Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/190138 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2018/89
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
Oil resources are neither a curse nor a blessing. The sound management of these resources can make them beneficial or otherwise. In order to translate Ghana's oil resources into inclusive development amid high expectations, several laws and regulations have been passed and new institutions created. Despite the presence of the new institutions, laws, and regulations, spending from petroleum revenues appears to be rather thinly spread and not efficient. This defeats the purpose of diversification and leads to high debt and cost overruns. On a positive note, the Minister for Finance, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee, and Bank of Ghana have been complying with most of the transparency requirements specified in the laws. It is essential that spending from petroleum revenues is guided by a medium- to long-term inclusive development strategy that is based on proper needs assessment, global trends, feasibility studies, and possible growth dynamics of the country. In addition, expenditure of the annual budget funding amount needs to be rationalized and investment guidelines developed and implemented to focus within-priority expenditures to not more than three project/expenditure categories.
Subjects: 
oil boom
petroleum revenues
oil and macroeconomics
Dutch disease
diversification
Petroleum Revenue Management Law
JEL: 
Q32
Q33
Q38
Q43
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-531-2
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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