Charles Y. Okyere
Profile
Charles Y. Okyere holds a Doctor of Agricultural Sciences (Dr. Agr.) degree from the University of Bonn, Germany. He had doctoral (Ph.D.) studies at the Department of Economic and Technological Change, Center for Development Research (ZEF). His doctorate dissertation which was submitted to the Faculty of Agriculture is entitled “Water Quality in Multipurpose Water Systems, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health Outcomes in Ghana”. He is a Lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Ghana, Legon. He currently teaches Fisheries Economics and co-teaches Econometrics and Project Analysis at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness and Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences. In September 2017, he was selected as part of ten fellows for the inaugural EIB-GDN Program in Applied Development Finance. As part of the fellowship program, he worked with Arianna Legovini (Manager, Development Impact Evaluation, The World Bank) and Alexandros Sarris (Professor of Economics, University of Athens) as expert advisors. His task was to evaluate the effects of Internet services on educational institutions in Kenya. In addition, he has work experience from three countries: Ghana, Germany and Kenya. In May 2013, he successfully completed 14.73x: The Challenges of Global Poverty, an online learning initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) through edX. Charles Y. Okyere holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ghana and also worked with ISSER from February 2012 to September 2012 as a Research Assistant on Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GSOP) and Feed the Future Population Based Survey (FtF PBS). The main activities for these two projects included training data enumerators, conducting a reconnaissance survey, monitoring data collection exercise and supervising data entry, data analysis and report writing. Between 2009 and 2012, Charles Y. Okyere worked for research organizations (including International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and ACDI/VOCA) on a part-time basis on data collection and entry. In 2007, he graduated with Bachelor of Science degree (second class honors (upper division)) in Agriculture Technology (Agricultural Economics and Extension option) from the University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.
Research Interests
His research interest areas include the application of behavioral, experimental and quasi-experimental economic techniques to health, education, agriculture, and welfare. He has skills in conducting socioeconomic surveys (for instance, data collection and analysis) and has been involved in the collection of data in seven regions of Ghana on various development issues, using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. He can contribute to teaching, particularly on econometrics, research methods, agricultural, development, behavioral and experimental economics, and application for research funding. He has experience in managing funds for impact evaluations including budgeting and rendering of accounts to the Global Development Network, India and University of Bonn, Germany. Since 2015, he has participated in international conferences with funding from University of Bonn, Germany and other organizations. He has a fair idea on the use of socio-economic surveys and also a computer literate with good knowledge in computer programs such as SPSS, Microsoft Office, Eviews, Stata and Limdep for data management, data analysis, econometric modeling and report writing. Over the years, he had the opportunity of working with researchers such as Prof. Dr. Joachim von Braun and the late Prof. Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere either as a Junior Researcher or co-author.
Education.
1. 2012-2017 Doctor of Agricultural Sciences (Dr. Agr.), University of Bonn, Germany
2. 2008-2010 Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) in Agricultural Economics, University of Ghana, Legon
3. 2003-2007 Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) in Agriculture Technology, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana
4. 2000-2002 Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSSC), Konongo-Odumasi Senior High School, Odumasi-Ashanti, Ghana
Research interest
To generate rigorous evidence for policy making through the application of behavioral, experimental and quasi-experimental economic techniques to health, education, agriculture and welfare.
Past research projects
AG-WATSAN Nexus Project: Ghana component; 2012-2017; Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany.
The European Investment Bank and the Global Development Network (EIB-GDN) Program in Applied Development Finance; 2017-2019; European Investment Bank/ Global Development Network.
Awards
1. Scholarship for Doctoral (Ph.D.) Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany, August 2012.
2. Second Rank for Best Term Papers of the Academic Year 2012 (with Yira Yacouba and Dominik Gilgenbach), Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany, April 2013. 3. Available online at: https://www.zef.de/fileadmin/downloads/forum/docprog/Termpapers/2012_2_G...
4. Funding for Conference Participation, International Promovieren in Deutschland–für alle (IPID4all), German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Bonn Graduate Center, University of Bonn, Germany, November 2015.
5. Ghana’s Representative (2017-2019), Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE), April 2017.
6. Fellowship in Applied Development Finance, the European Investment Bank and the Global Development Network (EIB-GDN), 2017-2018 Program Cycle, Luxembourg and India, September 7. 7. 2017. Available online at: http://www.gdn.int/sites/default/files/EIB-GDN%20Fellows%20Bios%20-%20Fi....
8. Funding for Conference Participation, African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), Nairobi, Kenya, May 2019.
9. Funding for Conference Participation, Office of Research, Innovation and Development (ORID), University of Ghana, Legon, July 2019.
10. Funding for Conference Participation, Poverty Reduction, Equity and Growth Network (PEGNet), Kiel, Germany, July 2019.
11. Funding for Conference Participation, Global Development Network (GDN), New Delhi, India, September and December 2019.
12. Participant in Journal Mentoring Programme (JUMP 2020), European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes/Europäischer Verband der Entwicklungsforschungs- und Ausbildungsinstitutionen (EADI), Bonn, Germany, March 2020.
Recent publications
1. Journal Articles
Okyere, C. Y. (2020). Environmental Quality, Gender and Health Outcomes in Southern Ghana. Environment, Development and Sustainability. Available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-019-00550-x
Okyere, C. Y., E. H. Pangaribowo, and N. Gerber (2019). Household Water Quality Testing and Information: Identifying Impacts on Health Outcomes, and Sanitation and Hygiene-related Risk-mitigating Behaviors. Evaluation Review, 43(6), pp.370-395. Available online at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X19885204
Okyere, C. Y. and E. H. Pangaribowo (2018). Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Practices among Selected Public Basic Schools in Southern Ghana. Ghana Social Science Journal, 15(2), pp.90-117. Available online at: http://ss.ug.edu.gh/journal/vol15-2018
Okyere, C. Y. and F. A. Asante (2017). Perceptions and Determinants of Households’ Participation in a Randomized Evaluation on Water Quality Testing and Information in Southern Ghana. Water Policy, 19(6), pp. 1206-1224. Available online at: http://wp.iwaponline.com/content/19/6/1206.
Okyere, C. Y., Y. Yacouba and D. Gilgenbach (2013). The Problem of Annual Occurrences of Floods in Accra: An Integration of Hydrological, Economic and Political Perspectives. Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, 8(2), pp.45-79. Available online at: http://um.ase.ro/no82/4.pdf
2. Book Chapters
Anaman, K. A. and C. Y. Okyere (2012). Ministry of Food and Agriculture Expenditures and the Output of the Smallholder Non-cocoa Sector in Ghana. In Agriculture and Socioeconomic Development of Ghana: Some Policy Issues, Institute for Democratic Governance, Accra, Ghana, pp. 137-150.
3. Discussion and Working Papers
Osei, R. D., F. Asem, , C. Y. Okyere, J. W. Appiah Kubi, J. Onumah, Y. Ofori-Appiah, and B. Wong (2020). Prioritising Agriculture Growth in Ghana. Ghana Priorities, Copenhagen Consensus Center, 2020. License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0.
Gerber, N., J. von Braun, M. A. Usman, M. M. Hasan, C. Y. Okyere, R. Vangani, and D. Wiesmann (2019). Water, Sanitation and Agriculture Linkages with Health and Nutrition Improvement. ZEF-Discussion Papers on Development Policy No. 282, Center for Development Research, Bonn, September 2019, pp. 79. Available online at: https://www.zef.de › uploads › tx_zefnews › ZEF_DP_282
Okyere, C. Y., E. H. Pangaribowo, F. A. Asante, and J. von Braun (2017). The Impacts of Household Water Quality Testing and Information on Safe Water Behaviors: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Ghana. ZEF-Discussion Papers on Development Policy No. 234, Center for Development Research, Bonn, March, pp.57. Available online at: http://www.zef.de/uploads/tx_zefnews/zef_dp_234.pdf
4. Research Reports
Mensah-Bonsu, A., I. S. Egyir and C. Y. Okyere (2020). Socio-Economic Study of Biochar and Compost Use by Farmers. A Report Submitted To USAID/UG Institutional Capacity Building for Agriculture Productivity Project Secretariat, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
Okyere, C. Y. (2019). Evaluating the Effects of Poa! Internet on Educational Institutions in Kenya: A Deep Dive Report. A Report Submitted to the European Investment Bank, Luxembourg and Global Development Network, India.
Osei-Akoto, I., S. Bawakyillenuo, G. Owusu, E. L. Offei, C. Y. Okyere, and I. K. Agbelie (2014). Short Term Impact Evaluation Report on Labour Intensive Public Works (LIPW) of Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GSOP). A Report Submitted to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development of Ghana/The World Bank, Accra, Ghana.
5. Policy Briefs
Anaman, K. A., K. Impraim and C. Y. Okyere (2011). The Public Agricultural Budget Analysis Process in Ghana. Institute for Democratic Governance, Accra, Ghana, 10 pp.
Professional membership(s)
1. International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE)
2. Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE)
3. Ghana Monitoring and Evaluation Forum (GMEF)
4. Ghana Association of Agricultural Economists (GAAE)
5. Private Sector Development Research Network (PSDRN)