THE LOCATIONAL AND GENDERED IMPACTS OF LIVELIHOOD EMPOWERMENT AGAINST POVERTY (LEAP) ON CHILDREN EDUCATION IN GHANA

Abstract

Purpose – This study seeks to identify locational and gendered determinants of inclusion of households in Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) and estimate the respective impacts of LEAP on children education enrolment of beneficiary households in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – The study used secondary data of the Ghana Living Standard Survey Round 7 and employed the propensity score matching (PSM) model for the analysis of the objectives. Findings – The PSM results established that different factors determine the inclusion of households in LEAP in rural and urban areas. Similarly, different factors determine the inclusion ofmale-headed and female-headed households in the programme.The impact ofLEAP on children education is higher in urban areas compared to rural areas.The impact of LEAP on children’s education is 10.4% higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Lastly, female-headed households are better at using the cash received from LEAP to take care of their wards’ education relative to male-headed households. Practical implications – The study recommends that different selection criteria should be used in selecting male-headed and female-headed as well as urban and rural poor households for inclusion in the LEAP programme. Female-headed households should be prioritised for benefiting from LEAP. The social welfare department disbursing the LEAP funds in rural areas should intensify education on the need for LEAP beneficiary households to enrol their wards in schools. Originality/value – In this paper, the authors demonstrate that household inclusiveness of LEAP is influenced by locational and gendered factors. Also, the impact of LEAP on children education enrolment is relatively higher in urban areas than rural areas. Lastly, female-headed households relatively educate their wards with LEAP benefits than male-headed households