PurposeThis paper aims to examine the determinants of rural dwellers financial literacy in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional primary data set was used to estimate the factors influencing rural farm households' financial literacy using the IV-Tobit model.FindingsThe findings reveal that most rural residents are financially illiterate. The econometrics model results depicted that respondents' socioeconomic and demographic characteristics such as gender, income, age and education significantly affect financial literacy. Again, respondents who are risk seekers and listen or watch education programs are more likely to be financially literate.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper examined the determinants of rural dwellers financial literacy in four regions in Ghana. Future research should consider all or many regions for an informed generalization of findings.Practical implicationsThis paper provides evidence that rural dwellers are financially illiterate and it would require the policymakers or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to establish a village or community group that comprises a wide range of bankers and government officials to help rural dwellers acquire some financial skills. Also, the positive relationship between media (whether respondent watches or listens to educational programs) and financial literacy implies that policymakers should focus on improving individuals' financial knowledge through training programs and utilize the media as a channel to propagate financial education to the public.Originality/valueAlthough previous studies have examined the determinants of financial literacy, little is known in developing countries and, in particular, rural communities. The authors fill this gap by contributing to the scanty existing literature in developing countries in several ways. First, this is the first study to examine the financial literacy level of rural dwellers in Ghana. Second, to not undermine the credibility of the estimation results, this study addresses the potential endogeneity issue, which other researchers have not adequately recognized. Finally, the study expands the scant literature on the subject and provides critical policy implications that will help policymakers formulate financial market policies that will contribute to rural dwellers financial literacy enhancement.

Background In Ghana, contact tracing received heightened attention in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic during its peak period. Despite the successes achieved, numerous challenges continue to limit the efforts of contact tracing in completely curtailing the effect of the pandemic. Despite these challenges, there are still opportunities that could be harnessed from the COVID-19 contact tracing experience for future eventualities. This study thus identified the challenges and opportunities associated with COVID-19 contact tracing in the Bono Region of Ghana. Methods Using a focus group discussion (FGD) approach, an exploratory qualitative design was conducted in six selected districts of the Bono region of Ghana in this study. The purposeful sampling technique was employed to recruit 39 contact tracers who were grouped into six focus groups. A thematic content analysis approach via ATLAS ti version 9.0 software was used to analyse the data and presented under two broad themes. Results The discussants reported twelve (12) challenges that hindered effective contact tracing in the Bono region. These include inadequate personal protective equipment, harassment by contacts, politicisation of the discourse around the disease, stigmatization, delays in processing test results, poor remuneration and lack of insurance package, inadequate staffing, difficulty in locating contacts, poor quarantine practices, poor education on COVID-19, language barrier and transportation challenges. Opportunities for improving contact tracing include cooperation, awareness creation, leveraging on knowledge gained in contact tracing, and effective emergency plans for future pandemics. Conclusion There is a need for health authorities, particularly in the region, and the state as a whole to address contact tracing-related challenges while simultaneously harnessing the recommended opportunities for improved contact tracing in the future for effective pandemic control.

This study examined the impact of off-farm employment on rural household agriculture credit fungibility (CF) using survey data collected from four regions in Ghana; however, the study paid more attention to agriculture credit received from different sources. By employing the endogenous switching regression (ESR) model, we solved the endogenous issue of off-farm employment. The econometrics model result revealed that off-farm employment negatively influences the household’s probability of practicing agriculture CF. Our results discovered the importance of off-farm employment on agriculture CF and recommended policy implications capable of alleviating agriculture CF.

The purpose of the study was to examine the use of 21st-century teaching skills in basic school science classrooms. The study adopted a qualitative research design. An observation checklist was employed to gather relevant data for the study. The study was carried out in Enchi, the Aowin Municipal Capital in the Western North Region, and Assin Foso, the Assin Central Municipal Capital in the Central Region of Ghana. The population used for the study was made up of eighteen science teachers selected from six public Junior High Schools in Enchi and eighteen science teachers selected from six public Junior High Schools in Assin Foso. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the six public Junior High Schools from Enchi and six public Junior High Schools from Assin Foso because the teachers from the public schools have acquired professional training. The thirty-six science teachers were conveniently selected. Concerning the data collected from the observations conducted, percentages and average values were computed for teachers who used 21st-century teaching skills in their science classroom and for those who did not use 21st-century teaching skills in their science classroom. It came out that an average of 30.20 % of the teachers used for the study did apply the 21st-century teaching skills in their science classroom whiles 69.80 % of the teachers did not use all the 21st-century teaching skills in their science classroom. Therefore, teachers who did not use all the 21st-century teaching skills should be encouraged to apply them to produce 21st-century learners.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has always been one of the imperative factors to the economic development of Ghana and China. This paper investigates the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth using time series data over the period 1985-2015 in both countries. In Ghana, data was employed from Internal Monetary Fund (IMF) annual data and the statistical bulletin of Bank of Ghana. In china, we obtained our data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China and the Ministry of Commerce, China. Regression analysis of ordinary Least Square ((OLS) was used in analyzing the data. Furthermore, Augmented Dickey-Fuller Test, Johansen Co-integration Test and Granger Causality test was used to obtain the line of causality between FDI and economic growth in these two countries. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship and the causality nexus between Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Inflation and Consumer Pricing (INFCP), External Debt Stock (EDS), Gross National Income (GN1), Manufacturing Value Added (MVA), Industry Value Added (IVA) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In examining the relationship between these factors, the results depicted that there exist a unidirectional and bidirectional causality running from FDI to GDP in Ghana and China respectively. Considering the crucial role FDI plays in the development of China and Ghana, this study concludes by proposing policy recommendations in Ghana and China aimed at enhancing and augmenting FDI and economic growth in these two countries.