Family Ties, Inheritance Rights, and Successful Poverty Alleviation: Evidence from Ghana

Kutsoati, Edward; Mørck, Randall

doi:10.3386/w18080

Cited by 24 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…(Bubb (2013) reproduces an Ashanti adage saying that "the farm is my property, the land is the chief’s." ) This result is in line with the evidence of Goldstein and Udry (2008) who show that local chiefs and clans exert significant de facto power in assigning land in rural Ghana (see also Besley (1995) and Kutsoati and Morck (2012)). …”

Section: Chiefssupporting

confidence: 88%

On the Ethnic Origins of African Development: Chiefs and Precolonial Political Centralization

Michalopoulos

Papaioannou

2015

AMP

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We report on recent findings of a fruitful research agenda that explores the importance of ethnic-specific traits in shaping African development. First, using recent surveys from Sub-Saharan African countries, we document that individuals identify with their ethnic group as often as with the nation pointing to the salience of ethnicity. Second, we focus on the various historical and contemporary functions of tribal leaders (chiefs) and illustrate their influence on various aspects of the economy and the polity. Third, we elaborate on a prominent dimension of ethnicity, that of the degree of complexity of pre-colonial political organization. Building on insights from the African historiography, we review recent works showing a strong association between pre-colonial centralization and contemporary comparative development both across and within countries. We also document that the link between pre-colonial political centralization and regional development -as captured by satellite images of light density at night-is particularly strong in areas outside the vicinity of the capitals, where due to population mixing and the salience of national institutions ethnic traits play a lesser role. Overall, our evidence is supportive to theories and narratives on the presence of a “dual” economic and institutional environment in Africa.

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Section: Chiefssupporting

confidence: 88%

On the Ethnic Origins of African Development: Chiefs and Precolonial Political Centralization

Michalopoulos

Papaioannou

2015

AMP

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“…Taken together, the findings indicate a less consistent pattern of deprivations associated with widowhood than in other countries, albeit in a setting of generalised poverty, limited education for older cohorts, low nutrition and poor health. This has occurred in the absence of effective policies specifically concerned with widowhood and vulnerability (Kutsoati & Morck, 2012). The findings challenge generalised claims about widowhood and relative disadvantage in Ghana, although these claims may be more valid in the rural north of Ghana where particular forms of discrimination occur, including accusations of witchcraft (ActionAid, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Widowhood, Socio-Economic Status, Health and Wellbeing in Low and Middle-Income Countries

Lloyd‐Sherlock

Corso

Minicuci

2015

The Journal of Development Studies

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Using data on women aged 50 and over from the WHO’s Survey of Ageing and Adult Health for China, Ghana, India, the Russian Federation and South Africa (N=17,009), we assess associations between widowhood and socio-economic, health and quality of life deprivations. We find variations in the prevalence and timing of widowhood across the study countries, and associations between widowhood and being in the poorest wealth quintile for all five countries. For other deprivations, national experiences varied, with stronger and more consistent effects for India and China. These findings challenge generalised claims about widowhood and call for more contextualised analysis.

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“…The region can be distinguished by features such as the Akosombo dam, which is Ghana’s biggest hydroelectric power generating center. The Lower Manya Krobo and New Juaben districts are home to Ga-Adangbe and Akans—who identify with patrilineal and matrilineal descent systems—respectively (Kutsoati & Morck, 2012). The Akans and Ga-Adangbes constitute 52.1% and 18.9% of the total district populations, respectively—with high literacy, employment, high educational attainment, and lower fertility rate among Akans than the Ga-Adangbes (Ghana Statistical Service, 2012).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinship and Intimate Partner Violence Against Married Women in Ghana: A Qualitative Exploration

Sedziafa

Tenkorang

Owusu

2016

J Interpers Violence

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In African societies, kinship ties determine how women are socialized, their access to power and wealth, as well as custody of children, often considered important factors in married women's experience of intimate partner violence (IPV). Yet studies that examine how kinship norms influence IPV are scant. Using in-depth interviews collected from women identifying with both matrilineal and patrilineal descent systems, we explored differences in Ghanaian women's experiences of IPV in both kin groups. Results show that while IPV occurs across matrilineal and patrilineal societies, all women in patrilineal societies narrated continuous pattern of emotional, physical, and sexual assault, and their retaliation to any type of violence almost always culminated in more experience of violent attacks and abandonment. In matrilineal societies, however, more than half of the women recounted frequent experiences of emotional violence, and physical violence occurred as isolated events resulting from common couple disagreements. Sexual violence against matrilineal women occurred as consented but unwanted sexual acts, but patrilineal women narrated experiencing violent emotional and physical attack with aggressive unconsented sexual intercourse. Contextualizing these findings within existing literature on IPV against women suggests that policies aimed at addressing widespread IPV in Ghanaian communities should appreciate the dynamics of kinship norms.

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Family Ties, Inheritance Rights, and Successful Poverty Alleviation: Evidence from Ghana

Cited by 24 publications

References 5 publications

On the Ethnic Origins of African Development: Chiefs and Precolonial Political Centralization

On the Ethnic Origins of African Development: Chiefs and Precolonial Political Centralization

Widowhood, Socio-Economic Status, Health and Wellbeing in Low and Middle-Income Countries

Kinship and Intimate Partner Violence Against Married Women in Ghana: A Qualitative Exploration

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