Does Akan Literacy Influence Households’ Income?

Abstract

The empirical work in this article addresses the hypothesis that Akan literacy influences household income. The study utilizes data from the 2016/2017 Ghana Living Standards Survey and employs both ordinary least squares (OLS) and quantile regression model techniques. This study finds that literacy in Akan is associated with higher household income. Also, after accounting for ethnicity, returns to biliteracy in Akan and English are higher than returns to monoliteracy in English or Akan. The authors compared their main result and the results of the interaction of ethnicity and biliteracy. Findings showed higher returns to Akan households compared to non-Akan households. Akan literacy created a larger income differential within Akan households. The income gap was about 133% for the 10th quantile. Findings also indicated an income gap of about 35% for the same quantile between Akan and non-Akan households. These findings provide promising and encouraging evidence that comprehensive implementation of Akan and other indigenous Ghanaian language programs in Ghana can eliminate household income gaps and help individuals to fully utilize their human capital.