IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/ifaamr/197777.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Health Effects of Women Empowerment: Recent Evidence from Northern Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Ross, Kara L.
  • Zereyesus, Yacob
  • Shanoyan, Aleksan
  • Amanor-Boadu, Vincent

Abstract

Women empowerment could be the key to unlocking women’s productivity potential in Africa. Women’s contribution to the agricultural sector is greatly influenced by their health status. This paper examines the impact of women’s empowerment in agriculture on women’s health and the implications for the African food and agricultural sector. It utilizes a unique dataset from a 2012 survey of 2,405 women in northern Ghana and the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes modeling approach. Findings provide insight on how gender-sensitive policies and private-public initiatives can translate into better health outcomes for women and improved capacity to meet future needs of food and agriculture in Africa. Initiatives focusing on increasing women’s membership in social and economic groups, easing women’s access to credit, and increasing women’s incomes are some key empowerment strategies for improving women’s health status and production capabilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Ross, Kara L. & Zereyesus, Yacob & Shanoyan, Aleksan & Amanor-Boadu, Vincent, 2015. "The Health Effects of Women Empowerment: Recent Evidence from Northern Ghana," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 18(1), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:ifaamr:197777
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.197777
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/197777/files/20140032.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.197777?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alkire, Sabina & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Peterman, Amber & Quisumbing, Agnes & Seymour, Greg & Vaz, Ana, 2013. "The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 71-91.
    2. David E. Sahn & Stephen D. Younger, 2009. "Measuring intra‐household health inequality: explorations using the body mass index," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(S1), pages 13-36, April.
    3. Spanos, Aris, 1984. "Liquidity as a Latent Variable-An Application of the MIMIC Model," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 46(2), pages 125-143, May.
    4. Luis Rubalcava & Graciela Teruel & Duncan Thomas, 2009. "Investments, Time Preferences, and Public Transfers Paid to Women," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(3), pages 507-538, April.
    5. Ferraro, K.F. & Su, Y.-P. & Gretebeck, R.J. & Black, D.R. & Badylak, S.F., 2002. "Body mass index and disability in adulthood: A 20-year panel study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(5), pages 834-840.
    6. Ramzi Mabsout, 2011. "Capability and Health Functioning in Ethiopian Households," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 101(3), pages 359-389, May.
    7. Naila Kabeer, 1999. "Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of Women's Empowerment," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 30(3), pages 435-464, July.
    8. Haddad, Lawrence & Kennedy, Eileen & Sullivan, Joan, 1994. "Choice of indicators for food security and nutrition monitoring," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 329-343, June.
    9. Malapit, Hazel J. & Sproule, Kathryn & Kovarik, Chiara & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Ramzan, Farzana & Hogue, Emily & Alkire, Sabina, 2014. "Measuring progress toward empowerment: Women's empowerment in agriculture index: Baseline report," IFPRI books, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), number OCLC 884924765.
    10. Bhagowalia, Priya & Menon, Purnima & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Soundararajan, Vidhya, 2012. "What Dimensions of Women’s Empowerment Matter Most for Child Nutrition? Evidence Using Nationally Representative Data from Bangladesh:," IFPRI discussion papers 1192, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Jaya Krishnakumar, 2007. "Going Beyond Functionings to Capabilities: An Econometric Model to Explain and Estimate Capabilities," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 39-63.
    12. Smith, Lisa C. & Ramakrishnan, Usha & Ndiaye, Aida & Haddad, Lawrence James & Martorell, Reynaldo, 2003. "The importance of women's status for child nutrition in developing countries:," Research reports 131, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    13. Mark M. Pitt & Shahidur R. Khandker, 1998. "The Impact of Group-Based Credit Programs on Poor Households in Bangladesh: Does the Gender of Participants Matter?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(5), pages 958-996, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mosses Lufuke & Yunli Bai & Shenggen Fan & Xu Tian, 2022. "Women’s Empowerment, Food Security, and Nutrition Transition in Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Soumya Gupta & Vidya Vemireddy & Prabhu L. Pingali, 2019. "Nutritional outcomes of empowerment and market integration for women in rural India," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(6), pages 1243-1256, December.
    3. Francis Tsiboe & Yacob A. Zereyesus & Jennie S. Popp & Evelyn Osei, 2018. "The Effect of Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture on Household Nutrition and Food Poverty in Northern Ghana," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(1), pages 89-108, July.
    4. Tii N. Nchofoung & Simplice A. Asongu & Vanessa S. Tchamyou, 2022. "Effect of women’s political inclusion on the level of infrastructures in Africa," Working Papers 22/021, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    5. Tii N. Nchofoung & Simplice A. Asongu & Vanessa S. Tchamyou, 2021. "The political implication of women and industrialisation in Africa," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 21/072, African Governance and Development Institute..
    6. Elizabeth Bryan & Elisabeth Garner, 2022. "Understanding the pathways to women’s empowerment in Northern Ghana and the relationship with small-scale irrigation," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(3), pages 905-920, September.
    7. Yimer, Feiruz & Tadesse, Fanaye, 2015. "Women’s empowerment in agriculture and dietary diversity in Ethiopia:," ESSP working papers 80, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Diana E Lopez & Romain Frelat & Lone B Badstue, 2022. "Towards gender-inclusive innovation: Assessing local conditions for agricultural targeting," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-25, March.
    9. Aziz, Noshaba & Ren, Yanjun & Rong, Kong & Zhou, Jin, 2021. "Women’s empowerment in agriculture and household food insecurity: Evidence from Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Pakistan," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    10. Kassie, M., 2018. "The nutrition impacts of women’s empowerment in Kenyan agriculture: Application of the multinomial endogenous switching treatment regression," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276003, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yacob A. Zereyesus & Vincent Amanor-Boadu & Kara L. Ross & Aleksan Shanoyan, 2017. "Does Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Matter for Children’s Health Status? Insights from Northern Ghana," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(3), pages 1265-1280, July.
    2. Anderson, C. Leigh & Reynolds, Travis W. & Gugerty, Mary Kay, 2017. "Husband and Wife Perspectives on Farm Household Decision-making Authority and Evidence on Intra-household Accord in Rural Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 169-183.
    3. Soumya Gupta & Prabhu L. Pingali & Per Pinstrup-Andersen, 2017. "Women’s empowerment in Indian agriculture: does market orientation of farming systems matter?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(6), pages 1447-1463, December.
    4. Holland, Cara & Rammohan, Anu, 2019. "Rural women’s empowerment and children’s food and nutrition security in Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-1.
    5. Malapit, Hazel J. & Quisumbing, Agnes R., 2014. "What dimensions of women’s empowerment in agriculture matter for nutrition-related practices and outcomes in Ghana?:," IFPRI discussion papers 1367, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Komatsu, Hitomi & Malapit, Hazel Jean L. & Theis, Sophie, 2018. "Does women’s time in domestic work and agriculture affect women’s and children’s dietary diversity? Evidence from Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Ghana, and Mozambique," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 256-270.
    7. Malapit, Hazel Jean L. & Quisumbing, Agnes R., 2015. "What dimensions of women’s empowerment in agriculture matter for nutrition in Ghana?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 54-63.
    8. Bonis-Profumo, Gianna & Stacey, Natasha & Brimblecombe, Julie, 2021. "Measuring women's empowerment in agriculture, food production, and child and maternal dietary diversity in Timor-Leste," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    9. van den Bold, Mara & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Gillespie, Stuart, 2013. "Women’s empowerment and nutrition: An evidence review:," IFPRI discussion papers 1294, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. Robin A. Richardson, 2018. "Measuring Women’s Empowerment: A Critical Review of Current Practices and Recommendations for Researchers," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(2), pages 539-557, June.
    11. Susana Martínez-Restrepo & Laura Ramos-Jaimes & Alma Espino & Martin Valdivia & Johanna Yancari Cueva, 2017. "Measuring women’s economic empowerment: Critical lessons from South America," INFORMES DE INVESTIGACIÓN 015825, FEDESARROLLO.
    12. Yimer, Feiruz & Tadesse, Fanaye, 2015. "Women’s empowerment in agriculture and dietary diversity in Ethiopia:," ESSP working papers 80, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    13. Malapit, Hazel J. & Sraboni, Esha & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Ahmed, Akhter U., 2015. "Gender empowerment gaps in agriculture and children’s well-being in Bangladesh:," IFPRI discussion papers 1470, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    14. Yount, Kathryn M. & Cheong, Yuk Fai & Maxwell, Lauren & Heckert, Jessica & Martinez, Elena M. & Seymour, Gregory, 2019. "Measurement properties of the project-level Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-1.
    15. Susana Martínez-Restrepo & Laura Ramos-Jaimes & Alma Espino & Martin Valdivia & Johanna Yancari Cueva, 2017. "Measuring women’s economic empowerment: Critical lessons from South America," Libros Fedesarrollo 15825, Fedesarrollo.
    16. Hazel Jean L. Malapit & Esha Sraboni & Agnes R. Quisumbing & Akhter U. Ahmed, 2019. "Intrahousehold empowerment gaps in agriculture and children's well‐being in Bangladesh," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 37(2), pages 176-203, March.
    17. Ramzi Mabsout, 2011. "Capability and Health Functioning in Ethiopian Households," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 101(3), pages 359-389, May.
    18. Malapit, Hazel Jean L. & Kadiyala, Suneetha & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Cunningham, Kenda & Tyagi, Parul, 2013. "Women’s empowerment in agriculture, production diversity, and nutrition: Evidence from Nepal:," IFPRI discussion papers 1313, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    19. Nuzhat Ahmad & Huma Khan, 2016. "Measuring Women’s Disempowerment in Agriculture in Pakistan," Working Papers id:10150, eSocialSciences.
    20. Ahmad, Nuzhat & Khan, Huma, 2016. "Measuring women’s disempowerment in agriculture in Pakistan:," IFPRI discussion papers 1512, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:ifaamr:197777. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ifamaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.