Aspirations matter: what young people in Ghana think about work
Aspirations play a vital role in shaping young people’s life choices, particularly when it comes to making decisions about education and jobs. However, youth employment programmes – which seek to provide young people with the skills and opportunities needed to secure employment and achieve higher living standards – rarely...
Read MoreQualitative research and analyses of the economic impacts of cash transfer programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa
Support for (CT) programmes has been growing in sub-Saharan Africa over the last ten years. Since late 2004, the African Union has provided encouragement to countries to develop their own social policy frameworks, with a Plan of Action supported by governments that commits member states to expanding and empowering...
Read MoreHow to Make ‘Cash Plus’ Work: linking cash transfers to services and sectors
The broad-ranging benefits of cash transfers are now widely recognized. However, the evidence base highlights that they often fall short in achieving longer-term and second-order impacts related to nutrition, learning outcomes and morbidity. In recognition of these limitations, several ‘cash plus’ initiatives have been introduced, whereby cash transfers are...
Read MoreFrom Protection to Production (PtoP)
The From Protection to Production (PtoP) project is a multi-country impact evaluation of cash transfers in sub-Saharan Africa. The project is a collaborative effort between the FAO, the UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office and the governments of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. PtoP activities are mainly...
Read MoreFinancing Development for Children in Africa: The state of budget transparency and accountability in the continent
This report builds on the findings of the Open Budget Survey 2015, by taking a closer look at the 31 African countries included in the survey. It seeks to promote transparency and accountability in the use of government budgets in Africa. The rationale for this report is twofold. First,...
Read MoreRationalizing Social Protection Expenditure in Ghana
This report has been prepared in the context of the Ghana Social Opportunities Project that seeks to support Ghana to rationalize its social protection expenditure. The Report analyses expenditure in terms of its sustainability, robustness, efficiency and effectiveness in preventing or reducing poverty, social exclusion and ill health. It...
Read MoreTrade unions in the informal sector: Finding their bearings
These nine national studies cover four regions of the world and reveal the stakes and problems which the multifaceted informal sector poses for the trade union movement, irrespective of the level of development in the countries under consideration. The studies are based on the information available and represent testimonies...
Read MoreFrom Evidence to Action: The story of cash transfers and impact evaluation in sub-Saharan Africa
Impact evaluations must be embedded in the ongoing process of policy and programme design in order to be effective in influencing country policy. This is the primary lesson found in this book, which is based on the rigorous impact evaluations and country-case study analysis of government-run cash transfer programmes...
Read MoreThe Impact of Social Cash Transfer Programmes on Community Dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa
This brief describes key findings of a four-year research project, From Protection to Production (PtoP), which is implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in collaboration with UNICEF. Oxford Policy Management partnered with FAO to design and implement the qualitative field research component. The PtoP project analyzed the...
Read MoreGhana National Pensions Act 766
The Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme: barriers to access for informal workers
Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is an innovative attempt to extend social protection to informal workers, and, as such, it may hold important policy lessons for other countries where the informal economy is large and growing and where informal workers are excluded from existing social protection mechanisms. Few...
Read MoreEquity in financing and use of health care in Ghana, South Africa, and Tanzania: implications for paths to universal coverage
Universal coverage of health care is now receiving substantial worldwide and national attention, but debate continues on the best mix of financing mechanisms, especially to protect people outside the formal employment sector. Crucial issues are the equity implications of different financing mechanisms, and patterns of service use. This report provides...
Read MoreRationalizing Social Protection Expenditure in Ghana: consolidated report
This report has been prepared to support Ghana to rationalize its social protection expenditure. The report analyses expenditure in terms of its sustainability, robustness, efficiency and effectiveness in preventing or reducing poverty, social exclusion and ill health. It includes an analysis of the current structure of social expenditure and...
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