Trade openness is an important determinant of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Consequently, studies have examined the relationship between FDI inflows and trade openness. This study develops a new measure of trade openness to re-examine the relationship between FDI inflows and trade policy openness using principal component analysis. This new measure captures the ease of trading activities and trade tariffs. Dynamic panel estimation technique was employed to analyze the relationship between trade policy openness and FDI inflows in SSA countries. The results indicate that an open economy attracts FDI. The study recommends efforts at reducing cost of trade.

Punitive measure against anyone is for correctional purpose and making individuals become better citizens. In this regard, incarceration is supposed to lead to the rehabilitation of individuals to make them socially fit. However, ex-convicts face challenges in society including employment. Therefore, this study explores the willingness of an employer to employ an ex-convict. To achieve the objectives, a survey research design was adopted, and the responses obtained from a sample of 283 SME owners in the Western Region of Ghana. The findings show a high level of unwillingness of SME business to employing ex-convict. Again, employers and owners of SMEs have a negative inclination toward hiring ex-convicts. However, individuals with high levels of education and skills were found to have a better chance of being gainfully employed. To help the situation, education, training, tax reliefs and development of legal framework toward employing ex-convict would help deal with this situation.

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the effects of crop specialization on agricultural productivity and commercialization for farmers who produce high-value crops in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone of Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study used the USAID/Ghana Feed the Future (FTF) survey, which collected data on high-value crops (i.e. maize, rice and soya). Data for the analysis consists of 2,903 farm households. The study utilized the three-stage generalized method of moment estimation technique to deal with the potential endogeneity of crop specialization within the context of productivity and commercialization and heteroscedasticity issues in the data.FindingsThe study found that crop specialization positively relates to agricultural productivity and commercialization, suggesting that increased crop specialization in the production of high-value stimulates productivity and opens market opportunities for farm households. These findings imply that crop specialization seems more beneficial to farmers as it significantly improves productivity and commercialization.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone of Ghana and not the entire country.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to have jointly modeled crop specialization, agricultural productivity and commercialization. The main advantage of using this system approach is that it uses more information, thereby providing more precise parameter estimates.

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