Abstract:
Poverty and exclusion are two interrelated concepts and each one reinforces the
other. Theoretically, it is postulated that there is a connection between social
exclusion and poverty. In other words, exclusion affects poverty through several
channels but this link has not been tested econometrically in Ghana. Therefore,
this study examines the link between poverty and social exclusion using the Probit
and 2SLS estimation technique with the view to isolating the relevant social
exclusion factors that significantly account for poverty for policy purposes. The
data used for the study were extracted from GLSS 5. The study reveals that
education plays a major role in poverty reduction. Poverty is associated with age
and household size in a non linear fashion. In other words, the effect of age on
poverty follows a certain pattern. Individuals who are excluded from employment
are more likely to be poor. The policy implications are that government should
take human capital development seriously. Again, there must be efforts to address
social exclusion since it affects poverty.
