Understanding Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (A Study of Ghana’s Growth Trend through the lenses of Primary Commodity Dependence from 1980-2014)

The main objective of this paper is to examine the trend of Ghana’s growth, in order to determine what generally accounts for the trend of Ghana’s growth and primarily the recent slowdown in growth experienced by the country. In this light, analysis was made through an examination of the impact of the economic and production structure on growth and how primary commodities which is the major exports of Ghana have influenced this trend from 1980-2014. The findings suggest that Ghana is a primary commodity dependent country whose growth trend has been informed by the transformation of its economic structure, and the ToT. Most importantly, the current slowdown in Ghana’s growth is due to the recent decline in the prices of its major primary commodity exports and the growth of its exports. These findings support and affirm the radical structuralist argument of diversification based on the theory of dependence and dissents the neoclassical argument of specialization under the Doctrine of Comparative Advantage.