Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the determinants of the motivation to pay tax in Ghana. Traditionally, raising tax morale to ensure compliance is often tied to the level of prevailing enforcement. But beyond enforcement, why do citizens pay tax? Design/methodology/approach – This paper relied on the sixth wave of the World Values Survey data in determining the drivers of tax morale. It used the probit model with different specifications to determine robustness of the results. Findings – The findings remain robust to model specification and show a non-linear relationship between age and tax morale. The level of education, marital status, patriotism, sector of employment, satisfaction with democracy and one’s “fear of God” do not matter in tax morale. The economic class of a person per se is also far from being a significant driver and that people are intrinsically motivated to pay tax once they are satisfied with their financial situation, have trust in the government as well as confidence in the parliament. Originality/value – In addition to being a pioneering micro-econometric work on the determinants of tax morale in Ghana, the main contribution of the study lies in its investigation of a non-linear relationship between age and tax morale in Ghana.

Article History KeywordsCapital structure Commercial banks Profitability Ghana. JEL Classification: D24The study examined the effect of capital structure (measures as short term debt ratio, long term debt ratio, and total debt ratio) on profitability (measured as Return on Assets and Return on equity) of commercial banks in Ghana. The study sampled 23 banking over a six year period from 2010 to 2015 and extracted data from the annual of these banks. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis as well as panel regression analysis. The results showed that banks in Ghana are highly leveraged with debt financing constituting 84% of total capital out of which 77% is short term debt despite the increase in minimum equity capital of these banks. The regression analysis revealed that short term debt ratio and long term debt ratio are negatively related with profitability of banks in Ghana. However, total debt ratio was positively associated with profitability of Banks in Ghana. On the control variables, firm size, foreign ownership and age of the bank were positively associated with banks profitability whiles growth in customers' deposits was negatively associated with banks' profitability. The results show that commercial banks in Ghana reliance on short term financing (deposits) reduces banks profitability and as such banks should shift their financing focus from deposits to other sources. The results call for firms to choose the right mix of short term and long term debt that will maximize profitability of bank. Contribution/ Originality:The study contributes to literature by examining the impact of capital structure on banks profitability in the context of regulated equity capital for commercial banks both listed and non-listed. The study is among the few capital structure and performance studies on banks is developing countries. The study serves as a basis for future research into the right mix of capital for commercial banks in Ghana that will enhance profitability.

Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) of projects and programmes promotes greater transparency and accountability in development governance. Some studies revealed that participation in Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is low. This study adopted a case study approach. A sample of 196 people participated in the study. The study revealed that stakeholder participation in M&E of projects and programmes was high among the Municipal Planning and Coordinating Unit (MPCU) members and the District Assembly members but low at the Zonal Council and community levels. This has impacted negatively on the transparency, accountability and the sustenance of projects and programmes. The study concludes that stakeholders were rarely involved in M&E of projects and programmes due to lack of concerted effort by the MPCU for grass root stakeholder participation and poor attitude on the part of community level stakeholders in M&E of projects and programmes. The MPCU and the Assembly members' involvement were appreciably high whereas the Unit committee, the community and the Zonal councils' involvement were low. The study recommends that the District Assembly through the MPCU should establish strategies

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This paper investigates the impact of corporate sustainability and the consistency of corporate sustainability efforts on firm financial performance in Canada. Using data on 266 Canadian companies over the 2007–2017 period, we find a significantly positive association between corporate sustainability performance and firm financial performance. In addition, we find that companies that perform consistently well on sustainability (i.e., consistent performers) achieve better financial performance compared to inconsistent performers. Thus, far from their being net costs/expenses, our results indicate that corporate sustainability performance and consistency in sustainability performance both provide net benefits and significantly impact financial performance positively, implying that corporate sustainability not only helps address the needs of the current and future generations but also has a positive effect on the corporate bottom line. Taken together, our results suggest that not only does corporate sustainability have a positive effect on firm performance, but better financial performance may be achieved through a committed—rather than a “tokenism”—approach to corporate sustainability.

PurposeThis paper seeks to provide empirical insight into how industrialization and technology affect environmental quality in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachUsing Ecological Footprint (ECF) as a measure of environmental degradation, the authors employ annual data from World Development Indicators of the World Bank and the Global Footprint Network spanning from 1970 to 2017 and apply the fully modified least squares (FMOLS) technique.FindingsThe results reveal that industrialization has a negative significant influence on ECF, suggesting that industrialization contributes to environmental sustainability in Ghana. The authors find that technology is harmful to the environment as it has a positive significant effect on ECF. The study also documents that while education and financial development improve environmental sustainability, fossil fuel consumption exacerbates environmental degradation in Ghana.Originality/valueThe environmental impact of industrialization is still being debated, with very scanty empirical evidence in the African context. Based on a detailed review of the literature, this paper provides an initial attempt to investigate the industrialization–environmental sustainability nexus in Ghana. Besides, whereas most extant studies have employed CO2 emission as a proxy of environmental degradation, the authors use ECF to gauge the level of environmental degradation which is regarded as a more inclusive metric.

The contribution of firms towards society in the form of corporate social responsibility has attracted significant concern for many stakeholders, especially among banks in Ghana. It is perceived that; banks especially do Corporate Social Responsibility just because they are the most profitable sector in Ghana. The study sort to examine the kind of relationship that exists between bank performance and CSR in Ghana. Also, to determine how bank size and profitability and it's listing status and foreign ownership influence CSR spending in Ghana. The study sampled 24 commercial banks over seven years from 2010 to 2016. The study analyzed data using statistical tools such as descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and panel regression analysis. The study found out that engaging in CSR activities increases banks' profitability in Ghana, especially for ROE.  Besides, the study concluded that bigger and larger banks are more profitable than small companies, so they are more involved in CSR activities. The study also investigated whether foreign ownership and the listing status of banks influence CSR spending. On this aspect, the study found out that banks' listing status influences CSR spending, but foreign ownership does not. The result implies that listed banks are more public and faces more social pressure hence they spend more on CSR to legitimize their operations.

Environmental Reporting in Ghana: Issues and Determinants 1. Introduction Global environmental changes and its unprecedented impact on human development have shifted the pace of global environmentalism over the last two decades. Whiles individuals continue to develop interests in businesses and their impact on the natural environment, governments, business partners, civil society, have likewise doubled up their watchdog role in ensuring effective corporate environmental citizenship (