ARTICLE REVIEW :THE ROLE OF URBAN MARKETING IN LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT A POLITICAL ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE

The aggressive marketing of cities to attract private finance and capital is one important aspect of municipal neoliberalism. Urban marketing, as it is called, is said to be the the surest way to deliver urban economic development. Using a political-economic framework, this paper provides an alternative analysis of urban marketing, and highlights other avenues for addressing the urban question.Political Economy, Cities, Markets, Economic Development

TRANSFORMING THIRD WORLD CITIES THROUGH GOOD URBAN GOVERNANCE: FRESH EVIDENCE

Many Ghanaians believe that introducing multi-party elections at the metropolitan, municipal and district levels would ensure the election of competent people to manage the urban or local economy. This belief is premised on the assumption that electorates are informed and would vote for competent politicians. Using the 2008 elections in Ghana, it is argued that only a minority of electorates vote on issues; the majority vote along tribal and party lines; and based on how “humble” a politician is or simply based on monetocracy. This means that introducing elections into the local government system would not necessarily lead to a transformation of the local or urban economy; greater local democracy is not the answer to the housing problem, sanitation crisis, unemployment burden and the poverty challenge. There may be the need for a new form of local democracy.Democracy, Urban, Governance, Ghana, Elections

Relevance of Cocoa Life Project Interventions to Community Development in Rural Ghana: Exploring the Views of Beneficiaries in Wassa East District

This study investigated the relevance of Cocoa Life Project interventions implemented by World Vision Ghana to the development of beneficiary communities using the Wassa East District as a case. The views of members who were mostly farmers, gari processors, soap makers, and members of village savings and loans associations from beneficiary communities were considered in a sequential-dependence mixed method research approach. A total of 406 respondents were selected using stratified, simple random and convenience sampling methods, with 84.2 percent response rate for the quantitative data. Research instruments were interview schedule and focus group discussion guide. Means and standard deviation were used for quantitative analysis whilst thematic analysis was done for the qualitative data. The study observed that WVG’s project interventions were highly relevant to education, business development, financial literacy, microcredit facilities, agriculture, and livelihood diversification within beneficiary communities. Also, awareness creation was one of the main communication tools WVG relied upon in promoting community development in the district. Though the interventions led to behaviour change, there were concerns with the overall change in behaviour within the communities. Besides, beneficiary communities had diverse development needs which could only be understood through appropriate and well-planned development communication strategies and approaches. As part of the recommendations, WVG should collaborate with Mondelez International and local authorities to come out with measures to improve upon job creation, behaviour change at the community level, health care services, and water and sanitation in Cocoa Life communities

Strategic analysis of Ghana\u27s wood export sector

Export-led strategies are very crucial to achieving growth and goals of developing and transition economies such as Ghana. As a result, export strategies are being adopted in many developing countries. Although such export strategies might be in place, the deployment of resources and tax payers’ money involved often calls for the investigation of programs and initiatives that exist and perceptions by industry if they are working. Furthermore, Ghana wood exports to the US, a historically major market, have been declining over the past six years. Therefore, there is the need to determine if export constraints to the US market exist. The objective of the study was to assess Ghana’s wood products export sector strategies and performance, and further assess export constraints to the US market. The study indicated that the wood export industry in Ghana perceives that government-led programs and initiatives are not working effectively. There was significant difference in responses based on firm size and product groups. It is therefore suggested that the Government and public and private sector institutions in the wood export sector coordinate activities and creating an enabling environment for Ghana wood products exporters to compete favorably in the international market. In assessing the export constraints to the US, results indicated that respondents have difficulty finding reliable buyers and face a lack of understanding of the US classification and grading system. In addition, large volumes required by US importers are also a major barrier in exporting to the US. There were significant differences in responses based on firm location, firm size and product group. Overall, respondents indicated there was no comprehensive and well documented export strategy in place. This calls for the development of a detailed national export strategy that will address the needs of wood products exporters to make Ghana’s wood product industry competitive in international markets

'Managing Land for the Common Good? Evidence from a community development project in Agona, Ghana'

The common and dominant view that customary land tenure systems in Africa are inefficient because they forbid individuation, are not registered, are insecure, discourage access to credit, and provide incentive for free rider problems is examined through a case study of one community in Ghana, West Africa. A ninety-day field study in the case study area explored the extent to which the land tenure system has supported a community-based housing project and how that, in turn, has shaped or constrained infrastructural and socio-economic and political development. The paper reveals that communal ownership in the case study area deviates from the orthodox description of land tenure systems in Africa and escapes the problems associated with the so-called `tragedy of the commons. Abuse by both the corporation and corporators is possible and probable, but not because of custom. Growing processes of modernisation, commodification, and secularisation will undermine this syste

Politično-ekonomski temelji novega zahodnoafriškega naftnega mesta Sekondi-Takoradi

V članku se z institucionalno-analitično metodo ekonomske zgodovine preučujejo izvor, rast in razvoj novega zahodnoafriškega naftnega mesta Sekondi-Takoradi. Posebna pozornost je namenjena vlogi pristanišč in železnic, njihovemu razvoju in sodelovanju s politično-ekonomskimi ustanovami v preteklih stotih letih. Ta pregledna zgodovinska analiza nakazuje, da je novo zahodnoafriško mesto spet tam, kjer je bilo na začetku. Podobno kot v 20. letih 20. stoletja v državnih in mednarodnih krogih danes ponovno vzbuja nacionalno, regionalno in mednarodno pozornost. Vse kaže, da je treba znova ovrednotiti sodobne zgodbe, ki trdijo, da sta razmah virov in družbeni propad v determinističnem odnosu

The informal sector in Ghana under siege

In order to develop effective policies to improve conditions for people working in the informal sector of the economy, it is crucial to understand how that sector arises, operates, and relates to the state. This article analyses the informal sector in Ghana from this perspective, drawing insight from a wide range of sources such as radio and newspaper accounts to overcome the dearth of official information on the subject. The analysis shows the limits of various approaches that have aimed at revamping the informal sector. It puts the case for a more comprehensive approach to the informal sector than has been evident in previous policies toward the urban economy. © 2011 SAGE Publications

Africa's development post 2015: A critical defence of postcolonial thinking

Drawing on three postcolonial texts, this essay offers a critical defence of postcolonial thinking in the debate about Africa’s development experiences. It argues that this approach is fundamental in appreciating, analysing, and transforming the post 2015 development agenda, especially if it is revised to take neoliberalism more seriously than simply regarding it as ‘neocolonialism’

Mainstream Economics and Conventional Environmental Policies

Is mainstream economics only about growth, efficiency, and sustainability? Many critics contend so, but the recent state of the art in economics suggests not. Respectively drawing on reformist neoclassical economics, neoclassical microeconomics "proper," and behavioral economics, major studies show that mainstream economics provides theories of inequality and unsustainability. However, the theories of causation utilized remain largely neoclassical. Similarly, the bases for repairing the harms are grounded in neoclassical reasoning, while the mechanisms for restoration-ranging from minimalist interventions and income and substitution effects to behavioral nudges-are still mainstream. Fundamentally, they say little or nothing substantial about ecological imperialism, at the heart of which are rent theft and ecological debt, two critical cornerstones of world ecological crises. Therefore, mainstream economists certainly have, use, and apply theories of inequality and unsustainability, but mainstream economists neither have, use, nor apply transformative theories of social stratification, nor ecological imperialism generally. The overall effect of this disconnect from real-world ecological crises is not simply that conventional environmental policies are incomplete, but that mainstream economics and conventional policies deflect attention from ecological imperialism behind veils of rhetoric, prices, and behaviors.Peer reviewe