Education and Employment Outcomes in Ghana through the Lens of the Capability Approach

  • Adu Owusu Sarkodie University of Ghana
  • Samuel Agyei-Mensah University of Ghana
  • John K Anarfi University of Ghana
  • Thomas Antwi Bosiakoh University of Ghana
Keywords: Education, Employment, Capabilities, Conversion factors, Ghana

Abstract

Existing literature on education and employment confirms that in Ghana educational qualification largely influences the type of work. Through the lens of the Capability Approach, which sees human development in terms of the expansion of freedoms and opportunities, this paper identifies, for a cross-section of Ghanaians, the array of employment opportunities between and within education endowments. “Between endowments” refers to differentials in opportunities for individuals with different levels of educational qualifications, while “within endowments” considers the differentials for individuals with the same level of education. The source of data is the 2005/06 Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS5). Results show that education is not enough to erase inequalities. Multinomial regression analysis demonstrates that functionings differ according to the individual’s context, household and personal conversion factors. This is explained by inequalities in the requirements for a particular job (between educational endowments) and by job accessibility due to personal characteristics (within educational endowments).

Author Biographies

Adu Owusu Sarkodie, University of Ghana
Department of Economics
Samuel Agyei-Mensah, University of Ghana
Department of Geography and Resource Development
John K Anarfi, University of Ghana
Regional Institute of Population Studies
Thomas Antwi Bosiakoh, University of Ghana
Department of Sociology
Published
2014-09-02