Since independence in 1957, Ghana has tried a number of approaches to achieving acceptable rates of growth and development. A period of rapid industrialization in the 1960s, then control measures and further state interventions in the 1970s, was followedby a comprehensive programme from the mid-1980s based on a policy of economic liberalization.

However, initial growth and macroeconomic stability has not been sustained beyond the short term. This work discusses the economic reforms that have taken place in Ghana since independence in 1957. It includes sections on: structure and growth; fiscal, savings and investment policies; the external sector; factor markets; sectoral performance; socio-economic development; and the future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ernest Aryeetey is Associate Professor of Economics at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, University of Ghana, Legon.

Jane Harrigan is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Economic Studies, the University of Manchester.

Machiko Nissanke is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.