Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Comparative Analysis of the Structural Adjustment Programs in Ghana and Zambia: Policies and Performance

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Jerry John Rawlings

Abstract

 The external shocks stemming from the commodity market crash of the 1970s made many Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries enter the 1980s in economic crisis. These economic shockwaves were even more pronounced in countries like Ghana and Zambia, which heavily depend on commodity exports for foreign exchange earnings. Ultimately, the mid-1980s felt like deja vu as many SSA countries, including Ghana and Zambia, desperately needed additional income streams to fund government spending. In response to the current account deficits and persistent budget deficits, these countries succumbed to the pressure of adopting Economic Recovery Programs (ERPs) and IMF/World Bank-sponsored Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs). The chapter presents the evolution of the economies of Ghana and Zambia during the post-independence and the structural adjustment periods. The comparative analysis of the two countries includes a review of the main features of the specific policy reforms carried out by the Ghanaian and Zambian governments, respectively, between 1983 and 1992. 

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Given that oil is a major input in the production function, an increase in oil prices directly affects the prices of goods by indirectly affecting the cost of transportation, heating, and production—which in turn makes producers to pass on the costs to consumers. Increases in oil prices can depress the supply of other goods because they increase the costs of producing them.

  2. 2.

    Good governance has been touted as the bedrock for enhancing effective development. Governance describes the way countries and societies manage their affairs politically, the way power is exercised, protection of human and civil rights, and being accountable to the public (World Bank, 2009).

  3. 3.

    There is evidence that suggests that partisan ideologies have an influence on policy implementation and ultimately affect the long-term trend of economic growth (North, 1990).

References

  • Adam, C., & Simpasa, A. M. (2009). Harnessing resource revenues for prosperity in Zambia. Revised draft report of the OxCarre Project for the Revenue Watch Institute, University of Oxford, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahluwalia, P., & Zegeye, A. (2001). Multiparty democracy in Tanzania: Crisis in the union. African Security Review, 10(3), 34–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Appiah-Opoku, S. (1998). The World Bank’s structural adjustment programs in Africa: The case of Ghana. Africa Notes, 6–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boachie-Danquah, Y. (1992). Structural adjustment programs and welfare interventions: The case of Ghana. Africa Insight, 22(4), 244–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boafo-Arthur, K. (1999). Ghana’s politics of international economic relations under the PNDC, 1982–1992. African Study Monograph, 20(2), 73–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bratton, M., Peter Lewis, P., Gyimah-Boadi, E., & E. (2001). Constituencies for reform in Ghana. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 39(2), 231–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cashin, P., Liang, H., & McDermott, J. (2000). How persistent are shocks to world commodity prices?IMF Staff Papers, 47(2), 177–217. International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Central Statistical Office. (2014). Zambia in figures: 1964–2014. Central Statistical Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chazan, N. (1991). The political transformation of Ghana under the PNDC. In D. Rothchild (Ed.), Ghana: The political economy of recovery (pp. 21–47). Lynne Reinner Publishers.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, J., & Allison, C. (1989). Zambia: Debt and poverty. Published by Oxfam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniel, P. (1985). Zambia structural adjustment – Downward spiral? IDS Bulletin, 16(3), 52–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Kemp, A., Faust, J., & Leiderer, S. (2011). Between high expectations and reality: An evaluation of government support in Zambia, synthesis report. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fundanga, C. M. (2005). Zambia’s economic outlook – What have we learnt in the last 40 years and where do we go from here? Paper presented at the CIMA Zambia annual business discussion.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greene, J. E., & Khan, M. S. (1990). The African debt crisis. AERC Special Paper No 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gyimah-Boadi, E. (1994). Ghana’s uncertain political opening. Journal of Democracy, 5(2), 75–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herbst, J. I. (1993). The politics of reform in Ghana, 1982–1991. University of California Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hilson, G. (2004). Structural adjustment in Ghana: Assessing the impacts of mining-sector reform. Africa Today, 51(2), 52–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Humphreys, C., & Jaeger, W. (1989). Africa’s adjustment and growth. Finance and Development, 26(2), 6–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huq, M. M. (1989). The economy of Ghana: The first 25 years. Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kalinda, B., & Floro, M. (1992). Zambia in the 1980s: A review of national and urban level economic reforms, (INURD WP 18).

    Google Scholar 

  • Konadu-Agyemang, K. (2000). The best of times and the worst of times: Structural adjustment programs and uneven development in Africa: The case of Ghana. The Professional Geographer, 52(3), 469–483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraus, J. (1991). The struggle over structural adjustment in Ghana. Africa Today, 38(4), 19–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, A. (1987). Origins of the developing countries debt Crisis. Journal of Development Economics, 27(1–2), 165–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumah-Abiwu, F. (2016). Leadership traits and Ghana’s foreign policy: The case of Jerry Rawlings’ foreign economic policy of the 1980s. The Round Table, 105(3), 297–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Libby, R. T., & Woakes, M. E. (1980). Nationalization and the displacement of development policy in Zambia. African Studies Review, 23(1), 33–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez, R. E., & Thomas, V. (1990). Import dependency and structural adjustment in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank Economic Review, 4(2), 195–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loxley, J. (1990). Structural adjustment in Africa: Reflections on Ghana and Zambia. Review of African Political Economy, 17(47), 8–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mosley, P. (1987). Conditionality as a bargaining process: Structural adjustment lending, 1980–86. Princeton Essays in International Finance No. 168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mundell, R. A. (1989). Perspective of debt adjustment. Economic Impact, 60, 6–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mungomba, N., Haatongo-Masenke, R., & Cheelo, C. (2020). A tale of two countries: Lessons from Zambia and Ghana in Engaging the IMF. Working Paper No. 38. Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR).

    Google Scholar 

  • North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change, and economic performance. Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Opoku, D. (2008). Political dilemmas of indigenous capitalist development in Africa: Ghana under the Provisional National Defence Council. Africa Today, 55(2), 25–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oquaye, M. (2004). Politics in Ghana 1982–1992: Rawlings, revolution, and populist democracy. Tornado Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osei, B. (2000). Ghana: The burden of debt-service payment under structural adjustment. In M. S. Khan & S. I. Ajayi (Eds.), External debt and capital flight in sub-saharan Africa (pp. 57–92). International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rimmer, D. (1992). Staying poor: Ghana’s political economy 1950–1990. Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roemer, M. (1982). Economic development in Africa: Performance since independence and a strategy for the future. Daedalus, 111(2), 125–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saasa, O. S. (1996). Policy reforms and structural adjustment in Zambia: The case of agriculture and trade. Technical Paper No. 35. Institute for African Studies, University of Zambia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simutanyi, N. (1996). The politics of structural adjustment in Zambia. Third World Quarterly, 17(4), 825–839.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suckling, J. (1985). The impact of energy price increases on an export-dependent economy: Zambia 1970–82. ILO, World Employment Programme Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Summers, L. H., & Pritchett, L. H. (1993). The structural-adjustment debate. American Economic Review, 83(2), 383–389.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taiwo, I. O. (1991). Commodity prices and debt crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eastern Africa Economic Review, 7(2), 39–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weissman, S. R. (1990). Structural adjustment in Africa–insights from the experiences of Ghana and Senegal. World Development, 18(12), 1621–1634.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werlin, H. H. (1994). Ghana and South Korea: Explaining development disparities. Journal of African and Asian Studies, 3(4), 205–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitworth, A. (2015). Explaining Zambian poverty: A history of (nonagriculture) economic policy since independence. Journal International Development, 27(7), 953–986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2009). Reshaping economic geography. World Economic Report, World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, College of Business, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS, USA

    Chali Nondo

  2. Department of Africana Studies, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Felix Kumah-Abiwu

Authors
  1. Chali Nondo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Felix Kumah-Abiwu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chali Nondo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Africana Studies, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Felix Kumah-Abiwu

  2. Department of History and Political Science, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL, USA

    Sabella Ogbobode Abidde

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Nondo, C., Kumah-Abiwu, F. (2022). A Comparative Analysis of the Structural Adjustment Programs in Ghana and Zambia: Policies and Performance. In: Kumah-Abiwu, F., Abidde, S.O. (eds) Jerry John Rawlings. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14667-1_18

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation