Entrepreneurship and subjective wellbeing in China : exploring linkages and potential channels

We analyse the effect of entrepreneurship on subjective wellbeing in China. To do so, we use four waves of the nationally representative China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) longitudinal survey data. Employing a suite of quasi-experimental analytical procedures, we find that being an entrepreneur increases subjective wellbeing in China. Our estimates suggest that being an entrepreneur results in a 0.46 standard deviation higher subjective wellbeing than not being an entrepreneur. This finding is robust to different quasi-experimental methods. We also find that entrepreneurship enhances subjective wellbeing more among males and rural residents. Results on mediation analysis suggests that social and economic status are important channels through which entrepreneurship influences subjective wellbeing. © 2024 The Author

Trust in banks, financial inclusion and the mediating role of borrower discouragement

The link between bank trust and financial inclusion remains less explored despite the recent emphasis on financial inclusion in the midst of significant declines in bank trust across the globe. From an emerging country perspective, we examine the bank trust – financial inclusion nexus and the mediating role of borrower discouragement, using data extracted from a comprehensive individual/household level survey in Ghana. After addressing endogeneity, we find that, overall, financial inclusion among those who have trust in banks is 34.3 percentage points higher, compared to those with no trust. This finding is consistent across three different methods of addressing endogeneity. Higher levels of financial inclusion associated with bank trust are more evident among males and urban-located residents. Further analysis revealed that the link between bank trust and financial inclusion is mediated by the discouraged borrower syndrome. It is recommended that financial institutions make conscious efforts to foster client trust which has the capability to reduce borrower discouragement and improve financial inclusion

Financial inclusion and food insecurity: Examining linkages and potential pathways

Considering the worsening levels of food insecurity globally, studies exploring the link between financial inclusion and food insecurity have become imperative. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the effect of financial inclusion on food insecurity using a multidimensional index of financial inclusion and a food insecurity construct obtained from the Food Insecurity Experience Scale. Based on data extracted from the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standards Sur-vey, our preferred endogeneity-corrected results indicate that improvements in financial inclusion is associated with a reduction in food insecurity. This finding is consistent across different conceptualisations of food insecurity, alternative weighting schemes and cut-offs for the financial inclusion index and different quasi-experimental methods. Financial inclusion is mainly effective in reducing food insecurity in male-headed and rural-located households. Our findings reveal that entrepreneurship is an important pathway through which financial inclusion influences food insecurity

Relative Contribution of Child Labour to Household Farm and Non-Farm Income in Ghana: Simulation with Child's Education

Child labourers play an integral role in households’ income diversification process by contributing to farm and non-farm incomes but policies, including that of the ILO have focused largely on eliminating child labour from the agricultural sector through education. This study sought to ascertain the relative contribution of child labourers to farm and non-farm income using the GLSS6 data and employed a SUR estimation that simulated, empirically, with child’s education. Findings showed that as a child labourer spends more time in school, every Gh₵1.00 contributed to farm income is accompanied by a Gh₵2.12 contribution towards non-farm income. By implication, child education policy removes child labourers from the farm but are likely to have a paradoxical effect of pushing these children into non-farm activities as they engage in them after school and during weekends. The suggestion is that governments must provide adequate remuneration for workers and pay a good price for agricultural products so that households do not use children as instruments to diversity their income portfolios, since child labour acts as a push factor in the diversification process

Relative Contribution of Child Labour to Household Farm and Non-Farm Income in Ghana: Simulation with Child's Education

Child labourers play an integral role in households’ income diversification process by contributing to farm and non-farm incomes but policies, including that of the ILO have focused largely on eliminating child labour from the agricultural sector through education. This study sought to ascertain the relative contribution of child labourers to farm and non-farm income using the GLSS6 data and employed a SUR estimation that simulated, empirically, with child’s education. Findings showed that as a child labourer spends more time in school, every Gh₵1.00 contributed to farm income is accompanied by a Gh₵2.12 contribution towards non-farm income. By implication, child education policy removes child labourers from the farm but are likely to have a paradoxical effect of pushing these children into non-farm activities as they engage in them after school and during weekends. The suggestion is that governments must provide adequate remuneration for workers and pay a good price for agricultural products so that households do not use children as instruments to diversity their income portfolios, since child labour acts as a push factor in the diversification process

Addiction to Microcredit: An Obstacle to Social and Financial Mobility

Contrary to the confidence in the ability of microfinance to uplift the poor on the social structure so that upon reaching a higher echelon, the poor (clients) will be able to save and borrow from formal financial institutions (FFIs), most of the poor and socially vulnerable have now become addicted to micro-credit due to demand and supply-side factors. What could be the possible causes of this micro-credit addiction? The objective of this paper was to unravel the causes of what we call “microcredit addiction” and provide recommendations that will enable the addicted clients to break away from this craving. The paper reviews literature on social and financial impact of microfinance and finds that failure of microfinance in the delivery of its core mandate of poverty reduction results in clients’ addiction to micro-credit and, eventually, inhibits their social and financial mobility. The upscaling intentions of MFIs, compulsory savings, high interest rates and transactions costs, multiple borrowing, client’s inability to save for the future and, surprisingly, clients’ satisfaction with MFIs’ products and services are among the factors that make clients get addicted to micro-credit

Addiction to Microcredit: An Obstacle to Social and Financial Mobility

Contrary to the confidence in the ability of microfinance to uplift the poor on the social structure so that upon reaching a higher echelon, the poor (clients) will be able to save and borrow from formal financial institutions (FFIs), most of the poor and socially vulnerable have now become addicted to micro-credit due to demand and supply-side factors. What could be the possible causes of this micro-credit addiction? The objective of this paper was to unravel the causes of what we call “microcredit addiction” and provide recommendations that will enable the addicted clients to break away from this craving. The paper reviews literature on social and financial impact of microfinance and finds that failure of microfinance in the delivery of its core mandate of poverty reduction results in clients’ addiction to micro-credit and, eventually, inhibits their social and financial mobility. The upscaling intentions of MFIs, compulsory savings, high interest rates and transactions costs, multiple borrowing, client’s inability to save for the future and, surprisingly, clients’ satisfaction with MFIs’ products and services are among the factors that make clients get addicted to micro-credit

Household Deficiency in Demand for Water: Do Water Source and Travel Time Matter?

Despite the massive commitment by policy makers and stakeholders to increase the supply of water to households in Ghana, many households have a deficiency in their self-reported daily quantity of water required for drinking and for general use. This paper focuses on the effect of water source and travelling time on households’ deficiency in demand for water using the Sixth Round of the Ghana Living Standards survey. A Tobit regression analysis of data on 2,843 households reveals that a one minute increase in travelling time increases household deficiency in water demand by about 49 percent. Also, compared to pipe in dwelling/yard/plot, all other sources of water to the households come with greater levels of water deficiency, with unprotected well/spring/river-stream/dam-lake-pond generating the greatest (10.5 litres) levels of deficiency. Other significant predictors of household deficiency in water demand are per capita disposable income, number of rooms in the household, sex of the household head and regular payment of water bills. Government policies aimed at addressing household deficiency in water demand should focus on making more resources available to the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency so as to achieve more coverage of water accessible to both urban and rural households

Introducing the Disease Outbreak Resilience Index (DORI) Using the Demographic and Health Surveys Data from sub-Saharan Africa

Although most studies on disease emergencies underscore the need for household readiness for shocks associated with disease outbreaks, no study to date has provided a holistic measure for profling households based on their readiness toward disease outbreaks. This paper introduces a novel Disease Outbreak Resilience Index (DORI) using a multidimensional approach that draws on the Alkire-Foster methodology. DORI measures disease outbreak resilience in four dimensions: (a) water and hygiene, (b) physical distancing, (c) energy and communication, and (d) economic security and resilience. The paper details the development of DORI and its use by presenting findings from ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program. In addition to serving as a resilience index, we illustrate how DORI can be used to produce a disease outbreak vulnerability index (DOVI). As a versatile index, the indicators under each dimension can be tailored to meet country- and region-specific contexts based on indicators appropriate to each context

China-Africa Investments and Economic Growth in Africa

China-Africa’s economic cooperation has existed for decades. In this chapter, we observed the significance of China’s FDI on economic growth, using two decades of FDI data. In the last decades, the economic growth of Africa has been impressive despite recurrent structural and technical issues. China’s FDI stock relative to other economies has been growing, rapidly. How does it affect the performance of key macroeconomic indicators, particularly unemployment and export? Using the Pesaran Autoregressive Distributive lag (ARDL) model, there was a negative growth link between China’s FDI to Africa and growth. However, the impacts of US FDI to Africa, China Export, and Imports from Africa were insignificant. The long-run effect of World FDI inflow to Africa reported a positive effect on growth. There was no evidence of Okun’s law as unemployment increases with growth. For the Granger causality test, all macroeconomic indicators reported a uni-directional link with economic growth, except human capital and unemployment. It is recommended to shift FDI resources toward promoting labor-intensive programs because it has high employability compared to capital intensive programs. Pursuing the Pull Growth Model (PGM) technique will pull enough funds to support the growth of infrastructures and technical capacity development in the region