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Literacy, numeracy skills and free basic education in Ghana

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  • Egyir, John

Abstract

Literacy and numeracy unarguably are at the heart of human and economic development and, as a result, have received widespread attention in recent decades. Yet, there are still issues related to the effective strategies of creating such basic skills. In this paper, I show how a free compulsory universal basic education (FCUBE) policy in Ghana helped improve skills attainment. I employ a difference-in-differences strategy to assess the long-term causal impact of FCUBE using the Ghana Living Standard Survey 2012-2017. Overall, I find that FCUBE increased literacy and numeracy by 4.6 and 3.0 p.p respectively, but had a larger effect for urban and less disadvantaged students, thereby exacerbating inequality in skills attainment. Additionally, my results show that only the lower secondary education, and not primary education, was sufficient to guarantee skills attainment.

Suggested Citation

  • Egyir, John, 2026. "Literacy, numeracy skills and free basic education in Ghana," EconStor Preprints 341307, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:esprep:341307
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    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/341307/1/Education_policy_human_capital.pdf
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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