On the Estimation of Determinants of Housing Quality: The Case of Ghana

This paper examines a welfare issue of growing importance in many least developed countries, that of determinants of housing quality and uses the case of Ghana to add to the body of empirical knowledge. The paper presents estimates of the determinants of housing quality in Ghana using the Core Welfare Instrument. The empirical analysis based on the Logistic and Ordinary Least Square regressions revealed that tenure, age, income, gender, marital and employment status are significant determinants of housing quality in Ghana. Supply side policy initiatives such as tax credits for developers of new housing and home improvement could help increase quality affordable housing in Ghana particularly in the urban areas. Introduction Deteriorating physical characteristics and limited access to social services characterize much of the housing stock in Ghana (Twum-Baah, Kumekpor and de Graft-Johnson, 1995). These characteristics may be accentuated in rural areas. Compound housing dominates the housing types (about 72% in 1991/92 – Ghana Statistical Service, 1995), followed by huts, single family and multifamily (flats/apartments) housing. The traditional compound house consists of a large rectangular structure, generally 7 or more rooms ranging around three sides of a courtyard. Most huts are found in the rural areas, while flats and other housing types are common in urban areas. Most Ghanaian live in houses with walls made of wood, mud brick or cement, while the typical roofing material is sheet iron or mud. Asiama (1990) suggested that, in Ghana, two people per room indicates crowding, and overcrowding occurs when there are 2.5 or more people per room. This research indicates that roughly 44.5% of all households live in overcrowded housing in Ghana, a situation that has