Dr. Adam Salifu
Dr. Adam Salifu is a Senior Research Fellow in the Research & Consultancy Centre (RCC) and the Department of Business Administration at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA). With about two decades of academic and developmental experience, Dr. Salifu brings a unique blend of scholarly insight and practical expertise in research, policy analysis, and project implementation.
He holds a Ph.D. in Development Studies from Western Sydney University, Australia, and an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge, UK. His multidisciplinary background bridges sociology, politics, and economics with research interests spanning rural and agricultural transformation, good governance, corruption, social protection, food security, and poverty reduction. Before joining the UPSA, Adam worked as a Course Coordinator, Lecturer, Tutor and Research Assistant at Western Sydney University, Australia, from 2013 to 2016.
He has taught different courses at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in Australia and Ghana, including Poverty, Wealth and Development; Social Research Methods; Issues in World Development: Rich World, Poor World; Translation from Theory and Research to Policy; Advance Social Research Methods; People, Place and Social Difference; Measurement Theory and Methods; Qualitative Research Methods; and Productivity and Growth. Dr. Salifu has supervised over 200 students at the undergraduate, MBA, MPhil, and PhD levels.
His scholarly publications appear in respected international journals, and he has contributed to book chapters and high-impact working papers. In addition to teaching and research, he regularly facilitates capacity-building workshops on data analysis, research design, grant proposal writing, and donor engagement for NGOs, public institutions, and development professionals.
Adam has consulted and worked for both international and local NGOs in Ghana, such as the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), International Labour Organization (ILO), DAI, UNICEF, UNDP, Ghana Education Service (GES), Plan Ghana and Accra-based Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG).
Selected Publications
| Journal Publications |
| Kufoalor, K.M., & Salifu, A (2025). Enhancing social protection: examining the interaction between formal programs and traditional support systems in the Volta Region of Ghana. SN Soc Sci 5, 77 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-025-01115-8
Khalid, A. A., Avilés Irahola, D. L., & Salifu, A (2024). Women’s Autonomy in Maternal Healthcare Decision-Making in Urban Ghana. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, Vol 54, issue 4 https://doi.org/10.3138/jcfs.54.4.02 King, A. K, Salifu, A., Quaidoo, C., & Opare-Boateng, R. (2024). Impact of power outages: Unveiling their influence on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa-An in-depth literature review. Heliyon, Vol 10, Issue 13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33782 Salifu, A. (2024, Forthcoming). Agricultural credit repayment behaviour of smallholder farmers in farmer-based organisations (FBOs) under government and NGO credit programs in Ghana. Agricultural Finance Review Martins, A., Hilton, S. K., & Salifu, A. (2024). Export association drivers and SME export performance in a non-traditional export sector Int. J. Globalisation and Small Business, Vol. 13, No. 4, https://doi.org/10.1504/IJGSB.2023.136872 Salifu, A., & Kufoalor, K. M. (2024). Are cash transfer programmes effective at targeting the poor in Sub-Saharan African? SN Business & Economics, SN Bus Econ (2024) 4:24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43546-023-00620-3 Salifu, A. & Abdul-Karim, A.U. (2023). The role of community leaders in the eradication of alms begging in Nima, Ghana, International Journal of Ethics and Systems, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOES-10-2021-0198 Salifu, A., & Kufoalor, K. M. (2022). Examining the role of sub-national level leadership in the implementation of cash transfer programs: evidence from Ghana. International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 49, no. 11, pp. 1607-1624. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-11-2021-0667
Salifu, A., Horlu, G (2022). “Nonfarm employment and mobility of farmers into different income groups: Evidence from rural Ghana”, SN Business & Economics, SN Bus Econ (2022) 2:9 https://doi.org/10.1007/s43546-021-00174-2
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Salifu, A. (2008). “The Impact of Internet Crime on Development” Journal of Financial Crime, 2008, Vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 432-443.
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| Salifu, A. (2008) “Can Corruption and Economic Crime Be Controlled in Developing Economies – And If So, Is the Cost Worth It?” Journal of Money Laundering Control, 2008, Vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 273-283. |
| Book Chapters | |
| Salifu, A. (2023). Mobile Money Frauds in the African Continent. In Concepts, Cases, and Regulations in Financial Fraud and Corruption (pp. 344-360). IGI Global. https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/mobile-money-frauds-in-the-african-continent/320031
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| Salifu, A. & Abdulai, A. (2018). “Corruption and International Aid” in Farazmand, A (2018)
Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, Springer International Publishing (online). DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_3368-1 |
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| Research Reports and Working Papers |
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Khalid, A. A., Irahola, D. L. A., Salifu, A. (2023). “Women’s Autonomy in Maternal Healthcare Decision-making in Urban Ghana”, ZEF Working Paper 219. Available at https://www.zef.de/fileadmin/webfiles/downloads/zef_wp/ZEF_WP_219.pdf Abdulai, A., Salifu, A., Ibrahim, M., Nunyonameh, C., Dankyi, E. & Asuming, P. (2021). Citizens’ Knowledge and Perceptions about Poverty, Vulnerability Rights and Social Protection in Ghana: A Baseline Study. Report Commissioned by UNICEF Ghana. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/ghana/media/3991/file/Citizens’%20Knowledge%20and%20Perceptions%20about%20Poverty,%20Vulnerability%20Rights%20and%20Social%20Protection%20in%20Ghana:%20A%20Baseline%20Study.pdf
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| Abdulai, A., Nunyonameh, C. & Salifu, A. (2018). Operational research on use of mobile school report card (msrc) as a management tool, UNICEF and Ghana Education Service, Available at: https://www.unicef.org/ghana/media/1436/file/The%20Mobile%20School%20Report%20Card%20(mSRC).pdf |
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Blampied, C., Chattopadhyay, S., Greenhill R., Aziz, I., Ellison, C., Thompson, R., Abdulai, A. & Salifu, A. (2018). Leaving no one behind in the health and education sectors: An SDG stocktake in Ghana, The Overseas Development Institute, London. Available at: https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-documents/12145.pdf
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| Salifu, A., Funk, R. L., Keefe, M. & Kolavalli, S. (2012). Farmer Based Organizations in Ghana. IFPRI Working Paper 31, The International Food Policy Research Institute. Available at: http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/gsspwp31.pdf.
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| Salifu, A., Francesconi, G. N. & Kolavalli, S. (2010). A review of collective action in rural Ghana IFPRI Discussion Paper 998, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
Salifu, A. & Funk, R. (2011). Farmer based Organizations in Ghana: How are they established and what do they do? Available at: http://gssp.ifpri.info/files/2012/04/FBOs-in-Ghana.pdf. |
