Six Decades after Independence: The Enduring Influence of Missionary Activities on Inequalities in Ghana

• In Event: 559 - Regular Session. Development

Abstract

Ethnic and regional inequalities in wealth and education have often been associated with uneven economic outcomes. However, we still do not fully understand the historical causes of these inequities. This study therefore evaluates the effect of missionary activities on educational and economic inequalities in present day Ghana. Using the Ghana Demographic Health Survey and locations of mission stations as at 1924, the paper estimates (1) the relationship between wealth, average years of schooling and missionary activity, (2) the influence of historical missionary activity on level of education, and (3) the effect of missionary activity on schooling differences and its resultant effect on wealth. The study employed both ordinary least Squares and binary logistic regressions in estimating these relationships. The findings show that ethnic and regional disparities in wealth and education are significantly associated with historical missionary activities in Ghana. Missionary activity alone explained 40% to 60% of the variation in schooling outcomes between ethnic groups. Also, differences in schooling were found to explain 89% of the differences in regional wealth in Ghana. The disparities between the ethnic groups in terms of education and wealth are seen as a function of the inter-generational transmission of education and wealth by the groups that encountered education through missionary activities. In order to foster the same effect produced by mission schools, greater emphasis should be placed on discipline and the quality of education in modern public and private schools.

Authors

• Godfred Odei Boateng, Western University

• Jonathan Anim Amoyaw, University of Western Ontario

• Dozie Okoye, Dalhousie University

• Isaac Luginaah, University of Western Ontatio