Public Opinion on Preferred Policy Responses to Technological Risks in Ghana

• In Event: Science, Technology, and Public Opinion

Abstract

As a nascent socio-economic literature argues, new technologies bring new hopes for the future of work in developing countries, but they also bring risks. In this study, we look at the case of Ghana to see how technological risks relate to preferred policy responses in public opinion. This paper draws on a novel dataset of 1,252 survey responses to examine how Ghanaians perceive and respond to the challenges and opportunities posed by the digital revolution. It applies regression analysis and a qualitative data mapping technique to explore four central hypotheses: first, that both objective and subjective technological risks are positively correlated with a preference for a set of social policies; second, that digital skills and utilization potentially moderate the influence of technological risks on policy preferences; third, that the formality of employment conditions the relationship between technological risk and policy preferences; and fourth, that a greater exposure or perception of technological risk correlates with a stronger preference for job-related policies over other social policies. The results reveal a strong preference for active labor market policies and redistribution compared to other policy interventions. Digital literacy does not uniformly mitigate these concerns, but the analysis of qualitative responses explains why. Overall, this study contributes to the current debates on the future of work and social policy. It is the first known study to offer insights into the preferences and expectations of a workforce from not only Africa but a ‘global south’ perspective and provides implications for inclusive and responsive strategies in response to technological disruption in a developing country context.

Authors

• Evans Tindana Awuni, University of Erfurt

• Achim Kemmerling, Erfurt University