Emmanuel Adu Boahen, Jacob Nunoo and Kwadwo Opoku
The objective of this paper is to examine the effect of spending one extra year in high school on early marriage and childbirth.
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to examine the effect of spending one extra year in high school on early marriage and childbirth.
Design/methodology/approach
The study takes advantage of the education reform in 2007 that extended the years of high school education by one to conduct a quasi experiment. The marriage and fertility outcomes of women who completed a four-year senior high school education are compared to those who completed a three-year senior high school education.
Findings
The findings from the study indicate that the one-year extension in high school education led to a 4.75 percentage point reduction in the probability of ever marrying by age 27 and a 6.7 percentage point reduction in the probability of ever given birth. The authors demonstrate that the extension of the duration of high school education by one year has a heterogeneous effect, as it reduced the fertility and marriage outcomes of rural girls more than urban girls. The study reveals opportunity costs and confinement effects as possible mechanisms through which the policy affected early marriage and birth.
Originality/value
This study is one of the few studies that examine the impact of the duration of secondary school education on fertility and marriage. For Africa in particular, there is no such study. Thus, this study provides a unique contribution to the literature since available studies on this subject matter can only be found in advanced economies. Unlike other studies in Africa that use a design that provides the combined effect of duration of schooling and school enrolment on fertility and marriage, this design enables the authors to only look at the effect of duration of schooling on fertility and marriage.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2023-0323
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Kwadwo Opoku, George Domfe and Emmanuel Adu Boahen
The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of labour force participation and the factors affecting labour supply among older persons in Ghana. Both the extensive and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of labour force participation and the factors affecting labour supply among older persons in Ghana. Both the extensive and intensive margins of older persons’ labour supply were analysed.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses nationally representative samples of household and individual data in 2016–2017 – Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 7) data – for the analysis. Heckman’s sample selection model is used to analyse both the extensive and intensive margins of older persons’ labour supply.
Findings
The study found that older persons in Ghana who are pensioners, widowed, have high levels of education, poor health status and live in urban areas are less likely to participate actively in the labour market. On the other hand, being head of a household, married and owning certain assets increase the likelihood of an older person to work. Furthermore, pensions, household headship and post-secondary education have negative effects on the labour supply as having them make older persons work fewer hours per week compared to their counterparts.
Originality/value
This research is the first study to examine the prevalence of old age employment and factors that affect labour market decisions of older persons in Ghana. It also adds to the limited literature on pension and retirement decisions in developing countries.
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Giuseppe Modarelli, Christian Rainero and Stefano Amelio
The purpose of this study is to provide a bidimensional perspective to study the role that diversity and occupation play in corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide a bidimensional perspective to study the role that diversity and occupation play in corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Design/methodology/approach
Five big American companies were selected from a ranking carried out by a globally recognised website for finding flexible and inclusive jobs (www.flexjob.com). After a gap evaluation, content analysis and click analysis were carried out on the institutional websites.
Findings
This analysis provides insight into best practices for inducing employees to select inclusive and non-toxic working environments.
Research limitations/implications
Owing to its original application of game-based inclusiveness, the limited cases and exploratory research approach should be considered as limits of the study.
Practical implications
The research illustrates the internal relevance of sustainability and diversity, creating best practices for bidimensional CSR by matching the offer of and demand for social-inclusive recruitment and employment.
Originality/value
In pursuit of Sustainable Development Goal No.10, regarding reduction of inequalities, games as an inclusive practice could be used to avoid toxic work environments and promote well-being in the workplace.