Oil Windfalls in Ghana


Book Description

We use a calibrated multi-sector DSGE model to analyze the likely impact of oil windfalls on the Ghanaian economy, under alternative fiscal and monetary policy responses. We distinguish between the short-run impact, associated with demand-related pressures, and the medium run impact on competitiveness and growth. The impact on inflation and the real exchange rate could be moderate, especially if the fiscal authorities smooth oil-related spending or increase public spending’s import content. However, a policy mix that results in both a fiscal expansion and the simultaneous accumulation of the foreign currency proceeds from oil as international reserves—to offset the real appreciation—would raise demand pressures and crowd-out the private sector. In the medium term, the negative impact on competitiveness—resulting from ”Dutch Disease” effects—could be small, provided public spending increases the stock of productive public capital. These findings highlight the role of different policy responses, and their interaction, for the macroeconomic impact of oil proceeds.




Oil to Cash


Book Description

Oil to Cash explores one option to help countries with new oil revenue avoid the so-called resource curse: just give the money directly to citizens. A universal, transparent, and regular cash transfer would not only provide a concrete benefit to regular people, but would also create powerful incentives for citizens to hold their government accountable. Oil to Cash details how and where this idea could work and how policymakers can learn from the experiences with cash transfers in places like Mexico, Mongolia, and Alaska.




Oil and Development in Ghana


Book Description

This book gives a comprehensive overview of Ghana’s hydrocarbon economy using actor network and assemblage theories to contest the methodological nationalism of mainstream accounts of the resource curse in resource-rich countries. Drawing upon recent field research focused on Ghana’s oil and gas sector and utilizing the theoretical framework of actor network theory, the authors contend that there is an assemblage of political, economic, social and environmental networks, processes, actions, actors, and structures of power that coalesce to determine the extent to which the country’s hydrocarbon resources could be regarded as a "curse" or "blessing." This framing facilitates a better understanding of the variety (and duality) of local and global forces and power structures at play in Ghana’s growing hydrocarbon industry. Giving a nuanced and multi-perspectival analysis of the factors that underlie oil-engendered development in Ghana, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of African political economy, development and the politics of resource extraction.




Global Implications of Lower Oil Prices


Book Description

The sharp drop in oil prices is one of the most important global economic developments over the past year. The SDN finds that (i) supply factors have played a somewhat larger role than demand factors in driving the oil price drop, (ii) a substantial part of the price decline is expected to persist into the medium term, although there is large uncertainty, (iii) lower oil prices will support global growth, (iv) the sharp oil price drop could still trigger financial strains, and (v) policy responses should depend on the terms-of-trade impact, fiscal and external vulnerabilities, and domestic cyclical position.




Oil, Democracy, and Development in Africa


Book Description

This book focuses on the history, key industry and policy actors, and political economic outcomes in oil-producing African states, filling a gap in the literature on resource-abundant countries by providing an optimistic assessment of circumstances in contemporary Africa.




In Pursuit of Jubilee


Book Description

In Pursuit of Jubilee Field is about a businessman who rose to the challenge and initiated an effort that would result in one of the largest discoveries of premium grade oil on the African continent. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. Yet, even before a drop of oil could be pumped, a firestorm would ensue when the new government of Ghana launched a criminal investigation of George Owusu, bringing the nation's fledgling oil industry to the brink of chaos and plunging his life into a nightmare. This riveting story answers many of the questions from George's point of view and captures how one man, upon whom the nation had bestowed its most coveted award, becomes a target, overnight. As often as not in life, good deeds, honesty and hard work aren't always met with joy. But integrity and fortitude always triumphs.




Boundaries, Communities and State-Making in West Africa


Book Description

By examining three centuries of history, this book shows how vital border regions have been in shaping states and social contracts.




Governance, Conflict, and Natural Resources in Africa


Book Description

A country's abundant natural resources may serve as a curse or a blessing, with the outcome often dependent on prevailing governance structures and experience managing these assets. Despite natural resource advantages, many African countries have failed to transform their enormous economic potential and wealth into tangible benefits such as sustainable socio-economic development, human security, or peace. Governance, Conflict, and Natural Resources in Africa reevaluates the role that foreign state-owned and private-sector actors play in resource-rich states – whether stable, post-conflict, or fragile – in sub-Saharan Africa. Through research and an analysis of in-depth interviews with local stakeholders in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia, Hany Besada explains how foreign state-owned and private-sector corporations have contributed to economic growth at both the national and local levels in different resource-rich countries. This book reveals the unique challenges and opportunities created by these investors, demonstrating that new policies in business practices and operations have the potential to generate sustainable development and positive economic transformation. Governance, Conflict, and Natural Resources in Africa puts forward a novel framework for understanding the role of private economic actors in extractive industries in Africa and sheds new light on foreign private-sector contributions to capacity building and economic development.




Governance of the Petroleum Sector in an Emerging Developing Economy


Book Description

Oil exploration in the developing world has been and continues to be a high profile and high risk activity attracting media coverage and stimulating much debate. In Governance of the Petroleum Sector in an Emerging Developing Economy, Professor Kwaku Appiah-Adu has assembled an edited volume that provides insight into critical aspects of this highly sensitive activity. Professor Appiah-Adu’s starting point is Ghana, where he has been closely involved in national policy-making. The book makes comparisons between that African country and others as diverse as Trinidad and Tobago, and Norway. The contributors, global experts in their respective fields, explore five critical themes and propose strategies for progress in each. You will find an in-depth analysis relating to: turning oil and gas wealth into sustainable and equitable development; entrenching transparency and stakeholder engagement; effective management of the oil and gas sector; and safeguarding security and the environment. Finally, country specific models and lessons, particularly for Ghana and other African oil producing nations, are offered. This book serves as reference for business practitioners, policy makers, scholars, students and anyone interested in gaining insight into the oil and gas sector, particularly as it pertains to Ghana and other African petroleum producing nations, with lessons drawn from the global arena and international best practice.




The Report: Ghana 2011


Book Description