Ishmael Wireko - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ishmael Wireko
Mineral exploitation contributes significantly to economic growth and development in most world e... more Mineral exploitation contributes significantly to economic growth and development in most world economies. In Africa, Ghana is the second largest gold producer, contributing to about 5.7% of the country’s GDP. The mining sector in Ghana consists of both small-scale and large-scale mining, each of which has varying environmental impacts. This paper provides an exposition on the environmental impacts of mining activities in Ghana. The paper mainly focused on the mining activities in Prestea in the western region of the country. The data collection involved both primary and secondary sources. These included research tools such as review of relevant literature including policies and legal documents, participant observation, in-depth interviews with mining communities and government officials, environmental assessments of various mining sites in the study area. The findings from the study showed that mining activities, especially that resulting from illegal small-scale mining (popularly ...
1. Abstract The discourse over factors that shape policy change and development in Africa ha... more 1. Abstract The discourse over factors that shape policy change and development in Africa has been far advanced. However, not much concentration has been given to the role of ideas and culture. This paper theorise about health policy change and development in Africa, with a particular focus on the role of ideas and culture. It argues that culture and ideas play a critical role in contemporary health policy development and healthcare delivery programs in Africa. In particular, they shape public worldview, understanding, attitude and acceptability of modern healthcare programs. Hence, they can explain the relatively low patronage of modern healthcare programs in Africa. The objective of the study is to provide answers to whether ideas and culture do influence health policy change in Africa? Why healthcare patronage in Africa is low? How do ideational and cultural dynamics in Africa influence healthcare patronage in Africa? What are the positive externalities of ideas and culture...
Health Policy and Planning, 2020
Contributing to the ongoing debate about policy feedback in comparative public policy research, t... more Contributing to the ongoing debate about policy feedback in comparative public policy research, this article examines the evolution of healthcare financing policy in Ghana. More specifically, this article investigates the shift in healthcare financing from full cost recovery, known as ‘cash-and-carry’, to a nation-wide public health insurance policy called the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). It argues that unintended, self-undermining feedback effects from the existing health policy constrained the menu of options available to reformers, while simultaneously opening a window of opportunity for transformative policy change. The study advances the current public policy scholarship by showing how the interaction between policy feedbacks and other factors—particularly ideas and electoral pressures—can bring about path-departing policy change. Given the dearth of scholarship on self-undermining policy feedback effects in the Global South, this contribution’s originality lies in ...
International Journal of Social Welfare, 2017
Much has been written about the impact of transnational actors on health and social policy. In th... more Much has been written about the impact of transnational actors on health and social policy. In this article, we show how some international organizations’ efforts to prevent Ghana from enacting a social health insurance program in 2003 failed. We then explain why the Ghanaian government ignored these organizations’ advice and even excluded them from the policy formulation process altogether. Finally, we explore these organizations’ logic as they came to accept and even promote the new Ghanaian policy internationally. As argued, a temporal perspective on the impact of transnational actors and the way their prescriptions change over time is necessary if one is to capture transnational policy influence and its limitations. A temporal perspective is also important in explaining the logic of accommodation on the part of these actors, since this only becomes apparent over time. This is precisely why our qualitative analysis traces both domestic policy development and the changing nature o...
Resources Policy, 2016
For the past decades, the strong performance of the mining industry has been largely attributed t... more For the past decades, the strong performance of the mining industry has been largely attributed to the surging mineral prices. To assess this claim, this paper examines the performance of the mining sector in Ghana over the past 40 years. It basically, provides a historical context of the dynamics and forces driving the strong performance of the mining industry with specific focus on gold mining. Using revenue as the performance metric, we decompose the growth in gold mining revenue into three components: the pure price, pure output (production) and the correlation effects. The analysis shows that although surging gold prices have certainly played a role in driving the strong performance of the sector, even more important a factor is the strong correlation between price and output. Over 70% of the growth in mining revenue resulted from the strong and positive correlation between output and price growth. In addition, given the strong demand for gold at the international market, particularly, from China, the study identifies a combination of complementary forces such as policies, investment flows and improvement in technology as underlying and driving this strong correlation effect. On this basis, the paper recommends that the government should continue to implement policies that promote a good business environment, and attract and sustain investment flow into the mining sector.
European J. of International Management, 2013
As Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries continue to search for ways to improve access to governmen... more As Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries continue to search for ways to improve access to government-provided healthcare services, it is imperative that they consider the role of cultural ideas when dealing with accessibility issues. As argued in this paper, the weight of indigenous cultural ideas is a major challenge as far as healthcare accessibility is concerned. The paper identifies China as a country that has achieved successes at integrating traditional medicine to improve access to modern healthcare. Hence, as claimed, SSA countries should draw lessons from the experience of China in integrating their traditional and allopathic medical systems.
Permission to Use In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Postg... more Permission to Use In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis.
Mineral exploitation contributes significantly to economic growth and development in most world e... more Mineral exploitation contributes significantly to economic growth and development in most world economies. In Africa, Ghana is the second largest gold producer, contributing to about 5.7% of the country’s GDP. The mining sector in Ghana consists of both small-scale and large-scale mining, each of which has varying environmental impacts. This paper provides an exposition on the environmental impacts of mining activities in Ghana. The paper mainly focused on the mining activities in Prestea in the western region of the country. The data collection involved both primary and secondary sources. These included research tools such as review of relevant literature including policies and legal documents, participant observation, in-depth interviews with mining communities and government officials, environmental assessments of various mining sites in the study area. The findings from the study showed that mining activities, especially that resulting from illegal small-scale mining (popularly ...
1. Abstract The discourse over factors that shape policy change and development in Africa ha... more 1. Abstract The discourse over factors that shape policy change and development in Africa has been far advanced. However, not much concentration has been given to the role of ideas and culture. This paper theorise about health policy change and development in Africa, with a particular focus on the role of ideas and culture. It argues that culture and ideas play a critical role in contemporary health policy development and healthcare delivery programs in Africa. In particular, they shape public worldview, understanding, attitude and acceptability of modern healthcare programs. Hence, they can explain the relatively low patronage of modern healthcare programs in Africa. The objective of the study is to provide answers to whether ideas and culture do influence health policy change in Africa? Why healthcare patronage in Africa is low? How do ideational and cultural dynamics in Africa influence healthcare patronage in Africa? What are the positive externalities of ideas and culture...
Health Policy and Planning, 2020
Contributing to the ongoing debate about policy feedback in comparative public policy research, t... more Contributing to the ongoing debate about policy feedback in comparative public policy research, this article examines the evolution of healthcare financing policy in Ghana. More specifically, this article investigates the shift in healthcare financing from full cost recovery, known as ‘cash-and-carry’, to a nation-wide public health insurance policy called the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). It argues that unintended, self-undermining feedback effects from the existing health policy constrained the menu of options available to reformers, while simultaneously opening a window of opportunity for transformative policy change. The study advances the current public policy scholarship by showing how the interaction between policy feedbacks and other factors—particularly ideas and electoral pressures—can bring about path-departing policy change. Given the dearth of scholarship on self-undermining policy feedback effects in the Global South, this contribution’s originality lies in ...
International Journal of Social Welfare, 2017
Much has been written about the impact of transnational actors on health and social policy. In th... more Much has been written about the impact of transnational actors on health and social policy. In this article, we show how some international organizations’ efforts to prevent Ghana from enacting a social health insurance program in 2003 failed. We then explain why the Ghanaian government ignored these organizations’ advice and even excluded them from the policy formulation process altogether. Finally, we explore these organizations’ logic as they came to accept and even promote the new Ghanaian policy internationally. As argued, a temporal perspective on the impact of transnational actors and the way their prescriptions change over time is necessary if one is to capture transnational policy influence and its limitations. A temporal perspective is also important in explaining the logic of accommodation on the part of these actors, since this only becomes apparent over time. This is precisely why our qualitative analysis traces both domestic policy development and the changing nature o...
Resources Policy, 2016
For the past decades, the strong performance of the mining industry has been largely attributed t... more For the past decades, the strong performance of the mining industry has been largely attributed to the surging mineral prices. To assess this claim, this paper examines the performance of the mining sector in Ghana over the past 40 years. It basically, provides a historical context of the dynamics and forces driving the strong performance of the mining industry with specific focus on gold mining. Using revenue as the performance metric, we decompose the growth in gold mining revenue into three components: the pure price, pure output (production) and the correlation effects. The analysis shows that although surging gold prices have certainly played a role in driving the strong performance of the sector, even more important a factor is the strong correlation between price and output. Over 70% of the growth in mining revenue resulted from the strong and positive correlation between output and price growth. In addition, given the strong demand for gold at the international market, particularly, from China, the study identifies a combination of complementary forces such as policies, investment flows and improvement in technology as underlying and driving this strong correlation effect. On this basis, the paper recommends that the government should continue to implement policies that promote a good business environment, and attract and sustain investment flow into the mining sector.
European J. of International Management, 2013
As Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries continue to search for ways to improve access to governmen... more As Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries continue to search for ways to improve access to government-provided healthcare services, it is imperative that they consider the role of cultural ideas when dealing with accessibility issues. As argued in this paper, the weight of indigenous cultural ideas is a major challenge as far as healthcare accessibility is concerned. The paper identifies China as a country that has achieved successes at integrating traditional medicine to improve access to modern healthcare. Hence, as claimed, SSA countries should draw lessons from the experience of China in integrating their traditional and allopathic medical systems.
Permission to Use In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Postg... more Permission to Use In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis.