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The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the effect of free senior high school on the quality of basic education in Ghana.

A convergent mixed method design as indicated in Sharma et al. (2023) is used in this work to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from documents available from the stakeholders of education. Quantitative data from already-existing reports with data on basic education are analysed to identify the effects of the FSHS on basic education in Ghana and ascertain the impact of the FSHS on the educational budget as well as the indicators of basic education in the country. This is followed by a qualitative data analysis of the reports to ascertain the gravity of the results in the quantitative data. The Ministry of Education in charge of education in the country and the Ministry of Finance in charge of resource distribution to various sectors of the country’s economy are the major institutions with relevant reports and data which assist in this research. Reports from organisations and institutions with a keen interest in education are also considered. The secondary data is therefore the source for this research using a document analysis.

The poor performance of learners is largely attributed to the inadequate resources for effective management of basic education. Government expenditure on education is managed by reducing the spending on basic education. Compensation which is the inevitable expenditure for basic education is the only expenditure the parliamentary committee could identify. This is clear evidence that goods and services at the basic education level are sacrificed to manage the government’s spendings on education.

This research is limited to Ghana, a Sub-Sahara African country which introduced a free senior high school policy. The research only looks at the effects of the policy on the quality of basic education.

Educational policymakers should ascertain the consequences of a policy on the economy before implementation. The devastating effect of educational policy on other educational policies should also be considered when bringing in a new policy. As policies leverage existing policies, new policies must not devour already existing policies which are still relevant. An educational policy at any level must consider the basic policies of education that enhance inclusivity and equity at the lower levels of education. This will help in maximizing the effective implementation of the policies. Through this, nations can promote life-long learning with inclusivity and equity in education.

This research work has never been published elsewhere.

Government incentives are critical for successful indigenous innovation commercialisation, yet there are concerns about the efficacy of these incentives. Therefore, this study examines the effectiveness of government incentives on successful indigenous innovation commercialisation in the context of low-income economies by testing the effects of demand and supply-side incentives on firm performance in the small-scale industry in Ghana.

The theoretical framework for this study is built on the below-the-radar theory of innovation (Kaplinsky et al., 2009). Using a sample of 557 firms engaged in commercialising various indigenous innovations in the small-scale industry in Ghana, PLS-SEM was deployed to assess 11 hypothesised paths based on a validated questionnaire.

The model results, at a 5% significance level, indicate that supply-side incentives are statistically insignificant on sales and profitability but have significant positive effects on employment. The direct and moderating influence of supply-side incentives and market factors on overall firm performance is also insignificant, while demand-side incentives to buyers have significant positive effects on all the performance metrics and positively moderate the effects of market factors.

The research focused on commercialising indigenous innovation in the context of low-income economies. Few studies, if any, have separately explored the effect of demand and supply-side government incentives on indigenous innovation in the context of low-income economies. The findings suggest that innovation support should focus more on the demand side of the innovation value chain.

South Africa’s textiles and clothing sector is positioned by the government to support economic growth and development. However, its expansion can increase carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions because of the high energy consumption and natural resource requirements. A proposed option to make the sector environmentally friendly is the adoption of renewable energy. This study aims to assess whether the CO₂ emissions effect of the textiles and clothing sector can be reduced by adopting renewable energy.

CO₂ emission function is formulated within the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology (STIRPAT) Model. Data for the analysis ranged from 1990 to 2022. Regression analysis is performed using the autoregressive distributed lag, fully modified ordinary least squares, canonical cointegrating regressions and dynamic ordinary least squares methods.

The textile and clothing sector positively affects CO₂ emissions. Although renewable energy consumption has a direct positive long-run effect, it reduces the effect of the textiles and clothing sector on CO₂ emissions.

The implications from the study include the formulation of policies that will hasten the adoption of renewable energy by the textiles and clothing sector for their activities.

This study contributes to the literature by assessing the carbon emissions effect of the textiles and clothing sector within the STIRPAT model. It also analyses the moderation effect of renewable energy on the textiles and clothing sector–carbon emissions nexus.