Abstract 

Although the impact of micro-credit and direct cash transfers on women economic empowerment has been extensively studied.  The impact of just having either a formal or informal bank account remains relatively understudied. This paper uses a detailed national representative data of female household heads in Ghana to analyze how having a formal and informal bank account economically empowers women. Using propensity score matching, our results elicit that having a bank account encourages women to be employed and also increases their per capita income. The results also indicate that, the level of education and sector of employment positively contributes to women's economic empowerment. Additionally, the result reveal that female household heads living in the cities  are more economically empowered than their counterpart living in the rural areas.

Abstract 

We study the short-run and long-run effects of the pension policy reform that took place in Ghana in 2008. Using a difference in difference identification strategy and data from the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS), our results show that the extension of pension benefits to women who were not previously eligible reduced the probability of pregnancy by 9-15 percentage points. This is in line with studies for other developing countries such as Namibia, Brazil or China. Long-run effects on fertility are also estimated by examining the impact of the reform on the number of children of women with completed fertility cycles. We try to uncover heterogeneous effects of the impact of the pension reform along cultural practices and religion. The results reveal that the negative impact on fertility is more pronounced for women from matrilineal culture and Christian women.  

Abstract 

A portion of existing gender inequality can be attributed to persistent gender norms that shape individual attitudes and societal expectations. In this paper, I examine the role of educational attainment in shaping gender norms, with a focus on whether schooling fosters more egalitarian views. Using data from the Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Survey and an instrumental variable approach, I estimate the causal impact of years of education on individuals’ likelihood of endorsing egalitarian gender norms. The results suggest that increased educational attainment significantly enhances the adoption of gender progressive attitudes, particularly among women. These findings underscore the potential of educational policy as a tool not only for improving economic outcomes but also for promoting gender equality in social and cultural domains.