Predicting Household Standard of Living in Techiman North District: The Role of Income

Abstract

In fact, there are marked inequalities in the standards of living of the people in different countries of the world.  The extent of differences in the levels of living between two countries can be known from the comparison of per capita income in both countries, because, it is the per capita income on which the standard of living of a people primarily depends.  Households in relation to the standard of living of people form an integral part of most economies. Ghanaian households can be classified into the compound housing type, with common dwelling types in all regions being detached houses, the semi-detached houses and block of flats or apartments. In view of that the study sought to find out the role of income in predicting household standard of living.  The study used a sample size of 400 respondents across the inhabitants of Techiman North District. The study sampled only marriage couples with a family size (i.e. with children).  The study adopted both descriptive (i.e. bar and pie charts as well as scatter plot correlational analysis) and quantitative methods (i.e. Logit regression and spearman’s rank correlation test e.t.c) to analyzed the data. A random sampling method was used to solicit for information from married couples with children in the study area. The study find out that larger family size is a threat to a good standard of living. The further find out that the income, age and gender had a positive effect on all the standard of living factors (i.e. savings, ability to meet all basic needs e.t.c). In relation to the various findings, for every household to save, build a house, meet their basic needs and able to buy a car all depends on the household income or available resources. In view of this, the study further recommends that, before any marriage license or certificate is issued, stakeholders should make sure that the partners are all working in order to earn income for the future and the living condition of their family members to be enhanced.

Keywords: Standard of Living, Savings, Basic needs, Household and Income