Why Qualified Students Do Not Enter Higher Education: A Behavioural Economics Analysis of Rural–Urban Inequalities in Ghana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65820/ejes-14vol2-issue2-2026Keywords:
Behavioural Economics, Status Quo Bias, Spatial Inertia, Higher Education Transition, Rural–Urban InequalityAbstract
Purpose: This study investigates the transition from secondary to higher education among academically qualified youth in Ghana, focusing on the behavioural and spatial factors influencing enrolment. It examines how geographic isolation, information asymmetry, bounded rationality, and status quo bias contribute to self-exclusion from tertiary education, particularly in rural areas.
Methodology: The study uses nationally representative data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey Round 7 (GLSS 7), comprising 5,142 respondents aged 15–25 who completed Senior High School or its equivalent. A binary Probit model estimates the probability of tertiary transition based on rural residence, household ICT access, parental education, wealth status, and gender. An interaction term tests whether ICT access reduces the disadvantages associated with rural residence.
Results: A significant rural–urban disparity exists, with tertiary transition rates of 6.1% in rural areas compared with 34.2% in urban areas. Rural residence reduces the probability of transition by 14.5 percentage points, while household ICT access increases it by 9.8 percentage points. ICT access significantly mitigates the negative effects of geographic isolation. Parental higher education has a modest positive influence, whereas gender is not statistically significant.
Novelty and Contribution: The study extends human capital theory by showing that behavioural and informational barriers, alongside financial constraints, shape tertiary education transitions.
Practical and Social Implications: Expanding digital connectivity and providing school-based application support can reduce cognitive barriers, overcome status quo bias, and promote more equitable access to higher education.
References
Agyapong, S. N. (2026). Educational expansion and inequality of opportunity in Ghana, 1945–1994 cohorts. Cambridge Journal of Education, 1-26.
Agyeibea Amo, W., Appiah Amo, F., & Mdhlalose, D. (2026). An empirical analysis of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy and its implications for gender parity: a case study of the Nzema East District.
Ahmad, R., Nawaz, M. R., Ishaq, M. I., Khan, M. M., & Ashraf, H. A. (2023). Social exchange theory: Systematic review and future directions. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 1015921.
Akuffo, A. G. (2025). In pursuit of equity in upper secondary education: the curious case of Ghana’s free senior high school policy: In pursuit of equity in upper secondary education. The Australian Educational Researcher, 52(3), 2255-2280.
Ayanwale, M. A. (2025). Is the shift in Ghana's educational policy a blessing or a curse for Ghana? International Journal of New Education(15).
Banerjee, A., & Sequeira, S. (2023). Learning by searching: Spatial mismatches and imperfect information in Southern labor markets. Journal of development economics, 164, 103111.
Barrett, C. B., Reardon, T., Swinnen, J., & Zilberman, D. (2022). Agri-food value chain revolutions in low-and middle-income countries. Journal of Economic Literature, 60(4), 1316-1377.
Bernabeu, P., Belén-Galipienso, O., van-der Hofstadt, C., Gutiérrez, A., Madero-Velázquez, L., García del Castillo, G., . . . Rodríguez-Marín, J. (2024). Psychological burden and quality of life in newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease patients. Frontiers in psychology, 15, 1334308.
Burnett, P. (2023). Theodore W. Schultz (1902–1998) The Palgrave Companion to Chicago Economics (pp. 401-420): Springer.
Cristofaro, M. (2017). Herbert Simon’s bounded rationality: Its historical evolution in management and cross-fertilizing contribution. Journal of Management History, 23(2), 170-190.
Eisenstadt, L. F., & Haugh, T. (2024). Nudging diversity: Merging law and behavioral science to reduce workplace discrimination and increase diversity. Emory LJ, 74, 249.
Femminis, G. (2026). Dynamic Programming for Economists: From Basic Growth Models to Computational Methods: Taylor & Francis.
Fuseini, I. (2025). Free senior high school devours basic education in Ghana: rescue the children. Quality Education for All, 2(1), 21-36.
Gu, J. (2016). Spatial diffusion of social policy in China: Spatial convergence and neighborhood interaction of vocational education. Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, 9(4), 503-527.
Harrison, G. W., & Swarthout, J. T. (2023). Cumulative prospect theory in the laboratory: A reconsideration.
Ibourk, A., & Raoui, S. (2025). Monitoring the convergence speed of educational inequalities through the impact of territorial and inclusive development policies in Morocco. International Journal of Community Well-being, 8(4), 997-1029.
Kulkarni, S., Cristofaro, M., & Ramamoorthy, N. (2024). Evolutionary sensemaking: a managerial metacognitive dynamic capability to reduce information asymmetry. Management Decision, 62(13), 201-222.
Kuzmanov, I. (2025). Cognitive inertia and status quo bias: Understanding resistance to change from mind to society. Journal of Novel Research and Innovative Development, 3(4), a393-a411.
Leites, M., & Ramos, X. (2022). The Effect of Relative Income Concerns on Life Satisfaction: Relative Deprivation and Loss Aversion: M. Leites, X. Ramos. Journal of Happiness Studies, 23(7), 3485-3515.
Marchionatti, R. (2026). Economic Theory in the Twentieth Century, An Intellectual History—Volume IV: Mid-1970s–Early 2000s. Economic Theory in the Age of Globalization: Springer Nature.
Mensah, K. A. (2025). Access to education in rural Ghana: Challenges and opportunities for junior high schools. Journal of Educational Review, 16(1).
Meunier, L., & Ohadi, S. (2023). When are two portfolios better than one? A prospect theory approach. Theory and Decision, 94(3), 503-538.
Mohammed, A.-M., Sookram, S., & Saridakis, G. (2026). Rationality Encyclopedia of Law and Economics (pp. 2072-2079): Springer.
Montañez Jacquez, S., Clippinger, J. H., & Moroney, M. (2026). Agentic finance: An adaptive inference framework for bounded-rational investing agents. Entropy, 28(3), 321.
Nkansah, J. O. (2026). Exploring senior high school teachers’ awareness and preparedness in supporting first-generation students for higher education: A qualitative inquiry. International Journal of Educational Development, 120, 103488.
Onyina, K. (2026). Universal Access, Divided Opinions: A Latent Class Analysis of Public Perceptions of Ghana’s Free Senior High School Policy. Social Policy and Society, 1-17.
Oyserman, D., Burbidge, A., & Sorensen, N. (2025). Reaping the Benefits of Investment: National Educational Datasets Support School Success. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 19(11), e70108.
Rabaa, S., Geisendorf, S., & Wilken, R. (2022). Why change does (not) happen: Understanding and overcoming status quo biases in climate change mitigation. Zeitschrift Für Umweltpolitik Und Umweltrecht, 45(1), 100-134.
Ramage, E. (2024). Not going to university: Context-based rationality, with links to social class and rural location in the career decision-making of school leavers in Scotland. University of Glasgow.
Simay, S. (2025). Heuristics and Biases: Tackling Inequalities in Higher Education Access. Available at SSRN 5382199.
Simon, H. A. (2000). Bounded rationality in social science: Today and tomorrow. Mind & Society, 1(1), 25-39.
Singh, P. (2026). The poverty of mainstream economics: a systematic critique. The Japanese Political Economy, 1-40.
Suwannadi, T., Dechruksa, W., & Panpakdee, C. (2026). Quantifying the effects of pest pressure and peer networks on pesticide purchasing decisions among Thai farmers. Sustainable Futures, 11, 101731.
Teixeira, P. N. (2023). Gary S. Becker (1930–2014) The Palgrave Companion to Chicago Economics (pp. 817-840): Springer.
Wang, Z., Dai, Y., Yang, L., & Yu, Z. (2025). Barriers to Climate-Smart Agriculture Adoption in Northeast China’s Black Soil Region: Insights from a Multidimensional Framework. Agriculture, 15(21), 2236.
Weston, F. A. (2025). Environmental and Systemic Barriers to Pursuing Postsecondary Education for Young African American Men From Single Parent Households. Walden University.
Zappia, C. (2025). Uncertainty in Economics. A History.
Zou, H., Li, M., Lei, Q., Luo, Z., Xue, Y., Yao, D., . . . Hu, H. (2022). Economic burden and quality of life of hepatocellular carcinoma in greater China: a systematic review. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 801981.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mohammed Tanko (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
