Trade Structures and Employment Growth in Ghana: A Historical Comparative Analysis: 1960-89

Intersectoral labor mobility and deforestation in Ghana

“…Armah (1993) notes that the volume of exports during the period from 1984 to 1987 rose steadily from $622 million to $984 million (in constant 1985 dollars) while the total import volume increased from $695 million to $935 million. Correspondingly, cocoa producers received an increasing share of the world market price for their exports.…”

“…During the 1963/64 to 1969/70 period, the policy of import-substituting industrialization (ISI) which emphasized mechanization of agriculture and rapid industrialization with the aim of modernizing the Ghanaian economy was implemented. During the 1960–1965 period, the real value of total payments which the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) made to cocoa producers declined, and the budgeted government expenditure on the cocoa industry also dropped (Armah, 1993). The lower prices received by cocoa producers compared with the existing world market prices discouraged investments in cocoa cultivation technologies (Asare and Wong, 2004).…”

“…The lower prices received by cocoa producers compared with the existing world market prices discouraged investments in cocoa cultivation technologies (Asare and Wong, 2004). There was a dramatic decline in the index of the ‘quantity of insecticide sales to farmers’ during the five-year period (Armah, 1993). Notably, the period of import substitution was associated with relatively lower employment growth rates in the cocoa-oriented regions of Ghana compared with non-cocoa-oriented regions (Armah, 1993).…”

“…There was a dramatic decline in the index of the ‘quantity of insecticide sales to farmers’ during the five-year period (Armah, 1993). Notably, the period of import substitution was associated with relatively lower employment growth rates in the cocoa-oriented regions of Ghana compared with non-cocoa-oriented regions (Armah, 1993). This policy, in effect, encouraged labor movement from rural agriculture to urban manufacturing and the non-traded-goods sector.…”

Marriage of the unwilling? The implication of trade liberalization for the Ghanaian economy

“…After Ghana attained independence in 1957, the country implemented the import-substitution industrialization strategy, coupled with a number of restrictive trade policies such as an increase in import tariffs, non-tariff measures, and exchange rate controls, which lasted until the liberalization period in 1986. the exchange rate was fixed, whereas the quantities of import were stringently restrained through the allocations of foreign exchange by the Bank of Ghana (Armah, 1993). During the period 1970-1982, both the import quantities and the importation of goods and service as a percentage of GDP diminished continuously, while the volume of exports and export share of GDP all exhibited downward trends.…”