Download or read book The Report Ghana 2017 written by Oxford Business Group and published by Oxford Business Group. This book was released on 2017-01-11 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These include a more stable macroeconomic environment through the fiscal consolidation programme, a more favourable balance of trade buttressed by expanding oil exports and an increasingly sophisticated financial system, as evidenced by a soon-to-be-launched commodities exchange and increased integration with regional and international securities markets. Risks remain, however. High interest rates, inflation and public debt in the face of stubbornly low levels of private sector lending and insurance penetration will likely remain through 2017. Nonetheless, the government has demonstrated a commitment to undertaking the structural reforms that are necessary to bring down interest rates, stabilise the currency and get Ghana’s fiscal house in order.
Download or read book The Health Sector in Ghana written by Karima Saleh and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-12-27 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume analyzes Ghana s health system performance and highlights the range of policy options needed to improve health system performance and health outcomes.
Download or read book Youth Employment Programs in Ghana written by Christabel Dadzie and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2020-09-04 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unemployment and underemployment are global development challenges. The situation in Ghana is no different. In 2016, it was projected that, given the country’s growing youth population, 300,000 new jobs would need to be created each year to absorb the increasing numbers of unemployed young people. Yet the employment structure of the Ghanaian economy has not changed much from several decades ago. Most jobs are low skill, requiring limited cognitive or technology know-how, reflected in low earnings and work of lower quality. An additional challenge for Ghana is the need to create access to an adequate number of high-quality, productive jobs. This report seeks to increase knowledge about Ghana’s job landscape and youth employment programs to assist policy makers and key stakeholders in identifying ways to improve the effectiveness of these programs and strengthen coordination among major stakeholders. Focused, strategic, short- to medium-term and long-term responses are required to address current unemployment and underemployment challenges. Effective coordination and synergies among youth employment programs are needed to avoid duplication of effort while the country’s economic structure transforms. Effective private sector participation in skills development and employment programs is recommended. The report posits interventions in five priority areas that are not new but could potentially make an impact through scaling up: (1) agriculture and agribusiness, (2) apprenticeship (skills training), (3) entrepreneurship, (4) high-yielding areas (renewable energy†“solar, construction, tourism, sports, and green jobs), and (5) preemployment support services. Finally, with the fast-changing nature of work due to technology and artificial intelligence, Ghana needs to develop an education and training system that is versatile and helps young people to adapt and thrive in the twenty-first century world of work.
Download or read book The Report Ghana 2014 written by Oxford Business Group and published by Oxford Business Group. This book was released on 2014-12-18 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The economy has a history of strong government involvement and a legacy of socialist policies in the 1960s and 1970s, with statist companies involved in both energy and agriculture; yet, the country’s market is now among the more liberalised in the region. Ghana has a strong export profile, although it is somewhat dependent on commodities. It is the world’s second-largest exporter of cocoa, behind Côte d’Ivoire, and one of the continent’s largest gold producers, while new reserves of oil and gas have helped further expand its resource wealth. The economy saw expansion of 7.1% in 2013, while inflation reached 14.5% in March 2014. Although inflation and balance of payments remain the country’s biggest economic challenges, measures have been taken to strengthen the cedi and curb inflation.
Download or read book Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme written by Huihui Wang and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2017-08-09 with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was established in 2003 as a major vehicle to achieve the country’s commitment of Universal Health Coverage. The government has earmarked value-added tax to finance NHIS in addition to deduction from Social Security Trust (SSNIT) and premium payment. However, the scheme has been running under deficit since 2009 due to expansion of coverage, increase in service use, and surge in expenditure. Consequently, Ghana National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) had to reduce investment fund, borrow loans and delay claims reimbursement to providers in order to fill the gap. This study aimed to provide policy recommendations on how to improve efficiency and financial sustainability of NHIS based on health sector expenditure and NHIS claims expenditure review. The analysis started with an overall health sector expenditure review, zoomed into NHIS claims expenditure in Volta region as a miniature for the scheme, and followed by identifictation of factors affecting level and efficiency of expenditure. This study is the first attempt to undertake systematic in-depth analysis of NHIS claims expenditure. Based on the study findings, it is recommended that NHIS establish a stronger expenditure control system in place for long-term sustainability. The majority of NHIS claims expenditure is for outpatient consultations, district hospitals and above, certain member groups (e.g., informal group, members with more than five visits in a year). These distribution patterns are closely related to NHIS design features that encourages expenditure surge. For example, year-round open registration boosted adverse selection during enrollment, essentially fee-for-service provider mechanisms incentivized oversupply but not better quality and cost-effectiveness, and zero patient cost-sharing by patients reduced prudence in seeking care and caused overuse. Moreover, NHIA is not equipped to control expenditure or monitor effect of cost-containment policies. The claims processing system is mostly manual and does not collect information on service delivery and results. No mechanisms exist to monitor and correct providers’ abonormal behaviors, as well as engage NHIS members for and engaging members for information verification, case management and prevention.
Download or read book World Development Report 2017 written by World Bank Group and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2017-01-23 with total page 605 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law addresses these fundamental questions, which are at the heart of development. Policy making and policy implementation do not occur in a vacuum. Rather, they take place in complex political and social settings, in which individuals and groups with unequal power interact within changing rules as they pursue conflicting interests. The process of these interactions is what this Report calls governance, and the space in which these interactions take place, the policy arena. The capacity of actors to commit and their willingness to cooperate and coordinate to achieve socially desirable goals are what matter for effectiveness. However, who bargains, who is excluded, and what barriers block entry to the policy arena determine the selection and implementation of policies and, consequently, their impact on development outcomes. Exclusion, capture, and clientelism are manifestations of power asymmetries that lead to failures to achieve security, growth, and equity. The distribution of power in society is partly determined by history. Yet, there is room for positive change. This Report reveals that governance can mitigate, even overcome, power asymmetries to bring about more effective policy interventions that achieve sustainable improvements in security, growth, and equity. This happens by shifting the incentives of those with power, reshaping their preferences in favor of good outcomes, and taking into account the interests of previously excluded participants. These changes can come about through bargains among elites and greater citizen engagement, as well as by international actors supporting rules that strengthen coalitions for reform.
Download or read book African Economic Outlook 2017 Entrepreneurship and Industrialisation written by African Development Bank and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2017-05-22 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The African Economic Outlook 2017 presents the continent’s current state of affairs and forecasts its situation for the coming two years.
Download or read book The Report Ghana 2016 written by Oxford Business Group and published by Oxford Business Group. This book was released on 2015-11-24 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The country has played a leading role in African affairs for decades, having been one of the first states to gain independence on the continent and serving as one of the key centres of pan-Africanism in the post-independence era. That role has continued in recent years, with Ghana playing a central part in regional organisations like ECOWAS and the African Union. Reliance on raw material exports, combined with an income-sensitive population and stubborn poverty levels in the northern regions of the country, have created complications, but Ghana has made significant progress in recent years and has begun to build the necessary foundations for long-term growth.
Download or read book The Global Findex Database 2017 written by Asli Demirguc-Kunt and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2018-04-19 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2011 the World Bank—with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—launched the Global Findex database, the world's most comprehensive data set on how adults save, borrow, make payments, and manage risk. Drawing on survey data collected in collaboration with Gallup, Inc., the Global Findex database covers more than 140 economies around the world. The initial survey round was followed by a second one in 2014 and by a third in 2017. Compiled using nationally representative surveys of more than 150,000 adults age 15 and above in over 140 economies, The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution includes updated indicators on access to and use of formal and informal financial services. It has additional data on the use of financial technology (or fintech), including the use of mobile phones and the Internet to conduct financial transactions. The data reveal opportunities to expand access to financial services among people who do not have an account—the unbanked—as well as to promote greater use of digital financial services among those who do have an account. The Global Findex database has become a mainstay of global efforts to promote financial inclusion. In addition to being widely cited by scholars and development practitioners, Global Findex data are used to track progress toward the World Bank goal of Universal Financial Access by 2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The database, the full text of the report, and the underlying country-level data for all figures—along with the questionnaire, the survey methodology, and other relevant materials—are available at www.worldbank.org/globalfindex.
Download or read book Public Expenditure Trends written by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and published by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ; [Washington, D.C. : sold by OECD Publications Center]. This book was released on 1978 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This 1978 report discusses trends and prospects for public expenditures and revenues.
Download or read book World Development Report 2016 written by World Bank Group and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2016-01-14 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Digital technologies are spreading rapidly, but digital dividends--the broader benefits of faster growth, more jobs, and better services--are not. If more than 40 percent of adults in East Africa pay their utility bills using a mobile phone, why can’t others around the world do the same? If 8 million entrepreneurs in China--one third of them women--can use an e-commerce platform to export goods to 120 countries, why can’t entrepreneurs elsewhere achieve the same global reach? And if India can provide unique digital identification to 1 billion people in five years, and thereby reduce corruption by billions of dollars, why can’t other countries replicate its success? Indeed, what’s holding back countries from realizing the profound and transformational effects that digital technologies are supposed to deliver? Two main reasons. First, nearly 60 percent of the world’s population are still offline and can’t participate in the digital economy in any meaningful way. Second, and more important, the benefits of digital technologies can be offset by growing risks. Startups can disrupt incumbents, but not when vested interests and regulatory uncertainty obstruct competition and the entry of new firms. Employment opportunities may be greater, but not when the labor market is polarized. The internet can be a platform for universal empowerment, but not when it becomes a tool for state control and elite capture. The World Development Report 2016 shows that while the digital revolution has forged ahead, its 'analog complements'--the regulations that promote entry and competition, the skills that enable workers to access and then leverage the new economy, and the institutions that are accountable to citizens--have not kept pace. And when these analog complements to digital investments are absent, the development impact can be disappointing. What, then, should countries do? They should formulate digital development strategies that are much broader than current information and communication technology (ICT) strategies. They should create a policy and institutional environment for technology that fosters the greatest benefits. In short, they need to build a strong analog foundation to deliver digital dividends to everyone, everywhere.
Download or read book Ghana written by International Monetary Fund. African Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2019-12-18 with total page 53 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Selected Issues paper discusses growth strategy for Ghana. Ghana has achieved impressive development gains over the last decades, with rising incomes, lower poverty, and better health, education, and gender outcomes. However, growth has recently become less inclusive, with high inequality and slower poverty reduction. In order to address these challenges, the authorities are pursuing a “Ghana beyond Aid” development strategy centered around agricultural modernization and export-led industrialization. Accelerating productivity growth calls for fostering competition, improving the business environment, strengthening human capital, taking advantage of growing regional markets and industrial policies that prioritize sectors that can export and innovate and where Ghana could achieve economies of scale. Consistent and predictable government policies can help increase long-term investment and improve public spending effectiveness. A key lesson from growth accelerations in other countries is that it is crucial to achieve economies of scale. In most cases, rapid economic growth required achieving export success in specific sectors.
Download or read book The Politics of Economic Reform in Ghana written by Richard Aidoo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-05-13 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the significant economic transformation of Ghana over the three decades since the end of the Cold War, focusing on the role of political-economic change and reform. The Politics of Economic Reform in Ghana presents a range of perspectives from scholars drawn from both academia and policy-making on the way Ghanaian economic reforms have been shaped by various political and economic actors. First, it establishes and debates the uniqueness of Ghana as a case study in Africa, and the developing world. Second, the book offers a broad account of how global and domestic political or institutional actors have contributed to shaping economic development in Ghana. Drawing on theoretical perspectives, the volume assesses how major political-economic changes have affected Ghana’s economic development. This book will be of interest to students, scholars, policymakers, and organizations interested in the economic and political advancement of Africa, as well as African Politics and Economics.
Download or read book Secured Transactions Law Reform in Africa written by Marek Dubovec and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-10-31 with total page 603 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last few decades, many countries have reformed their secured transactions law. One of the main reasons has been the clear link between reform and the availability of credit, and the drive to improve access to finance, particularly for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. This book focuses particularly on developing economies in Africa, which have legal frameworks influenced by English, French, Belgian, Roman-Dutch and other laws. Reform in this area of law across African countries has taken a number of forms, which are explored and discussed in this book. Secured Transactions Law Reform in Africa is a mixture of a critical description of the pre-reform law and practice, and the reform process itself. It also includes a comparative analysis of the legal provisions and an examination of the early results of the reforms. The book sets out a road map for the future of secured transactions reform; primarily in Africa, but also in other countries that have undertaken or are contemplating similar reforms. This book is the second in a series of books about Secured Transactions Law in countries around the world, and its reform, both on a national and an international scale. The first book, Secured Transactions Law Reform: Principles, Policies and Practice, was published in 2016.
Download or read book Health Financing in Ghana written by George Schieber and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-08-30 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume analyzes Ghana s National Health Insurance Scheme and highlights the range of policy options needed to assure its financially sustainable transition to universal coverage.
Download or read book Aid for Trade at a Glance 2017 Promoting Trade Inclusiveness and Connectivity for Sustainable Development written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2017-07-11 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edition focuses on trade connectivity, which is critical for inclusiveness and sustainable development. Physical connectivity enables the movement of goods and services to local, regional and global markets.
Download or read book Enterprising Africa written by Stephen Dobson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-12-30 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enterprising Africa explores the future opportunities, challenges, growth areas and key themes that will shape entrepreneurship in the African continent over the next decade. Entrepreneurship can be the key to unlock resilient growth, but only if it is driven by both socially productive and growth-oriented new businesses. The book considers entrepreneurship as an enabler for socio-economic growth and development in Africa, especially in the context of youth unemployment and increasing youth population for which the traditional, and indeed emerging, industrial sectors will not be able to produce sufficient jobs to meet demand. Organised around three thematic parts, Part I covers the notion of inclusive growth and the role that entrepreneurs can play supporting this. Part II considers the dynamic between entrepreneurs and the environment since social, economic and environmental concerns need to build upon each other rather than vie for recognition. Finally, Part III offers chapters exploring policy contexts and the wider institutional ecosystems that need to be developed and enhanced to ensure a strong and vibrant environment for the future entrepreneurs of Africa to thrive. Edited and authored by leading experts in the field, this fascinating text will be of interest to academics as well as students of International, Transformational and Social Entrepreneurship, and International and African Business.
