectional study designs to assess the effectiveness of the Tri-sector Partnership model in pro-poor water t...
The primary purpose of this study has been to examine the determinants, steps and processes of choice making among women in urban Tamale regarding their livelihoods pursuits. The study was conducted in the Tamale Metropolis and entailed the use of the survey design to guide data collection. Data collected was analyzed largely through qualitative methods with a small quantitative component. Data from the participants were obtained through a semi-structured interview guide with few focus group ...
Early marriage below 18 years in Ghana is against the constitutional rights of the victims. Notwithstanding, some communities within the Wa West District of the Upper West Region consider early marriage as a vehicle for providing protection for young girls. The research was carried out to explore the incidence of child marriage and its socio-economic effects on the girl-child in Wa West District of the Upper West Region of Ghana. The study adopted an exploratory design. Data for the study wer...
Rapid population growth and low economic standards of living have had consequences for agricultural land resources in Ghana. Land shortage and poverty taken together lead to non-sustainable management practices which contribute to the direct causes of land degradation. Land degradation in turn contributes to low and declining agricultural productivity which also contributes to the continuing or worsening poverty levels in Ghana. The Bongo District of the Upper East Region is no exception. The...
This thesis examines the effects of head porterage on children engaged in it. The study uses the qualitative methods to examine how head porterage which has become an economic venture for many affects the education of the girls engaged in it. The research sampled respondants using purposive sampling, snow ball sampling and convenience sampling. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and migration stories. Major findings in the study revealed that there w...