From 1961 to the present, Ghanas gross domestic product (GDP) change deviated significantly (more than 5.8 percent) from that of the region eight times; of these eight deviations, four were positive, outperforming the region, and four were negative, underperforming the region. This study utilizes process tracing in order to test whether economic policiesprotectionist and liberalhad any impact on those deviations. This study shows that every negative deviation year was preceded by protectionist policies, and, with one exception (explained by currency devaluation), every positive deviation year was preceded by economic liberalization policies. This relationship suggests that the nature of economic policies (liberal versus protectionist) do not necessarily cause large, acute GDP movement, but they may be prerequisites for significant GDP movement in any given year.

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http://archive.org/details/theghanaieconomi1094538912

Major, United States Army