[1.0] currently, approaching to an election day, a lot of political campaign promises is spewing out across the length and breadth of Ghana which all need a critically intellectual examination to assess it feasibility of application.
Since Bastiat Ghana as a Liberal Economic Think Tank is ideologically friendly to industrial growth and economic empowerment, it became a priority to examine such case through a comparative studies based on historical perspective, taking into consideration current economic status of Ghana’s economy.
[1.1] Questions raised; Is such promise possible, considering the stage of Ghana’s economic development Examining the political and Institutional dynamics existing, could such promise be realized, within a stipulated period of time in Presidential term of office
[1.2] to address the above raised questions, relevant foundational argument need to be laid out to define the conflicting understanding on certain politico-economic terminologies, which are “policy” and “institution”; is there a significant difference in both words in the action of state economic management? It obvious that majority may quickly respond yes, if your respond is yes, then I tell you this very day, you lack a clear understanding of what a developing and underdeveloped economy means under the school of economic studies. Such is the reason why, despite government interventions, yet we are having a deteriorating standard of economic living in developing country like Ghana.
[1.3] I posit that the two terms “Policy” and “Institution” are inseparable in economic management, because good “policies” is as good as it “Institutions” that produce and implement it. Therefore it will be an intellectually suicidal to adopt Eurocentric recommended policies (from a developed economy) to be implemented by an Institutions of developing or underdeveloped countries.
[1.4] It quiet surprising and strange, when most Ghanaian scholars are engaged in intellectual discourse on the challenges facing the country economy, they quickly resort to historical economic comparative and analytical argument using Eurocentric economic systems as standards to measure the Ghanaian economy without considering for a second, what it was like when Britain, USA, France or Germany were at the stage of developing economy. And possible ask themselves what kind of policies and institutions were in existence. If you will want to have historical data information of how the developed countries structures and systems looked like in the past, when they were on the status of developing economy. I will recommend literatures at my reference column, for further reading.
[1.5] in other to avoid the misdirection of my ultimate objective of this essay, will limit my scope of digression. Critical study into the Ghana’s Economic structure depict that, it possible for the setting up of factory in each district of Ghana, if only it will be backed with a centrally aggressive and accurate policies with it institutions. Especially in a time, where the Trade Ministry of Ghana has chosen to strangle Ghana as a republic state into European Partnership Agreement, while the economic fundamental index indicate clearly, the effect, such a decision will have on domestic industry as well as the adverse damaging impact it has in both medium and long term structure of Ghana industrial economy comparative to the anticipated benefit presented on the table.
[1.6] Historically, economic progress of state, in a globally level, has been engineered by government with a well defined philosophical patterns, accompanied with regulated policies and institutional dynamics to respond to circumstances and market development in both internal and external. It may look ambitious per the outlook of the promise by the NPP as a Political Party but it very possible when such agenda is driven by central government than individual perspective under a classical theoretical frame work. And will prove my case with historical evidence, using Great Britain as a case study being the colonized masters of Gold Coast which adopted the name Ghana after the attainment of independence.
[1.7] Analyzing the economic developmental patterns of Britain’s in the early 19th Century to the current status. George Friedrich List known as the father of the Infant Industry, argued in his book The Natural System of Political Economy in 1841 that “In the presence of more developed countries, backward countries cannot develop new industries without state interventions”. Great Britain is known to be the first country to historically perfect the art of infant industry promotion.
G. F.List (1841) argued further, Britain having attained to certain grade of development by means of free trade, the great monarch perceived that the highest degree of civilization, power and wealth can only be attained by a combination of manufactures and commerce with agriculture. They further perceived that their newly established natives manufactures could never have hope to succeed in free competition with the old and long established manufactures of foreigners, hence they sought to a system of restrictions, privileges and encouragement to transplant on their native soil the wealth, the talents and the spirit of enterprise of foreigners. Ha-Joon Chang(2003) posit “The characterization of British industrial development is fundamentally at odds with the prevailing view of Britain as a valiant free-trade, free-market economy fighting against dirigiste countries on the continent, eventually proving the superiority of its policies with an industrial success unprecedented in human history”.
G. F.List makes an emphatically scholastic statement in his works and I quote “Free-trade is beneficial among countries at similar levels of industrial development”. This further deduces that any free trade agreement or arrangement globally will only be to the advantage of developed economy under the detriment of less developed economy. Even though G.F.List acknowledge the benefit of Free trade to agricultural exporters in less developed economy but he was quick to emphatically state, such will go against it manufacturing industries, hence affecting it long term economic prosperity. Ha-Joon Chang with a keen look into the contemporary economic arrangement and it doctorines from global super powers assert “ it is a very common clever device that, when anyone has attained the summit of greatness, he kicks away the ladder by which he has climbed up, in order to deprive others of the means of climbing up after him.”
[1.8] This really define the Cosmopolitical secret and tendencies of current European Union Administration, which developing countries should be mindful in the adoption of it recommended policies, that has complex difficulties to it applications but rather should resort to home grown policies created by its own institutions which is highly synchronized to the cultural value of it people
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS TO DRIVE THE INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENT AGENDA
[1.9] Advocacy Think Tanks are to be used by government as it grassroots educational arm instead of the mere media advocacy and exposure in a sensational level that easily leads to misunderstanding, or misleading of the bare fact to the benefit of the masses. It very unfortunate that in the economic structure of Ghana currently, most of the Advocacy Think Tanks are intellectual operating independently with no regulations, which easily open the door as a panacea to the distortion of fact of reality, as a strategy which has the capability to denial central government, it ability to harmonize developmental project agenda through the full support of the masses.
An intellectual Think Tank with a defined specialty could become a weapon of philosophical instructions to the masses to drive strong patriotic spirit, to support state agenda without being politically biased in nature but a service to the state.
[10.0] The summary of Bastiat Institute argument is to laude the idea of district industrial establishment, with an intellectual prove of the feasible nature of such a course, and submit that the masses which has majority of it component as the youth will pay critical attention to such proposal and offer their full support, a means to resurrect the current decline in the standard of economic living.
REFERNCE Ha-Joon Chang (2003) Kicking Away the Ladder Development Strategy in Historical Perspective One district one factory idea is bold step towards industrial reform – Graphic Online – | 2016 http://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/one-district-one-factory-idea-is-bold-step-towards-industrial-
E. Tweneboah Senzu, Ph. D. DBA. CBE.
Executive Director & Head of Research
Bastiat Ghana-Liberal Economic Think Tank
Head of African Institute of Forex & Commodity Trading