Oil wealth and the well-being of the subaltern classes in Sub-Saharan Africa: A critical analysis of the resource curse in Ghana

Ayelazuno, Jasper Abembia

doi:10.1016/j.resourpol.2013.06.009

Cited by 75 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…At the contextual level, overall we observe low significance for all variables included in the analysis, except for oil dependence, which shows a negative impact on well-being. This supports and strengths the results of Ayelazuno (2014) and Chiasson-LeBel (2016) on the enclave nature of oil exploitation in the country, which, besides environmental damage, has generated historical class conflict and social struggle. In the Ecuadorian context, environmental degradation has special relevance because oil cantons are highly populated by indigenous communities, who, in correspondence with the concept of good living, consider nature as being just as valuable as humans and a necessary element in their holistic view of well-being (Caria and Domínguez 2016).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Oil exploitation in non-industrialized countries, such as Ecuador, is expected to have a negative effect on subjective well-being because it has an enclave nature and is not considered a high-quality job source. Furthermore, besides the unequal distribution of the resulting oil rents, this industry does not generate spill-over effects to other industries of the economy (Ayelazuno 2014).…”

Section: Contextual Dimensionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Determinants of Subjective Well-Being in a Developing Country: The Ecuadorian Case

Pontarollo

Segovia

2019

J Happiness Stud

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In this study, we identify some individual and contextual factors potentially affecting subjective well-being in developing countries and check their effect in the Ecuadorian case. Ecuador is an oil country where attempts have been made to overcome deep social and territorial inequalities by placing human well-being at the core of public policy through the National Plan for Good Living. By means of ordinary least squares and ordered logit with clustered standard errors, as well as multilevel ordered logit models, we find that oil-dependent territories negatively affect well-being. Moreover, women and indigenous people report lower well-being, while personal income, education, housing quality, institutional trust, health insurance and social relationships can improve it. From a policy perspective, we find that basic unmet needs still need to be fulfilled to increase well-being, and further improvements of the institutional framework, redistributive system and inclusion policies are required. In this respect, we observe that Good Living-based policy accurately addresses these elements and, therefore, has great potential for application in other countries with similar characteristics.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Contextual Dimensionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Determinants of Subjective Well-Being in a Developing Country: The Ecuadorian Case

Pontarollo

Segovia

2019

J Happiness Stud

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“…The material presented and discussed below is gleaned from secondary and primary sources. The former is the prodigious body of literature, scholarly and grey, describing and analyzing foreign mining companies and mining communities in Ghana (see for example, Akabzaa 2000; Akabzaa and Darimani 2001;Andrews 2018Andrews , 2019Ayelazuno 2011Ayelazuno , 2014CHRAJ 2008;Human Rights Clinic 2010;Ismi 2003;WACAM 2016;Wan 2014). The primary source is based on ethnographic work we did in four mining communities in the Western region; Bondaye, Prestea, Dumasi, and Teberebi in the Prestea-Huni Valley and Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipalities.…”

Section: Gold Mining and Ecological Imperialism In Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

Large-scale mining and ecological imperialism in Africa: the politics of mining and conservation of the ecology in Ghana

Ayelazuno

Mawuko-Yevugah

2019

Journal of Political Ecology

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The article draws on the insights of political ecology to illuminate the politics shaping the enforcement of environmental regulation in the mining sector of Ghana. We argue that the Ghanaian state uses strong-arm measures against artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operators, particularly, the subaltern classes engaged in the industry for survival. Periodically, the state deploys the military and the police to clamp down on ASM for destroying the environment, but treats with kid gloves foreign companies engaged in large-scale mining (LSM), wreaking similar disastrous ecological effects on mining communities. The state believes that LSM by foreign companies is a source of foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign mining companies should be incentivized to come and stay in the country. Presented in broad-brush strokes as illegal (galamsey), the Ghanaian state sees ASM as an environmental menace to be fought with all the coercive apparatuses that it can command. Disputing this claim, the article argues that mining-FDI is essentially ecological imperialism, wreaking havoc on the ecosystem of mining communities whose livelihood strategies are in conflict with the accumulation and political interests of foreign mining companies and the Ghanaian political class respectively. The article demonstrates that concerns over the harmful impacts of mining on the ecology of Ghana are neither class-neutral nor free of politics. They are rather highly imbricated in power structures and relations, in which the interest of the ruling class is supreme in the enforcement of environmental regulations in Ghana. The paradox of the biases of the Ghanaian state against ASM, particularly ASM operated by its own citizens for survival, and in favor of foreign mining companies engaged in LSM for profits, is explained with the insights of ecological imperialism.Keywords: Large-scale mining, artisanal and small-scale mining, Operation Vanguard, Ghanaian state biases, ecological imperialism

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“…Rentier activities tend to occur when a resource abundant country earns large revenues to the point where lower taxes are imposed on citizens [24,25,27]. As Ross argues, rentier activities have the potential to reduce the ability of citizens to effectively demand accountability from their governments because of the low taxation regime often put in place ( [24], p. 332).…”

Section: The Resource Curse Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Democratic Institutions, Natural Resource Governance, and Ghana’s Oil Wealth

Kumah-Abiwu

2017

Social Sciences

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Abstract:The literature on natural resources is endowed with works on countries that have experienced slow economic performance despite their abundant natural resources (resource curse), with the exception of Norway and other few countries. Strong institutions and good governance practices have been underscored as some of the explanatory factors to the high performance of the outlier countries. Ghana's oil discovery in the era of its advancing democratic practices has led some to argue that the country might escape the resource curse phenomenon. While recognizing the importance of this argument, this article, however, argues that Ghana's likelihood of escaping the resource curse could be problematic due to its exclusive emphasis on democratic governance without greater focus on oil sector governance. Drawing on the theory of agenda setting and the existing literature, the article makes the case for agenda shift in the debate on Ghana's oil wealth and development. It stresses the need for a dualistic governance (the democratic and the oil sector) approach in the broader discourse on how Ghana can escape the resource curse.

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Oil wealth and the well-being of the subaltern classes in Sub-Saharan Africa: A critical analysis of the resource curse in Ghana

Cited by 75 publications

References 25 publications

The Determinants of Subjective Well-Being in a Developing Country: The Ecuadorian Case

The Determinants of Subjective Well-Being in a Developing Country: The Ecuadorian Case

Large-scale mining and ecological imperialism in Africa: the politics of mining and conservation of the ecology in Ghana

Democratic Institutions, Natural Resource Governance, and Ghana’s Oil Wealth

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