This study extends the inclusive growth literature on sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by addressing two conspicuous gaps. First, the study examines the effects of social equity policies and economic integration on inclusive growth. Second, the study investigates the joint effects of economic integration and resource allocation on inclusive growth. Using data on 43 SSA countries for the period 1980-2019, we provide robust evidence from the GMM estimator to show that relative to economic integration, social equity policies are rather remarkable in enhancing inclusive growth. The results further reveal that, although economic integration induces inclusive growth, the effect is pronounced in the presence of productive resource allocation. Policy recommendations are provided in line with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and the reversals of welfare gains due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Given the fact that China has become the top investor in Ghana’s economy, this paper sought to interrogate the forms and trends of Chinese capital mobility into Ghana’s agricultural sector and explain their attractiveness within neo-liberal and social innovation contexts. Primary and secondary data were drawn from purposively selected state institutions and other actors in the agricultural sector. Using descriptive and constant comparative analytic strategies, we found out that the capital mobility from China into Ghana’s agricultural sector has been very visible and more attractive in trade but not in landed investment. It was further discovered that the forms and trends of the Chinese capital mobility would not have to be understood within neo-liberal persuasions such as trade liberalization and privatization alone but it would also have to be understood within the social innovative contexts of technological advancement and the organizational novelties upon which it is promoted and spread. We argue that the increasing rate of importation of agricultural inputs from China is an opportunity for knowledge transfer and technological adoption to aid the development of appropriate technology, but its sustenance would require the application of social innovative practices.

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The question of how much of the potential tax revenue is actually obtained remains very critical in Ghana’s efforts to improve domestic revenue mobilization. This paper computes and examines tax gap and compliance burden among micro and small businesses which constitute more than 90% of Ghana’s informal economy. Using data on 485 businesses in Ghana, the study finds that while some businesses underpay their taxes, surprisingly others actually pay more than expected. The average tax gap is computed to be about GHC 109.2 (US$19.2). Small businesses are associated with a higher tax gap of 24.9% compared to their micro counterparts. Moreover, we find that as compliance burden increases, the tax gap also increases, albeit significant variation in the effect of compliance burden on tax gap across regions and different tax handles. JEL Classification: H25, H26, H27, H32

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We estimate the effect of household social expenditure on vulnerability to poverty using the four latest cross-sectional waves of Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS) from 1999 to 2017. Using a 3-Stage Least Square and Quantile Regression, our results show a widening consumption ex-post welfare gap between the poorest households and the non-poor households in a per-dollar social expenditure. Further, we estimate the probability of an ex-ante poverty using vulnerability to expected poverty. The results, however, indicate that regardless of poverty status, household vulnerability to poverty increased consistently between 1999 and 2017, and the very poor households showing the severest vulnerability. Hence, it is concluded that social expenditure increases the chances of a poor household falling into chronic poverty a non-poor household into transient poverty in the future.