The main focus and scope of the Western Africa node of ACEIR is to undertake key studies on inequality in Ghana. The research entails conducting rigorous analyses of the nature, patterns and dynamics of inequality and poverty in Ghana using existing census and panel survey data.
In view of these broad objectives, the node is currently undertaking three key studies which consist of a diagnostic study of inequality as well as two empirical research studies on inequality in Ghana. The diagnostic study will produce a report on inequality in Ghana by describing its dynamics and employing poverty maps to incorporate analyses of spatial inequalities in the Ghanaian context.
Using the two waves of the Ghana Socio-Economic Panel Survey, the two research papers seek to provide empirical evidence on various dimensions of inequality in Ghana. The first paper examines the micro-level determinants of economic inequality in Ghana while focusing on the differentiated effects of household attributes in inequality in rural and urban areas of the country. The second study seeks to investigate the relationship between economic inequalities and inequalities of opportunities in the context of Ghana. The study focuses particularly on the inequalities in educational opportunities and explores how this affects economic inequality.