Felix Kwame Yeboah

Exploring the middle ground between environmental protection and economic growth.

Public preference concerning the environment and the economy typically has been characterized as either pro-environmental protection or pro-economic development. Researchers and policymakers increasingly suggest that environmental protection and economic growth are not mutually exclusive. However, use of dichotomous-choice policy preference questions persists. This note empirically examines an alternative response format for the typical dichotomous-choice environmental/economic policy preference question and explores respondents’ stated policy preferences in light of their support for recycling. We find that most respondents do not view environmental protection and economic development policy goals to be mutually exclusive. Most respondents view economic growth and environmental protection as compatible suggesting a more heterogeneous view of the environment–economic relationship than oft reported. Hence excluding a middle response choice to the standard environment/economic policy preference question may add measurement error, increase item nonresponse, and fail to account for the views of respondents who view these goals as complementary.

Africa’s Evolving Employment Trends

Abstract Using nationally representative data from nine countries, we document demographic and employment trends in Africa’s workforce based on full-time labour equivalents (FTE). The FTE approach takes account of individuals’ multiple jobs throughout the year and is therefore likely to give more accurate estimates of the pace of structural transformation. Since 2000, Africa has experienced a sharp decline in the share of its labour force in farming. Because of the seasonal nature of farming, the share of the labour force remaining in farming is substantially lower using the FTE approach than when examined in terms of individuals’ primary sources of employment or total numbers of jobs. Using the FTE approach, the share of the labour force in farming ranges across the nine countries from 35 per cent in Ghana to 54 per cent in Rwanda. Employment in off-farm segments of agri-food systems is expanding rapidly in percentage terms, but in terms of absolute numbers, non-farm activities are by far the major source of employment outside of farming. Contrary to widespread perceptions, the mean age of adults engaged primarily in farming is not rising – in fact it is falling slightly in some countries and remains stable in most others. The pace at which the labour force is shifting out of agriculture is strongly and positively tied to the rate of lagged farm productivity growth. Given the unprecedented growth in the number of young Africans entering the labour market, an effective youth employment strategy in most African countries will rely on massive job expansion, which in turn will rely on the multiplier effects of agricultural productivity growth. Strategies that raise the returns to labour in farming therefore remain crucial for achieving rapid economic transformation and may constitute the core of effective youth employment strategies.

Sociocultural and institutional contexts of social cash transfer programs: Lessons from stakeholders’ attitudes and experiences in Ghana

As conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs spread in African countries, there is a need for well-designed programs that reflect their economic, institutional, political, and sociocultural circumstances. Using both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, this article examines the perspectives of beneficiaries, program managers, and community leaders regarding Ghana’s CCT program. It addresses sociocultural attitudes toward poverty, perceptions of CCT as a poverty reduction strategy, and experiences with CCT implementation. Findings indicate favorable views of CCT but little support for giving money to the poor as a long-term poverty-alleviation strategy. Ghana’s CCT program is seen as fair and popular, but current payment levels are viewed as inadequate, impractical, and unreliable.

Households’ preferences for attributes of Conditional Cash Transfer programs: A choice experiment in Ghana

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) is increasingly being integrated into poverty reduction strategies in developing countries. However, debate remains over key elements of CCT programme design. Using a discrete choice model, this article examines Ghanaian households’ preferences regarding key CCT programme design elements including conditionality, targeting, and payment method. The results revealed a preference for CCT designs that target beneficiaries with limited or no productive capacity and CCT designs that are conditional on beneficiaries either investing in childrens human capital or performing communal service, relative to unconditional programmes. Also, direct bank deposit was revealed as the preferred payment mode relative to receipt of cash payments or use of mobile money systems.