Stephen Amponsah, Zangina Isshaq and Daniel Agyapong
The purpose of this study is to examine tax stamp evasion at Twifu Atti-Morkwa and Hemang Lower Denkyira districts in the central region of Ghana.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine tax stamp evasion at Twifu Atti-Morkwa and Hemang Lower Denkyira districts in the central region of Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey design was adopted to sample 305 micro-taxpayers through the use of multi-stage sampling technique. Primary data were collected from the micro-taxpayers using structured interview. Binary and multinomial logit regression models were used to regress the tax stamp evasion on economic and non-economic factors.
Findings
The study found that the likelihood of micro taxpayers to evade tax stamp is predicted by age, application of sanctions, guilt feeling, transportation cost to tax office and rate of tax audit. Thus, the study found partial support for expected utility, planned behaviour and attributory theories in explaining tax evasion behaviour of micro-taxpayers.
Practical/implication
There are several measures of addressing tax evasion behaviour of micro taxpayers. Evasion behaviour can be deterred by enforcement strategies such as application of sanctions and regular tax audit, establishment of more tax offices in the districts and writing normative messages on the faces of tax stamp stickers.
Originality/value
This study helps explains the tax evasion behaviour of micro-taxpayers of a developing economy like Ghana using a special type of tax design meant to capture such taxpayers in the tax bracket. To the best of our knowledge, the study is unique in terms of the means of measuring tax evasion and the methodologies used.
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Godfred A. Bokpin, Zangina Isshaq and Eunice Stella Nyarko
The study aims to seeks to ascertain the impact of corporate disclosure on foreign equity ownership. Corporate disclosures are important to for stock markets because it is an…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to seeks to ascertain the impact of corporate disclosure on foreign equity ownership. Corporate disclosures are important to for stock markets because it is an activity that mitigates information differences between company insiders and outsiders.
Design/methodology/approach
Corporate disclosures assume an even greater important when company outsiders are not domiciled in the same country as the company and the company insiders. In this study, the relation between foreign share ownership and corporate disclosures using data on Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria is examined.
Findings
The consistent results in this study are that foreign share ownership is positively related to firm size. A negative relation, however, between foreign share ownership and corporate disclosure is found, but this turns out to be related to disclosures about ownership, while disclosures on financial reporting and board management have a positive and insignificant statistical relation taking into account unobserved country, time and firm effects. Further analysis shows that corporate disclosures are very persistent and negatively related to lag foreign share ownership. No consistent statistical relation is found between disclosure and market-to-book values as a proxy for investment opportunities. It is recommended to African-listed firms to pursue adoption of high-quality financial reporting standards and to increase their reporting on board management. The study also recommends that the African Government weighs the benefits of detailed ownership disclosures.
Originality/value
The study utilises frontier market data to complement existing literature on how corporate disclosure and transparency influences foreign investors decision to invest in Africa.
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Zangina Isshaq and Godfred Alufar Bokpin
The purpose of this paper is to examine corporate liquidity management of companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) with the aim of ascertaining the determinants of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine corporate liquidity management of companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) with the aim of ascertaining the determinants of corporate liquidity holdings.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts a dynamic panel model where a lagged dependable variable is introduced as an explanatory variable. Annual data from the annual reports and financial statements of the firms together with the GSE Factbook are used in the gathering of data spanning 1991‐2007. The Arrellano‐Bond estimator is used which incorporates the Sargan test for over identification.
Findings
Leverage is found to be not significant to Ghanaian‐listed firms' liquidity demand perhaps due to the developmental stage of the financial market. However, liquidity is found to be statistically significantly influenced by a target liquidity level, size of the firm, return on assets and net working capital.
Originality/value
This is the first of its kind in the country despite the numerous studies carried out on the GSE.
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Godfred A. Bokpin, Zangina Isshaq and Francis Aboagye‐Otchere
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of ownership structure and corporate governance on corporate liquidity policy from a developing country perspective, Ghana Stock…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of ownership structure and corporate governance on corporate liquidity policy from a developing country perspective, Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt multiple regression analysis in estimating the relationship between ownership structure, corporate governance and corporate liquidity policy as well as the impact of corporate governance on insider ownership.
Findings
The authors find that foreign share ownership significantly predicts corporate cash holding on the GSE. The empirical result also portrays positive and statistically significant relationship between board size, financial leverage, firm size, profitability and corporate liquidity holding, and a negative and statistically significant relationship between board composition and corporate liquidity holding. The authors also document positive and statistically significant relationship between the various industry classifications namely manufacturing, distribution and the pharmaceutical industry and corporate cash holdings on the GSE but did not however find significant relationship between corporate governance and insider ownership on the GSE. The authors found positive relationship between Tobin's Q and inside ownership.
Originality/value
The main value of this paper is to analyze the relationship between ownership structure, corporate governance and corporate liquid policy from a developing country perspective.
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Zangina Isshaq, Godfred A. Bokpin and Benjamin Amoah
Purpose – This paper examines the interaction of efficiency and bank risk taking in the Ghanaian banking industry.Design/methodology/approach – We relate risk taking to price…
Abstract
Purpose – This paper examines the interaction of efficiency and bank risk taking in the Ghanaian banking industry.
Design/methodology/approach – We relate risk taking to price competitiveness, foreign ownership and cost efficiency and other control variables. Cost-inefficiency scores from a stochastic frontier model are used, and a Lerner price index is employed to proxy for market power.
Findings – Our results suggest that market power affects risk taking when conditioned on foreign ownership, but foreign bank risk-taking behaviour is not statistically different from local banks. Cost inefficiency diminishes bank soundness. We also find that industry concentration discourages greater risk taking.
Originality/value – Our study extends the views on risk taking and competition among banks in Ghana, which throws more light from an emerging economy perspective.
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Godfred A. Bokpin and Zangina Isshaq
The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction between corporate disclosure and foreign share ownership on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction between corporate disclosure and foreign share ownership on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper follows the trinary procedure of Aksu and Kosedag and uses the Standard & Poor's transparency and disclosure items in the construction of the disclosure index. Therefore, the paper adopts a panel data analysis covering a period from 2002 to 2007 using the seemingly unrelated regression approach.
Findings
The results indicate a statistically significant interaction between corporate disclosures and foreign share ownership among the sample firms. The market value of equity and market‐to‐book value ratio is documented; free cash flow and financial leverage have statistically significant relationships with foreign share ownership.
Originality/value
This is the first of its kind in the country that considers the impact of corporate governance and disclosure on foreign share ownership despite the numerous studies carried out on the GSE.
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Zangina Isshaq, Godfred A. Bokpin and Joseph Mensah Onumah
The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction between corporate governance, ownership structure, cash holdings, and firm value on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction between corporate governance, ownership structure, cash holdings, and firm value on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple regression approach using the seemingly unrelated regression to mitigate the problems of multicollinearity between the cash‐holding variable and other control variables is adopted.
Findings
Board size is found to be positively and statistically significantly related to share price among the corporate governance variables. However, a significant relationship between inside ownership and share price is not found. The results also indicate that additional units of cash holdings do not have a statistically significant influence on share price. Finally, leverage and income volatility are found to be significant determinants of share price.
Originality/value
This is the first of its kind in the country that considers the impact of corporate governance, ownership structure, and firm value on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).