Andoh, Samuel K., Bernice J. deGannes Scott, and Grace Ofori-Abebrese. Economic Development in Ghana and Malaysia: A Comparative Analysis.

• Author: Nti, Kwaku

Andoh, Samuel K., Bernice J. deGannes Scott, and Grace Ofori-Abebrese. Economic Development in Ghana and Malaysia: A Comparative Analysis. London: Routledge, 2020.

Economic Development in Ghana and Malaysia examines the intriguing disparity in the economic fortunes of Ghana and Malaysia, two countries that initially had comparable development indexes. Some conservative estimates even put the former, which is now relatively worse off, ahead of the latter at the time when both countries gained independence from Britain. Whereas the real per capita income of Ghana was then a notch higher Malaysia, currently the latter has a far higher level. To put it bluntly, while Malaysia is an upper-middle-income country, Ghana finds itself in the lower-middle-income lot. The authors argue that while Ghana's economic development has been stagnant and sluggish, Malaysia has for the most part enjoyed sustained exponential growth to the extent that it has some lessons to offer Ghana.

The contours of the analysis of this book straddle precolonial and colonial economies as well as postcolonial or post-independence policies that these two countries pursued. Accordingly, the six brief chapters revolve around discussions of economic policies pursued in the immediate pre- and post-independence periods. Reviews of some major basic theories of economic growth and economic development serve as theoretical linkages for the three major chapters--2, 4, and 5--with the last two focusing on the determinants of economic growth in Ghana and Malaysia, respectively. Chapter 6 is devoted to...