Industrial policy in Ghana: Its Evolution and Impact

Abstract

This chapter chronicles the evolution of industry in Ghana over the post-independence era from an inward overprotected ISI strategy of 1960–83 to an outward liberalized strategy during 1984–2000, and since 2001, to the private sector-led accelerated industrial development strategy based on value-addition. Industry in Ghana is mainly dominated by micro and small firms, privately owned and mainly located within urban areas in the form of industrial clusters. Patterns of labour productivity and wages indicate the food processing sub-sector, foreign owned and older firms as the most productive. The emerging policy issues from Ghana’s current industrial policy include how to empower SMEs to expand productive employment and technological capacity within a highly competitive manufacturing sector; how to promote agro-based industrial development to ensure value-addition to manufactures and Ghana’s exports among others.