Has the Special Economic Zone Approach Improve Ghana’s Competitiveness in the Global Market?

Abstract

Ghana adopted the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) model in an attempt to stimulate economic growth by moving from an era of import-based to an export-based development strategy and also to potentially improve competiveness in the world market. However, until now, it is not well understood if this move has been beneficial and whether it has positioned Ghana particularly in terms of trade on the global market. This study examines and demonstrate if the adopted SEZ model has had any significant effects on the trade patterns in Ghana. This was undertaken by analyzing the competiveness and the dynamics and/or level of comparative advantage of selected products traded within the SEZs on sectoral levels in the world market using the Balassa Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index. The