In Ghana, more than 5,000 people are killed by tobacco-caused diseases every year (Tobacco Atlas, 2018). Currently, the country’s tax administration approach is unitary with a uniform ad valorem tax structure on all excisable products including tobacco. However, the ECOWAS directive on tobacco control in line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), recommends a simple tax structure using a mixed excise system with a minimum specific tax floor, to overcome the large limitations of the ad valorem system on tobacco products especially cigarettes.

An international consortium, with ISSER as a Ghana-based Principal Investigator, partnered with staff from the University of Bonn and a US-based NGO, Eparque Urban Strategies, LLC, to undertake this project aimed at equipping smaller cities (Agona Swedru and Cape Coast) to boost their economies and help reinvigorate employment and related improved socio-economic status for residents. In this project, both cities chose areas of interest to them. Cape Coast chose tourism while Agona Swedru and its environs chose agro-processing. East Mamprusi Municipality was introduced as a “learning city”.

ReFinD is a sub-grants-awarding research initiative that aims to support interventions that will effectively expand the reach and efficiency of agent network operations through public policy and commercial solutions that can plausibly be scaled. It was launched in June 2022 with a first call for proposals, and is implemented by ISSER, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Researchers: Prof. Peter Quartey

Location: Ghana (with a focus on Africa and Asia)

Duration: November 2021 – November 2026

This is a three-year $449,833 research project led from ISSER that uses communications by cell phone to strengthen nutrition among young children in Northern Ghana. The project, supported by USAID under its Feed the Future Advancing Local Leadership, Innovation and Networks (ALL-IN) program, is testing whether this approach reinforces the Resiliency in Northern Ghana Project (RING), a prominent USAID program focused on nutrition and resilience.

This is a three-year $450,000 research project, led from ISSER, to test a package of training and financing for women shea producers in Northern Ghana. This project, supported by USAID under its Feed the Future Advancing Local Leadership, Innovation and Networks (ALL-IN) program, seeks to increase the shea sector’s overall profitability while empowering women to receive the full benefits of their work.

Trade is a central factor in shaping global, regional, and local development. Increased trade, empowered by the growth of Global Value Chains (GVCs), has boosted productivity and incomes in many countries. However, if not fairly regulated, trade might generate increases in inequality and negative impacts on working conditions in developing countries and compromise the environment.

The Future of Work Research Initiative is a grants-awarding programme aimed at advancing research on the rapidly changing nature of work in the region. As part of the IDRC-funded FutureWORKS Collective, a five-year initiative focused on the Global South, the hub fosters high-quality research, evidence-based policymaking, and regional capacity-building.

The Youth in Indigenous Enterprises in the Informal Sector project is a cross-country comparative study exploring how young people engaged in indigenous enterprises can drive inclusive economic transformation. Supported by the Mastercard Foundation, it focuses on agriculture, textiles, crafts, and cosmetics, with attention to youth entrepreneurship, indigenous business models, gender dynamics, and technological innovation.

This initiative uses a combination of tools (Computable General Equilibrium, Partial Equilibrium, Geographic Information Systems and Deep Dives) to analyse agricultural value chains to determine their potential for driving economic growth, job creation, poverty reduction, and dietary diversity.

EfD Ghana is a collaborative network of environmental economists from universities in Ghana and Ghanaians elsewhere around the world working to promote the sustainable management of Ghana’s natural resources through policy-relevant research, policy advice, and capacity development. It conducts policy-relevant research on a wide range of topics, with emphasis on coastal and mineral resource management, extractive industries, energy resources management, climate change, and green growth.