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Education subsidy and school enrollments in rural Ghana

Author

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  • Gaddah, Mawuli
  • Munro, Alistair
  • Quartey, Peter

Abstract

This paper examines how education subsidy to basic schools has affected school enrollment in rural Ghana. The quest to achieve Universal Primary Education led to the introduction of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education policy in the mid-1990s, abolishing all fees in basic schools. The question then is, to what extent have those spending increases been effective in reaching poorest households? Combining the willingness-to-pay literature with benefit incidence analysis, the results indicate that basic schooling in rural Ghana is generally progressive with benefits more equally distributed than household expenditures.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaddah, Mawuli & Munro, Alistair & Quartey, Peter, 2016. "Education subsidy and school enrollments in rural Ghana," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 143-152.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:46:y:2016:i:c:p:143-152
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2015.11.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mawuli Gaddah & Alistair Munro & Peter Quartey, 2015. "The rich or the poor: who gains from public education spending in Ghana?," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(2), pages 112-131, February.
    2. Canagarajah, Sudharshan & Xiao Ye, 2001. "Public health and education spending in Ghana in 1992-98 : issues of equity and efficiency," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2579, The World Bank.
    3. repec:lje:journl:v:2:y:2007:i:2:p:27-48 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Stephen D. Younger, 1999. "The Relative Progressivity of Social Services in Ecuador," Public Finance Review, , vol. 27(3), pages 310-352, May.
    5. Ahmed Nawaz Hakro & Muhammed Akram, 2007. "The Incidence of Government Expenditures on Education and Health: Microeconomic Evidence from Pakistan," Lahore Journal of Economics, Department of Economics, The Lahore School of Economics, vol. 12(2), pages 27-48, Jul-Dec.
    6. David E. Sahn & Stephen D. Younger, 2000. "Expenditure incidence in Africa: microeconomic evidence," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 21(3), pages 329-347, September.
    7. D. Vuri, 2008. "The effect of availability and distance to school on children's time allocation in Ghana and Guatemala," UCW Working Paper 40, Understanding Children's Work (UCW Programme).
    8. Glick, Peter & Sahn, David E., 2006. "The demand for primary schooling in Madagascar: Price, quality, and the choice between public and private providers," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(1), pages 118-145, February.
    9. repec:aer:wpaper:173 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Mikiko Nishimura & Takashi Yamano, 2008. "School Choice between Public and Private Primary Schools under the Free," GRIPS Discussion Papers 08-02, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ferry Prasetyia, 2019. "The role of local government policy on secondary school enrolment decision in Indonesia," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 9(2), pages 139-172, June.
    2. Christian Kweku Darko & Fiona Carmichael, 2020. "Education of Biological and Fostered Children in Ghana: The Influence of Relationships with the Household Head and Household Structure," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 487-504, May.
    3. Khiem, Phuong Huu & Linh, Dinh Hong & Tai, Do Anh & Dung, Nguyen Dac, 2020. "Does tuition fee policy reform encourage poor children’s school enrolment? Evidence from Vietnam," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 109-124.
    4. Clifford Afoakwah & Xin Deng & Ilke Onur, 2023. "Reforms and education inequality in Ghana," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 853-878, May.
    5. Xinran Liu, 2023. "Effects of free textbooks on academic performance: Evidence from China's compulsory education," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 2518-2537, November.
    6. Clifford Afoakwah & Isaac Koomson, 2021. "How does school travel time impact children’s learning outcomes in a developing country?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1077-1097, December.
    7. Anlimachie, Moses Ackah & Avoada, Cynthia, 2020. "Socio-economic impact of closing the rural-urban gap in pre-tertiary education in Ghana: context and strategies," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education policy; Public spending; Benefit incidence; Nested multinomial logit; Ghana;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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