IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wodepe/v19y2020ics2452292920300473.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of oil palm-related activities on women’s empowerment in Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Etuah, S.
  • Ohene-Yankyera, K.
  • Aidoo, R.
  • Haleegoah, J.
  • Wiggins, S.
  • Henley, G.

Abstract

The public debate over the effect of industrial crop production activities on women’s empowerment remains inconclusive. There are concerns that engagement in industrial crop (oil palm) related activities adversely affects females’ time allocation culminating in disempowerment. However, there is counter-argument that the improved income associated with women’s involvement in industrial crop production activities eventually increases their capacity to significantly contribute to household spending, decision making, and empowerment. Using a rich dataset from 416 farm households from Ashanti and Central regions of Ghana, we empirically quantify the effect of engagement in oil palm production activities on women’s empowerment. The extent of women’s empowerment is quantified using the scores in the five domains of empowerment (i.e. 5DE). The Propensity Score Matching technique is then employed to determine the impact of women’s involvement in the oil palm-related activities on their extent of empowerment. In this paper, we further identify and examine other potential determinants of women’s adequacy in the various indicators of empowerment as well as the overall extent of empowerment. While the study could not establish any significant impact of engagement in oil palm-related activities on women’s empowerment, the results clearly show that these activities contribute positively to empowerment. Also, we find that women with formal education, access to credit, formal training in agriculture or farming, and those engaged in off-farm income-generating activities tend to be more empowered irrespective of the community in which they find themselves. The paper offers suggestions on how women’s empowerment in rural or oil palm producing communities in Ghana could be enhanced.

Suggested Citation

  • Etuah, S. & Ohene-Yankyera, K. & Aidoo, R. & Haleegoah, J. & Wiggins, S. & Henley, G., 2020. "Impact of oil palm-related activities on women’s empowerment in Ghana," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wodepe:v:19:y:2020:i:c:s2452292920300473
    DOI: 10.1016/j.wdp.2020.100225
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452292920300473
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.wdp.2020.100225?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. A. Smith, Jeffrey & E. Todd, Petra, 2005. "Does matching overcome LaLonde's critique of nonexperimental estimators?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 125(1-2), pages 305-353.
    2. Sidhu, R.S. & Kaur, Inderpreet & Vatta, Kamal, 2008. "Food and Nutritional Insecurity and its Determinants in Food Surplus Areas: The Case Study of Punjab State," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 21(1).
    3. Bratton, Michael, 1986. "Farmer organizations and food production in Zimbabwe," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 367-384, March.
    4. Pinuccia Calia & Maria Rosaria Ferrante, 2008. "A Multivariate Framework To Explore Firms’ Internationalization Patterns. The Role Of Individual Heterogeneity," Statistica, Department of Statistics, University of Bologna, vol. 68(1), pages 31-55.
    5. Hazel Jean L. Malapit & Suneetha Kadiyala & Agnes R. Quisumbing & Kenda Cunningham & Parul Tyagi, 2015. "Women's Empowerment Mitigates the Negative Effects of Low Production Diversity on Maternal and Child Nutrition in Nepal," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(8), pages 1097-1123, August.
    6. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    7. Guido W. Imbens, 2015. "Matching Methods in Practice: Three Examples," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(2), pages 373-419.
    8. Jeffrey Smith, 2000. "A Critical Survey of Empirical Methods for Evaluating Active Labor Market Policies," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 136(III), pages 247-268, September.
    9. Akhter Ali & Awudu Abdulai, 2010. "The Adoption of Genetically Modified Cotton and Poverty Reduction in Pakistan," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 175-192, February.
    10. Malapit, Hazel J. & Sproule, Kathryn & Kovarik, Chiara & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Ramzan, Farzana & Hogue, Emily & Alkire, Sabina, 2014. "Measuring progress toward empowerment: Women's empowerment in agriculture index: Baseline report," IFPRI books, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), number OCLC 884924765.
    11. James Heckman, 1997. "Instrumental Variables: A Study of Implicit Behavioral Assumptions Used in Making Program Evaluations," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(3), pages 441-462.
    12. Lorenzo Cappellari & Stephen P. Jenkins, 2003. "Multivariate probit regression using simulated maximum likelihood," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 3(3), pages 278-294, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ruml, Anette & Chrisendo, Daniel & Osabuohien, Evans & Karakara, Alhassan & Iddrisu, Abdul Malik & Lay, Jann, 2021. "Smallholders in Agro-Industrial Production: Lessons from Rural Development at New Frontiers from a Comparative Analysis of Ghana’s and Indonesia’s Oil Palm Sectors," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315162, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Ruml, Anette & Chrisendo, Daniel & Iddrisu, Abdul Malik & Karakara, Alhassan A. & Nuryartono, Nunung & Osabuohien, Evans & Lay, Jann, 2022. "Smallholders in agro-industrial production: Lessons for rural development from a comparative analysis of Ghana’s and Indonesia’s oil palm sectors," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).

    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. Christian Volpe Martincus & Jerónimo Carballo, 2010. "Entering new country and product markets: does export promotion help?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 146(3), pages 437-467, September.
    2. Bruno Arpino & Arnstein Aassve, 2013. "Estimating the causal effect of fertility on economic wellbeing: data requirements, identifying assumptions and estimation methods," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 355-385, February.
    3. Idowu James Fasakin & Adebayo Isaiah Ogunniyi & Lateef Olalekan Bello & Djana Mignouna & Razack Adeoti & Zoumana Bamba & Tahirou Abdoulaye & Bola Amoke Awotide, 2022. "Impact of Intensive Youth Participation in Agriculture on Rural Households’ Revenue: Evidence from Rice Farming Households in Nigeria," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-17, April.
    4. Alexandra Peralta & Scott M. Swinton & Songqing Jin, 2018. "The Secret to Getting Ahead Is Getting Started: Early Impacts of a Rural Development Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-20, July.
    5. Ashimwe, Olive, 2016. "An Economic Analysis Of Impact Of Weather Index-Based Crop Insurance On Household Income In Huye District Of Rwanda," Research Theses 265675, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    6. Belay, Dagim G. & Jensen, Jørgen D., 2020. "‘The scarlet letters’: Information disclosure and self-regulation: Evidence from antibiotic use in Denmark," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    7. Marco Caliendo & Reinhard Hujer, 2006. "The microeconometric estimation of treatment effects—An overview," AStA Advances in Statistical Analysis, Springer;German Statistical Society, vol. 90(1), pages 199-215, March.
    8. Abebaw, Degnet & Fentie, Yibeltal & Kassa, Belay, 2010. "The impact of a food security program on household food consumption in Northwestern Ethiopia: A matching estimator approach," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 286-293, August.
    9. Jerzy Michalek & Pavel Ciaian & Jan Pokrivcak, 2018. "The impact of producer organisations on farm performance: A case study of large farms in Slovakia," JRC Research Reports JRC108059, Joint Research Centre.
    10. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    11. Dan Pan, 2014. "The Impact of Agricultural Extension on Farmer Nutrient Management Behavior in Chinese Rice Production: A Household-Level Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-22, September.
    12. Paudel, G. & Krishna, V. & McDonald, A., 2018. "Why some inferior technologies succeed? Examining the diffusion and impacts of rotavator tillage in Nepal Terai," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277149, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. repec:mpr:mprres:5702 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Eliasson, Kent, 2006. "How Robust is the Evidence on the Returns to College Choice? Results Using Swedish Administrative Data," Umeå Economic Studies 692, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    15. Jens Ruhose & Stephan L. Thomsen & Insa Weilage, 2018. "The Wider Benefits of Adult Learning: Work-Related Training and Social Capital," CESifo Working Paper Series 7268, CESifo.
    16. Johar, Meliyanni, 2009. "The impact of the Indonesian health card program: A matching estimator approach," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 35-53, January.
    17. Yigezu, Y.A. & El-Shater, T. & Boughlala, M. & Bishaw, Z. & Niane, A. & Aw-Hassan, A., 2018. "Is there an economic case for legume-cereal rotation? A Case of Faba-beans in the Moroccan Wheat Based Production Systems," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277523, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    18. Abebaw, Degnet & Haile, Mekbib G., 2013. "The impact of cooperatives on agricultural technology adoption: Empirical evidence from Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 82-91.
    19. Miguel Angel Malo & Fernando Muñoz-Bullón, 2006. "Employment promotion measures and the quality of the job match for persons with disabilities," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 179(4), pages 79-111, September.
    20. Wendimu, Mengistu Assefa & Henningsen, Arne & Gibbon, Peter, 2016. "Sugarcane Outgrowers in Ethiopia: “Forced” to Remain Poor?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 84-97.
    21. Wagener, Andreas & Zenker, Juliane, 2015. "Stochastic Transfers, Risky Investment and Incomes: Evidence from an Income Guarantee Program in Thailand," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-562, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.

    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:eee:wodepe:v:19:y:2020:i:c:s2452292920300473. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/world-development-perspectives .

    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.