The objective of this study is to examine the impact of mobile money (m-money) adoption on some household outcomes such as farm output, welfare (consumption expenditure), and wealth (value of assets). Using primary data collected from three districts in Ghana, three Propensity Score Matching methods were employed to estimate the m-money adoption effect on the household outcomes. It is found that advertisements and higher than basic levels of education, among other variables, were important in influencing the adoption of m-money among smallholder farmers. The adoption of m-money was also seen to have an enhancing effect on the household outcome variables (farm output, welfare, and wealth) of smallholder farmers. The results suggest that mobile money can help enhance some of the smallholder economic outcomes that are relevant for rural development and poverty reduction. Policy options should consider expanding m-money services to smallholder farmers in rural areas.

Energy transition and the creation of sustainable jobs are major concerns towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7 and 13, particularly in emerging petroleum-producing economies such as Ghana. Our study examines Ghana’s sectorial employment vulnerability to the dynamics of energy transition. Employing a dynamic ARDL simulation model, we use quarterly data from 2011 to 2021 from Ghana’s Energy Commission, the Bank of Ghana, and the Public Interest and Accounting Committee. We find that transition scenarios increase industrial sector employment. Also, industrial sector employment changes more favorably under the 5% scenario than under the 1% scenario. Agriculture industry employment is positively impacted by the 1% energy transition scenarios but negatively impacted by the 5% scenarios. Up to the sixth year, both transition scenarios increase employment in the services sector; however, employment opportunities are more affected by the 1% scenario than by the 5% scenario. Therefore, developing a policy architecture that aids Ghana’s transition to renewable energy is essential.

We assessed the linkages between financial inclusion and consumption of renewable energy towards low carbon print in Africa by adopting the Arksey and O’Malley framework. We searched for peer-reviewed articles from JSTOR, Emerald Insight, Taylor and Francis, ScienceDirect, Springer, Elsevier and Sage databases. We used keywords and Boolean logic and our search covered the period from January 2000 to October 2023. We further screened related articles' reference lists. To retrieve other relevant documents on financial inclusion and renewable energy linkages towards neutral carbon in Africa, we searched through Z-library, Google Scholar, and web-based sites. Twelve studies that satisfied the inclusion measures were identified and further discussed. Of these studies, 7 supported the argument that financially included households consume renewable energy in Africa thus establishing a direct linkage. Five studies assessed the combined influence of financial inclusion and consumption of renewable energy on Africa’s low carbon emission and found that consumption of renewable energy serves as a conduit for financially included households to emit low carbon. Our study’s results add to the discourse on financial inclusion and renewable energy consumption at the household level and furnish a reference point for making decisions aimed at addressing measures to mitigate carbon emissions.

Despite the advocacy for climate change goals and encouragement for renewables, crude oil continues to dominate the energy markets. Crude oil price, however, is prone to global price fluctuations. Analyses of these effects on agricultural commodity markets in Ghana is neglected which this study seeks to answer. A nonlinear approach (NARDL) is employed in evaluating the effects of global oil price fluctuation on Ghana’s agricultural commodity market vulnerability, proxied by their producer prices. Different indicators are used since crude price fluctuations might have varying impacts on macroeconomic indicators in both magnitude and signs. Quarterly time series data are sourced from different institutions including data from the Bank of Ghana, FAO, and British Petroleum Statistical Review spanning from 1980: Q1 to 2019: Q4. Empirical results indicate that crude oil price fluctuations have different signs and magnitude for agricultural food commodities prices for both short- and long-runs. The findings of the study bring to bear how the agricultural activities in Ghana respond to variability in global crude oil prices. Policies mitigating changes in prices of animal products ought to be grounded on other issues instead of changes in crude oil prices. Also, programs such as “Planting for Food and Jobs” must be implemented in effectively. JEL Classification: Q02; C32; E31; H23