Change we don’t believe in? Coin attitudes, resistance, and use in post-redenomination Ghana
Abstract
A currency redenomination re-introduced coins into the Ghanaian economy. Anecdotal observations, media reports, and previous research suggested that coins were not as easily integrated into Ghanaian financial transactions as paper bills were. The purpose of this study was to understand this resistance to coins as a form of money and investigate prevailing attitudes to coins as a medium of exchange. In study 1, we assessed self-reported attitudes to coins. Studies 2 and 3 assessed coin size estimations and coin recognition rates respectively as indirect indicators of attitudes to coins. Study 4 explored the probability of “lost” coins of different values being picked up from pavements in Ghana’s capital city, whereas Study 5 indirectly explored attitudes to coins and other forms of money used in Ghana using their typicality ratings. Collectively, the results suggest that resistance to coins was not universal, but was related, in part, to their financial value.