IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/joecin/v22y2024i1d10.1007_s10888-023-09578-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Borrower discouragement and multidimensional child deprivation in Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Raymond Elikplim Kofinti

    (University of Cape Coast)

  • Isaac Koomson

    (The University of Queensland
    Network for Socioeconomic Research and Advancement (NESRA))

  • James Atta Peprah

    (University of Cape Coast)

Abstract

With increasing scholarly attention on child deprivation to understand its drivers and potential policies needed for its alleviation, the discouraged borrower syndrome has received little attention despite its potential role in stifling household resources needed to cater for the needs of children. Using the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey data, this study examines the effect of borrower discouragement on multidimensional child deprivation. Endogeneity associated with borrower discouragement is instrumented with the number of neighbours that are discouraged. We found that the share of children who are multidimensionally deprived in Ghana is 40.8 percent. Our endogeneity-corrected estimates show that borrower discouragement is associated with 4.0 percentage point increase in multidimensional child deprivation. This outcome is consistent across different quasi-experimental methods, and alternative cut-offs used in identifying the multidimensionally deprived child. The results also suggest that the effect of borrower discouragement on child deprivation is more pronounced among rural-located children (in general) and girls (in particular). We identify inability of non-farm business start-ups and reduction in household per-capita income as potential channels through which borrower discouragement affects multidimensional child deprivation.

Suggested Citation

  • Raymond Elikplim Kofinti & Isaac Koomson & James Atta Peprah, 2024. "Borrower discouragement and multidimensional child deprivation in Ghana," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 22(1), pages 49-67, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joecin:v:22:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10888-023-09578-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10888-023-09578-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10888-023-09578-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10888-023-09578-6?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. Arthur Lewbel, 2012. "Using Heteroscedasticity to Identify and Estimate Mismeasured and Endogenous Regressor Models," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 67-80.
    2. Edward Martey & Prince M. Etwire & Isaac Koomson, 2022. "Parental Time Poverty, Child Work and School Attendance in Ghana," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(4), pages 1489-1515, August.
    3. Frempong, Raymond Boadi & Orkoh, Emmanuel & Kofinti, Raymond Elikplim, 2021. "Household's use of cooking gas and Children's learning outcomes in rural Ghana," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    4. Jane Cooley Fruehwirth & Sriya Iyer & Anwen Zhang, 2019. "Religion and Depression in Adolescence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(3), pages 1178-1209.
    5. Beegle, Kathleen & De Weerdt, Joachim & Friedman, Jed & Gibson, John, 2012. "Methods of household consumption measurement through surveys: Experimental results from Tanzania," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 3-18.
    6. Djoumessi, Yannick F. & Kamdem, Cyrille B. & Afari-sefa, Victor & Bidogeza, Jean-Claude, 2018. "Determinants of Smallholder Vegetable Farmers Credit Access and Demand in Southwest region, Cameroon," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 38(2), pages 1231-1240.
    7. Chakravarty, Sugato & Xiang, Meifang, 2013. "The international evidence on discouraged small businesses," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 63-82.
    8. Torsten Persson & Guido Tabellini, 2009. "Democratic Capital: The Nexus of Political and Economic Change," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(2), pages 88-126, July.
    9. Takashi Oshio & Shinpei Sano & Miki Kobayashi, 2010. "Child Poverty as a Determinant of Life Outcomes: Evidence from Nationwide Surveys in Japan," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 99(1), pages 81-99, October.
    10. Alberto Alesina & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2011. "Segregation and the Quality of Government in a Cross Section of Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1872-1911, August.
    11. James H. Stock & Motohiro Yogo, 2002. "Testing for Weak Instruments in Linear IV Regression," NBER Technical Working Papers 0284, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Hossain, Mahbub & Asadullah, M. Niaz & Kambhampati, Uma, 2019. "Empowerment and life satisfaction: Evidence from Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 170-183.
    13. Caudill, Steven B, 1988. "An Advantage of the Linear Probability Model over Probit or Logit," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 50(4), pages 425-427, November.
    14. Marlous Milliano & Ilze Plavgo, 2018. "Analysing Multidimensional Child Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: Findings Using an International Comparative Approach," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(3), pages 805-833, June.
    15. Simon Pemberton & David Gordon & Shailen Nandy & Christina Pantazis & Peter Townsend, 2007. "Child Rights and Child Poverty: Can the International Framework of Children's Rights Be Used to Improve Child Survival Rates?," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(10), pages 1-4, October.
    16. Li Rui & Zhu Xi, 2010. "Econometric analysis of credit constraints of chinese rural households and welfare loss," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(13), pages 1615-1625.
    17. repec:uce:wpaper:1205 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Isaac Koomson & Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Musharavati Ephraim Munyanyi, 2022. "Gambling and Financial Stress," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 473-503, August.
    19. Mark Freel & Sara Carter & Stephen Tagg & Colin Mason, 2012. "The latent demand for bank debt: characterizing “discouraged borrowers”," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 399-418, May.
    20. Victor Afari-Sefa & Jean Claude Bidogeza & Yannick Djoumessi & Cyrille Kamdem, 2018. "Determinants of Smallholder Vegetable Farmers Credit Access and Demand in Southwest region, Cameroon," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 38(2), pages 1231-1240.
    21. Jana Lenze & Stephan Klasen, 2017. "Does Women’s Labor Force Participation Reduce Domestic Violence? Evidence from Jordan," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 1-29, January.
    22. Betz, Timm & Cook, Scott J. & Hollenbach, Florian M., 2018. "On the Use and Abuse of Spatial Instruments," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(4), pages 474-479, October.
    23. Koomson, Isaac & Danquah, Michael, 2021. "Financial inclusion and energy poverty: Empirical evidence from Ghana," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    24. Swamy, Vighneswara, 2014. "Financial Inclusion, Gender Dimension, and Economic Impact on Poor Households," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1-15.
    25. Sen, Amartya K, 1976. "Poverty: An Ordinal Approach to Measurement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 44(2), pages 219-231, March.
    26. Isaac Koomson & Renato A. Villano & David Hadley, 2020. "Effect of Financial Inclusion on Poverty and Vulnerability to Poverty: Evidence Using a Multidimensional Measure of Financial Inclusion," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 613-639, June.
    27. David Ansong & Moses Okumu & Frank Otchere & Isaac Koomson & Michael Sherraden, 2021. "Addressing the Burden of Education Financing in Low and Lower-Middle-Income Countries: The Role of Savings Accounts, Cash Transfers, and Other Income Sources," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 745-756, December.
    28. Koomson, Isaac & Bukari, Chei & Villano, Renato A, 2021. "Mobile money adoption and response to idiosyncratic shocks: Empirics from five selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    29. Frank Agyire-Tettey & Derek Asuman & Charles Godfred Ackah & Antoinette Tsiboe-Darko, 2021. "Multidimensional Child Poverty in Ghana: Measurements, Determinants, and Inequalities," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(3), pages 957-979, June.
    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. Kofinti, Raymond Elikplim & Koomson, Isaac & Paintsil, Jones Arkoh & Ameyaw, Edward Kwabena, 2022. "Reducing children's malnutrition by increasing mothers' health insurance coverage: A focus on stunting and underweight across 32 sub-Saharan African countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    2. Koomson, Isaac & Afoakwah, Clifford & Ampofo, Akwasi, 2022. "How does ethnic diversity affect energy poverty? Insights from South Africa," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    3. Koomson, Isaac & Zhang, Quanda & Prakash, Kushneel, 2024. "Entrepreneurship and subjective wellbeing in China: Exploring linkages and potential channels," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    4. Koomson, Isaac & Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa, 2022. "Employment precarity and energy poverty in post-apartheid South Africa: Exploring the racial and ethnic dimensions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    5. Isaac Koomson & Raymond Elikplim Kofinti & Esther Laryea, 2024. "Financial inclusion and multidimensional child poverty," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 237-260, March.
    6. Dogan, Eyup & Madaleno, Mara & Taskin, Dilvin, 2021. "Which households are more energy vulnerable? Energy poverty and financial inclusion in Turkey," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. Raymond Elikplim Kofinti & Isaac Koomson & Josephine Baako-Amponsah, 2024. "Can health financing programmes reduce food insecurity in a developing country?," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 595-621, December.
    8. Isaac Koomson & Simplice A. Asongu & Alex O. Acheampong, 2023. "Financial inclusion and food insecurity: Examining linkages and potential pathways," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 418-444, January.
    9. Koomson, Isaac & Danquah, Michael, 2021. "Financial inclusion and energy poverty: Empirical evidence from Ghana," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    10. Martey, Edward, 2022. "Empirical analysis of crop diversification and energy poverty in Ghana," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    11. Sen, Kanchan Kumar & Karmaker, Shamal Chandra & Hosan, Shahadat & Chapman, Andrew J. & Uddin, Md Kamal & Saha, Bidyut Baran, 2023. "Energy poverty alleviation through financial inclusion: Role of gender in Bangladesh," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    12. Opoku Adabor & Enock Kojo Ayesu, 2024. "Ethnic heterogeneity and healthcare utilization: The mediating role of poverty in Ghana," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1655-1682, December.
    13. Bukari, Chei & Broermann, Shanaz & Okai, Davidson, 2021. "Energy poverty and health expenditure: Evidence from Ghana," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    14. Fry, Jane M. & Farrell, Lisa & Temple, Jeromey B., 2022. "Energy poverty and retirement income sources in Australia," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    15. Opoku Adabor, 2025. "Empirical analysis of child labour, household poverty, and child health in Ghana," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(1), pages 29-60, January.
    16. Raymond Elikplim Kofinti & Emmanuel Orkoh & Raymond Boadi Frempong & Samuel Kobina Annim, 2023. "Firms' digital investment and resilience to shocks: Evidence from the COVID‐19 pandemic in Ghana," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 2157-2176, October.
    17. Isaac Koomson & Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Musharavati Ephraim Munyanyi, 2022. "Gambling and Financial Stress," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 473-503, August.
    18. Ntsiful, Enoch & Dramani, John Bosco & Adusah-Poku, Frank & Frimpong, Prince Boakye, 2024. "Effect of electricity access on the value of women’s labour and time in Ghana," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    19. Chei Bukari & Isaac Koomson & Samuel Kobina Annim, 2024. "Financial inclusion, vulnerability coping strategies and multidimensional poverty: Does conceptualisation of financial inclusion matter?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 462-498, May.
    20. Raymond Elikplim Kofinti & Josephine Baako-Amponsah & Prince Danso, 2023. "Household National Health Insurance Subscription and Learning Outcomes of Poor Children in Ghana," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(1), pages 357-394, February.

    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:spr:joecin:v:22:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10888-023-09578-6. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.