The Mediatory Role of Working Hours and Technology in the Relationship between Income and Social Cohesion in Ghana

This study aims at establishing the mechanism through which income/wage influences social cohesion using access to technology and working hours as mediating variables. There is a need for this exposition because indicators of social cohesion such as trust and political participation have experienced a downward trend following Ghana elevation to a middle-income country. The study used dataset from the sixth round of the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 6) which is a nationally representative survey and the data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The key findings are that income positively affects engagement in politics both directly and indirectly. The effects of income on trust, however, is negative. Another key information the study revealed is the crucial role technology plays in social cohesion. Access to technology was found to influence both trust (negatively) and political participation (positively).