IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/101551.html

The Effect of Government Expenditure and Free Maternal Health Care Policy on Household Consumption in Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Fosu, Prince

Abstract

In Covid-19 pandemic era when most households’ members have lost their jobs and incomes, the government assistance and programs in ensuring consumption smoothing is imperative. The main objectives of this study are to analyze the impact of government expenditure and free maternal healthcare policy on household consumption expenditure in Ghana using the ARDL estimation technique and historical data from 1967 to 2018. The results revealed that government expenditure and free maternal healthcare policy had a negative and statistically significant effect of on household consumption expenditure in Ghana in both long run and short run. The result suggests that government expenditure and free maternal healthcare policy crowed-out private consumption in Ghana. In addition, the marginal propensity to consume in the long run is 0.690 while the marginal propensity to consume in the short run is 0.214 suggesting that real income have much higher effect on household consumption in the long run than in the short run. The study suggests the need to increase public spending on basic social amenities and also extend the free maternal healthcare policy to all pregnant women especially those in the rural areas of Ghana as these have a greater impact on household consumption in Ghana. The findings from the study have important implications for household savings and interest rate in Ghana.

Suggested Citation

  • Fosu, Prince, 2020. "The Effect of Government Expenditure and Free Maternal Health Care Policy on Household Consumption in Ghana," MPRA Paper 101551, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:101551
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/101551/1/MPRA_paper_101551.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philip Ayizem Dalinjong & Alex Y Wang & Caroline S E Homer, 2018. "Has the free maternal health policy eliminated out of pocket payments for maternal health services? Views of women, health providers and insurance managers in Northern Ghana," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, February.
    2. Linnemann, Ludger & Schabert, Andreas, 2004. "Can fiscal spending stimulate private consumption?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 173-179, February.
    3. Belloumi, Mounir, 2014. "The relationship between trade, FDI and economic growth in Tunisia: An application of the autoregressive distributed lag model," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 269-287.
    4. Stephen J. Turnovsky, 2000. "Methods of Macroeconomic Dynamics, 2nd Edition," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262201232, December.
    5. M. Hashem Pesaran & Yongcheol Shin & Richard J. Smith, 2001. "Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(3), pages 289-326.
    6. Odhiambo, Nicholas M., 2009. "Energy consumption and economic growth nexus in Tanzania: An ARDL bounds testing approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 617-622, February.
    7. Adams, Richard H., Jr. & Cuecuecha, Alfredo & Page, John, 2008. "The impact of remittances on poverty and inequality in Ghana," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4732, The World Bank.
    8. Baxter, Marianne & King, Robert G, 1993. "Fiscal Policy in General Equilibrium," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(3), pages 315-334, June.
    9. Fosu, Prince, 2016. "Infrastructure and Foreign Direct Investment Inflows: Evidence from Ghana," MPRA Paper 100375, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 13 May 2020.
    10. Eric Arthur, 2012. "Wealth and antenatal care use: implications for maternal health care utilisation in Ghana," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-8, December.
    11. Ramey, Valerie A. & Shapiro, Matthew D., 1998. "Costly capital reallocation and the effects of government spending," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 145-194, June.
    12. Christiana Osei Bonsu & Paul-Francois Muzindutsi, 2017. "Macroeconomic Determinants of Household Consumption Expenditure in Ghana: A Multivariate Cointegration Approach," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 7(4), pages 737-745.
    13. Karamba, Wendy R. & Quiñones, Esteban J. & Winters, Paul, 2011. "Migration and food consumption patterns in Ghana," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 41-53, February.
    14. Olivier Blanchard & Roberto Perotti, 2002. "An Empirical Characterization of the Dynamic Effects of Changes in Government Spending and Taxes on Output," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(4), pages 1329-1368.
    15. Mahmud, Mir Nahid & Ahmed, Mansur, 2012. "Government Expenditure and Household Consumption in Bangladesh through the Lens of Economic Theories: An Empirical Assessment," MPRA Paper 36016, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Frank Smets & Raf Wouters, 2003. "An Estimated Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Model of the Euro Area," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(5), pages 1123-1175, September.
    17. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2005-039 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. Hauptmeier, Sebastian & Cimadomo, Jacopo & Kirchner, Markus, 2010. "Transmission of government spending shocks in the euro area: Time variation and driving forces," Working Paper Series 1219, European Central Bank.
    2. Kuehn, S. & van Veen, A.P. & Muysken, J., 2009. "The adverse effects of government spending on private consumption in new Keynesian models," Research Memorandum 004, Maastricht University, Maastricht Research School of Economics of Technology and Organization (METEOR).
    3. Vitor Carvalho & Manuel M. F. Martins, 2011. "Investment and output effects of fiscal consolidations in a new-Keynesian DSGE model for the Euro Area: composition matters?," EcoMod2011 3246, EcoMod.
    4. Shafik Hebous, 2011. "The Effects Of Discretionary Fiscal Policy On Macroeconomic Aggregates: A Reappraisal," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 674-707, September.
    5. repec:fgv:epgrbe:v:67:n:2:a:2 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Quaghebeur, Ewoud, 2019. "Learning And The Size Of The Government Spending Multiplier," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(8), pages 3189-3224, December.
    7. Rilind Kabashi, 2017. "Macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy in the European Union, with particular reference to transition countries," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 41(1), pages 39-69.
    8. Carvalho, Diogo Baerlocher & Silva, Marcelo Eduardo Alves da & Silva, Igor Ézio Maciel, 2013. "Efeitos dos choques fiscais sobre o mercado de trabalho brasileiro," Revista Brasileira de Economia - RBE, EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance - FGV EPGE (Brazil), vol. 67(2), June.
    9. Paweł Baranowski & Piotr Krajewski & Michał Mackiewicz & Agata Szymańska, 2016. "The Effectiveness of Fiscal Policy Over the Business Cycle: A CEE Perspective," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(8), pages 1910-1921, August.
    10. Hafedh Bouakez & Nooman Rebei, 2007. "Why does private consumption rise after a government spending shock?," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 40(3), pages 954-979, August.
    11. Piotr Krajewski, 2017. "Regionalne zróżnicowanie oddziaływania wydatków rządowych na zatrudnienie – wnioski z analizy SVAR," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 48(1), pages 73-96.
    12. Stefan Kühn & Joan Muysken & Tom Van Veen, 2010. "The Adverse Effect Of Government Spending On Private Consumption In New Keynesian Models," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 621-639, November.
    13. Ana Mitreska & Sultanija Bojcheva – Terzijan, 2017. "Panel Estimation of the Impact of Foreign Banks Presence on Selected Banking Indicators in Macedonia," Working Papers 2017-04, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia.
    14. Olivier Marie, 2016. "Police and thieves in the stadium: measuring the (multiple) effects of football matches on crime," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 179(1), pages 273-292, January.
    15. Linnemann, Ludger, 2009. "Macroeconomic effects of shocks to public employment," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 252-267, June.
    16. Eric Leeper & Todd B. Walker & Susan Shu-Chun Yang, 2009. "Government Investment And Fiscal Stimulus In The Short And Long Runs," CAEPR Working Papers 2009-011, Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research, Department of Economics, Indiana University Bloomington.
    17. Francisco de Castro, 2006. "The macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy in Spain," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(8), pages 913-924.
    18. Jordi Galí & J. David López-Salido & Javier Vallés, 2007. "Understanding the Effects of Government Spending on Consumption," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 5(1), pages 227-270, March.
    19. Bouakez, Hafedh & Chihi, Foued & Normandin, Michel, 2014. "Measuring the effects of fiscal policy," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 123-151.
    20. Eric M. Leeper & Nora Traum & Todd B. Walker, 2017. "Clearing Up the Fiscal Multiplier Morass," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(8), pages 2409-2454, August.
    21. Konstantinou, Panagiotis Th. & Partheniou, Andromachi, 2021. "The Effects of Government Spending Over the Business Cycle: A Disaggregated Analysis for OECD and Non-OECD Countries," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 809-822.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • E0 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General
    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:pra:mprapa:101551. 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: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    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.