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The marginalization of women on boards is a heavily discussed topic across the world, especially in Ghana. Apart from estimating the link between boardroom gender diversity and technical efficiency of banks, this study aims to test the presence of upper echelons theory in the Ghanaian banking sector.

The study examines data from 2000 to 2019 annual reports of 23 banks in Ghana. The stochastic frontier analysis is used to estimate the impact of boardroom gender diversity on technical efficiency of banks in Ghana.

This study finds that greater boardroom gender diversity generates technical efficiencies for banks. The results remain unchanged after accounting for bank types (listed and non-listed). Thus, all banks benefit in terms of technical efficiency from more boardroom gender diversity. The upper echelons theory is validated in the Ghanaian banking context. Overall, the study supports pro-gender diversity on boards.

The results have implications at corporate, social and national levels. It supports the need for policies that improve greater boardroom gender diversity.

This study adds to a growing number of non-developed countries by investigating the link between the boardroom gender diversity and technical efficiency of banks in Ghana, a country which historically has had minimal female participation in the workforce. New insight is, therefore, offered into this relationship by using data which examines the technical efficiency of banks periods before and after the Women in Finance Charter in 2016.

This paper aims to examine the impact of diversity of board members’ educational qualifications on the financial performance of banks in Ghana.

The present study applies system generalized methods of moments as an econometric model in carrying out the analysis. The study yielded a usable sample of 28 banks spanning from 2001 to 2016.

The paper concludes that the Ghanaian banking sector profit diverges and invalidates the convergence theory or “catch-up effect”. Specifically, educational qualifications of board members are relevant to banks’ financial performance. Across all the models used, board members with a first degree have a significant positive impact on performance. The opposite is the case for board members with Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Unobservable characteristics such as entrepreneurial skills and intellectual competence experiences are excluded from the study because of the difficulties in measuring these variables. Notwithstanding, the exclusion of these characteristics does not invalidate the general outcome of the study.

The present study examines the impact of diversity of board members’ educational qualification on financial performance in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Ghana. It also extends the existing literature by decomposing the banking sector into listed, non-listed, foreign and domestic banks.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relative impact of bank-based and market-based financial developments on economic growth from 1984 to 2015, using 60countries.

This study uses fixed effect and generalized method of moments (GMM) to investigate the relative impact of bank-based and market-based financial developments on economic growth from 1984 to 2015, using 60 countries. The study further controls regional effects and the Asian crisis, as well as the global economic crisis.

The empirical results of the study revealed that market-based development positively affects economic growth. Besides, market-based financial development indirectly promotes investment, which has the potential to strongly enhance growth. The findings of this study, therefore, provide more support to pro-market-based financial development policies in these regions. Interestingly, bank-based development has no direct impact on development, but indirectly encourages investment, which also promotes growth.

This paper is the first of its kind to empirically examine fixed effect and GMM to investigate the relative impact of bank-based and market-based financial developments on economic growth from 1984 to 2015, using 60 countries.

The paper aims to examine fall armyworm's (FAW) effect on Ghana's farming households' income and food security status.

A sample of 225 farmers, including FAW-infested households and non-FAW-infested households, were interviewed. Gross margin (GM) analysis was used to estimate farmers' farm revenues, and the Household Food Insecurity Access Scores (HFIAS) was employed to measure the food security status of the households. The seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) was adopted to investigate the effect of FAW infestation on gross income and food security.

From the study, FAW attack is predominant during the vegetative stage of the maize plant. The empirical results revealed that FAW-infested farms incur loss, whereas non-FAW-infested farmers gained profit. Also, FAW-infested households were mildly food insecure, while non-FAW-infested households were food secured. The results of SUR analysis reveal that FAW infestation decreased farmers' income from maize production and rendered them food insecure.

One limitation of this study is that it largely depended on a survey; however, future studies can combine both survey and experimental data from the farmers' fields during minor and major growing seasons of maize.

Given the negative consequences of FAW, studies have been conducted across Africa and globally. However, most of these studies concentrated on using geographic information system (GIS) and descriptive statistics without necessarily quantifying the effect of FAW on food security and the profit margins of farming households. Therefore, this study adds to the little literature on the effect of FAW on food security and GM from maize production, which has received less attention in Ghana to the authors' best knowledge.

This paper aims to analyze the performance determinants of listed companies in the Iberian Peninsula, focusing on the analysis of the effect of gender diversity and the structure of the board of directors.

To achieve this aim, the authors analyzed 97 listed companies, of which 23 are Portuguese and 74 are Spanish, between 2015 and 2019. The authors use Arellano and Bond’s (1991) generalized method of moments system model to test the hypotheses.

The results show an important impact of corporate governance variables on corporate performance. Specifically, board size, average director age and board academic qualifications are crucial to explaining profitability and market value. Moreover, the authors identified a nonlinear relationship between gender diversity and profitability and market value levels due to critical mass theory and quotas that enhance more social justice. The authors concluded that the corporate performance determinants differ depending on the performance measures.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to analyze the nonlinear effect of gender diversity and board structure (size, educational qualifications and average director age) on the performance of Iberian listed companies as a single market.

This paper aims to analyze the corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) determinants of the Portuguese listed companies’ performance, considering a different point of view by managers, shareholders and other external stakeholders and investors.

To achieve this aim, the authors have used a sample of 34 nonfinancial listed companies in Euronext Lisbon between 2015 and 2020. The authors use the panel data methodology to test the hypotheses formulated according to the literature review, specifically the generalized method of moments (GMM) system estimation model proposed by Arellano and Bond (1991).

The main results point out that the determinants of the corporate performance vary depending on the dependent variable considered. From the managers’ perspective, the existence of an audit committee and expenses with the environment increase costs and reduce results, negatively influencing corporate performance, but the company’s maturity adds synergies in resource management and positively influences performance. Shareholders consider that gender diversity and board independence positively influence performance, whereas, for external stakeholders and long-term investors, gender diversity and the social responsibility committee harm the performance of Portuguese companies. However, environmental and social expenditures have a positive effect, showing that the market’s perception is that, in the long run, it is essential to eradicate poverty and protect the environment.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first one to analyze corporate governance and CSR determinants on the performance of listed Portuguese companies. This study shows that in a small banking-oriented country, there is still a long way to go in terms of increasing social responsibility and governance among different stakeholders. It is essential to promote actions that lead to effective governance and awareness of social responsibility.