Aarhus University Seal

Kwadwo Opoku

Research Fellow, Centre for Social Policy Studies, University of Ghana

During his AIAS-AUFF Fellowship, Kwadwo Opoku will be working on the project 'Sustainable Financing of Long-Term Care in Lower Middle-Income Countries: Evidence from Ghana'

Project at AIAS

All countries, including low and lower-middle income countries (LMICs), will ultimately face an ageing population due to increased life expectancy and the associated problem of Long-Term Care (LTC), which remains the largest insurable risk facing elderly people. The older population (from 60 years) in LMICs is projected to grow by an average of 6.2 percentage points from 2015-2050. However, many lower-middle income countries have not planned for this eventuality, the associated cost, and how resources will be mobilized to finance LTC where governments find it difficult to generate tax revenues. My research investigates how the critical drivers of LTC needs and use could be identified and quantify the future financing needs of elderly people in need of LTC taking into consideration individual behavioural responses to LTC policies including incentives to save or insure for LTC.

Short Bio

Kwadwo Opoku is currently a Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer at the Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS), University of Ghana, Legon, Accra. He holds Ph.D. and M.A degrees in Public Economics from National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Japan and MPhil degree in Economics from the University of Ghana, Legon. Kwadwo is a development and public economist with broad research interest in the analysis of public policies, labour economics, education, distributional effects of tax, pension and ageing policies.

Project title: Sustainable Financing of Long-Term Care in Lower Middle-Income Countries: Evidence from Ghana

Area of research: Development and Public Economics

Fellowship period: 1 Sep 2025 - 31 Jul 2027

Fellowship type: AIAS-AUFF Fellow

Contact: TBA from 1 Sep 2025.

This fellowship has received funding from The Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF)