IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/socsci/v102y2021i6p2578-2590.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Determinants of citizens’ support for democracy in Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Joseph Yaw Asomah
  • Eugene Emeka Dim

Abstract

Objective This article addresses the following questions: (1) What is the extent of Ghanaians' support for democracy? (2) What are the influences of education, the pursuit of political news, and the discussion of politics on citizens' support of democracy? Methods This study combines the sixth and seventh rounds the Afrobarometer surveys on Ghana. The total sample for this study is 4,800 adult Ghanaians. Binary logistic regression analysis was employed for the multivariate analysis. Results About 81 percent of the respondents prefer democracy to any other form of government, including a military rule. Also, the study also found that education attainment, the pursuit of political news information, and the discussion of politics is significantly linked to citizens' support of democracy. Conclusion The study shows that increasing access to education and political information are vital mechanisms for strengthening democratic consolidation.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph Yaw Asomah & Eugene Emeka Dim, 2021. "Determinants of citizens’ support for democracy in Ghana," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(6), pages 2578-2590, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:102:y:2021:i:6:p:2578-2590
    DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.13062
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13062
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ssqu.13062?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Edward Glaeser & Giacomo Ponzetto & Andrei Shleifer, 2007. "Why does democracy need education?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 77-99, June.
    2. Sara B. Hobolt, 2012. "Citizen Satisfaction with Democracy in the European Union," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(S1), pages 88-105, March.
    3. Brady, Henry E. & Verba, Sidney & Schlozman, Kay Lehman, 1995. "Beyond SES: A Resource Model of Political Participation," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(2), pages 271-294, June.
    4. Seligson, Mitchell A., 1980. "Trust, Efficacy and Modes of Political Participation: A Study of Costa Rican Peasants," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 75-98, January.
    5. Miller, Arthur H. & Hesli, Vicki L. & Reisinger, William M., 1994. "Reassessing Mass Support for Political and Economic Change in the Former USSR," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 88(2), pages 399-411, June.
    6. Bratton, Michael & Mattes, Robert, 2001. "Support for Democracy in Africa: Intrinsic or Instrumental?," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(3), pages 447-474, July.
    7. Evans, Geoffrey & Rose, Pauline, 2007. "Support for Democracy in Malawi: Does Schooling Matter?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 904-919, May.
    8. Geoffrey Evans & Pauline Rose, 2012. "Understanding Education's Influence on Support for Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(4), pages 498-515, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Santiago López-Cariboni & Xun Cao, 2019. "When do authoritarian rulers educate: Trade competition and human capital investment in Non-Democracies," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 367-405, September.
    2. Evans, Geoffrey & Rose, Pauline, 2007. "Support for Democracy in Malawi: Does Schooling Matter?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 904-919, May.
    3. Neelesh Gounder & Mahendra Reddy & Biman Chand Prasad, 2010. "Support for democracy in the Fiji Islands: does schooling matter?," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 37(2), pages 136-149, January.
    4. Campante, Filipe R. & Chor, Davin, 2014. "“The people want the fall of the regime”: Schooling, political protest, and the economy," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 495-517.
    5. Mary Kay Gugerty & Michael Kremer, 2008. "Outside Funding and the Dynamics of Participation in Community Associations," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(3), pages 585-602, July.
    6. Davin Chor & Filipe R. Campante, 2008. "Schooling and Political Participation Revisited," Macroeconomics Working Papers 22072, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    7. Robbert Maseland & André Hoorn, 2011. "Why Muslims like democracy yet have so little of it," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 147(3), pages 481-496, June.
    8. Alexander Kemnitz & Martin Roessler, 2023. "The effects of economic development on democratic institutions and repression in non-democratic regimes: theory and evidence," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 145-164, June.
    9. Mawussé Komlagan Nézan Okey & Dossè Mawussi Djahini-Afawoubo, 2020. "Voting participation in Togo: the role of access to public services and confidence in public institutions," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 22(2), pages 379-400, December.
    10. Alberto Chong & Mark Gradstein, 2015. "On Education and Democratic Preferences," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 362-388, November.
    11. Djemaï, Elodie & Kevane, Michael, 2023. "Effects of education on political engagement in rural Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    12. Campante, Filipe R. & Chor, Davin, 2008. "Schooling and Political Participation in a Neoclassical Framework: Theory and Evidence," Working Paper Series rwp08-043, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    13. Rok Spruk, 2019. "The rise and fall of Argentina," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 28(1), pages 1-40, December.
    14. Shafiq, M. Najeeb, 2010. "Do education and income affect support for democracy in Muslim countries? Evidence from the Pew Global Attitudes Project," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 461-469, June.
    15. Datzberger, Simone & Le Mat, Marielle L.J., 2019. "Schools as change agents? Education and individual political agency in Uganda," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 18-28.
    16. Alessandro Melcarne & Juan S. Mora-Sanguinetti & Rok Spruk, 2021. "Democracy, technocracy and economic growth: evidence from 20 century Spain," Working Papers 2118, Banco de España.
    17. Jung-In Jo & Hyun Jin Choi, 2019. "Enigmas of grievances about inequality: Effects of attitudes toward inequality and government redistribution on protest participation," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 22(4), pages 348-368, December.
    18. Guido Tabellini & Mariaflavia Harari, 2009. "The Effect of Culture on the Functioning of Institutions: Evidence from European Regions," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 7(1), pages 13-19, 04.
    19. John S. Earle & Scott Gehlbach, 2003. "A Spoonful of Sugar: Privatization and Popular Support for Reform in the Czech Republic," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(1), pages 1-32, March.
    20. Hilde Coffe & Catherine Bolzendahl, 2011. "Gender Gaps in Political Participation Across Sub-Saharan African Nations," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 245-264, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:102:y:2021:i:6:p:2578-2590. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0038-4941 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.