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

Abstract

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.

A Multivariate VAR Model for Evaluating Sustainable Finance and Natural Resource Curse in West Africa: Evidence from Nigeria and Ghana

“…Among other factors, the capacity for Nigeria to discover more natural resources and maintain existing ones may be significantly reduced due to insufficient funding [9,19,23]. As opposed to the former, Ghana is blessed with abundant natural resources ranging from gold production to oil and gas [24,25]. Currently, Ghana produces over 158 tonnes of gold, and the mining sector contributes to over 90% of total mineral exports [26].…”

“…Currently, Ghana produces over 158 tonnes of gold, and the mining sector contributes to over 90% of total mineral exports [26]. Similarly, Ghana has abundant natural gas reserves that have remained untapped due to poor access to finance [24,27]. Thus, it is unclear whether access to finance can help these two countries better reposition their resources.…”

Impact of higher-income countries on child health in lower-income countries from a climate change perspective. A case study of the UK and Malawi

“…One example of this is ‘the resource curse’, which is a counterintuitive phenomenon where countries with valuable natural resources, such as copper and iron, experience poorer economic growth than those with less mineral extraction. Some scholars argue it has led to a ‘second scramble’ over Africa, and if stronger institutions, development and better governance had been prioritised during the colonial era, perhaps the resource curse would be less prevalent today [ 23 ]. This is pertinent as many of the minerals required for renewable technologies are likely to be extracted from Latin America and Africa, and if the past trajectory is any indication, most minerals will be exported in raw form [ 24 , 25 ].…”