IEA: Can you tell us what made you pursue a career in economics?

Nkechi: Short answer- because it was the only acceptable compromise to not fulfilling my parent’s- both medical doctors- dream of becoming a medical doctor, myself. Growing up, if one was good at schoolwork, becoming a medical doctor was one of the most ‘obvious’ career paths. I realized quite early on that my weak stomach made me a less-than-ideal candidate for such a prestigious profession. My Grandfather, Mr Bossoh Kpohanu, had studied Economics and had enjoyed a fulfilling career as a result; he convinced my parents that it was a worthy substitute. They agreed and my first foray into the subject area was in high school. I was instantly hooked for the simple reason that it all made sense and I could relate to the various concepts that were taught. I admired the deliberateness of the assumptions and the predictability of the conclusions. At the undergraduate level, the study of Economics combined my love of visual illustrations and mathematics. At the graduate level, with the use of statistical tools, I could use data to answer simple questions or test more complicated hypotheses. I enjoy the research work that I do currently because it combines my love for writing, storytelling, quantitative analyses, travel and also affords me the opportunity for continuous self-improvement. An example is my recent training in stakeholder engagement. Although I was initially anxious about venturing into the area of research results dissemination, particularly with high-level policy makers, I find that, done properly, stakeholder engagements and consultations add an extra veneer of practicality and usefulness to one’s research, in the sense that there is the potential for research output to actually contribute to the policy-making process and impact lives and livelihoods. So no, I did not choose a career in medicine as my parents wanted, but as a Health and Demographic Economist, I like to think I found a good balance.

IEA: Your research has ranged widely on the economics of gender, health, child labor, food and agriculture – mostly but not exclusively on Ghana. These are all critical issues for developing countries. What are some of your key findings that inform us how labor markets function in Sub-Saharan Africa more broadly? Are there any results that surprised you, that you did not expect to find? 

Nkechi: Yes, I have worked on a number of topical areas in my quest to contribute, in some small way, solutions to some of the developmental challenges that we face in the sub-Saharan Africa region. A number of interesting findings have emanated from my research work on labour markets in the region. For instance, trade unions are good for more than just increasing workers’ salaries and conferring new benefits; in Ghana, they can also increase welfare by improving awareness of and access to already-existing employee benefits. Another finding from my research work on labour markets is that they aren’t always kind to women and more often than not, women have to make the difficult choice between work and family because of inherent incompatibilities between the two. In my part of the world, societal norms and cultural expectations can present added complications to women’s labour market involvements.

It is difficult to think about women’s labour market participation without some mention of domestic work burdens as well. In a study that was funded by UK AID, a team of researchers and I examined whether women’s participation in paid work and subsequent earnings helped to reduce their domestic work burdens as a result of their improved bargaining positions within their households. Higher earnings did not have an appreciable effect on women’s domestic work and certainly did not engender increased participation by husbands. While this was surprising, it was not altogether unexpected, given the cultural context. No matter how much (more than her husband) a woman earns, culturally prescribed roles would be difficult to shrug off. While discussions continue to reverberate around issues of low productivity in labour markets and the challenges of informality in various developing country contexts, women’s heavy work burdens, and implications of this for their labour market participation and productivity also needs to feature strongly in these discussions.