Nurturing Sustainable Prosperity in West Africa

“Through the lens of personal experience, Dr. Armah walks us through the scholarly research on culture, corruption and economics as it applies to the Ghanaian experience. We are left with a partially disappointing picture of a country wealthy in people and resources, but poor in growth but cannot help but imagine that Ghana has turned a corner and that history may well turn out to be kind to the country Dr. Armah clearly loves.” –Kenneth Leonard, Associate Professor, University of Maryland at College Park

“Management consultants and corporate leadership experts have often verified Peter Drucker’s observation that ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast.’ This book represents a heartfelt effort to recognize and grapple with the power of culture over economic strategy and development policy. Stephen Armah’s reflections on Ghanaian experiences reveal how a deeper appreciation of culture and mindset can help us understand the persistence of corruption and elements of a path forward.” -Alex Winter-Nelson, Director of ACES Office of International Programs, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Using Ghana as a case study, this book argues that local culture and tradition play a role in shaping economic institutions that operate in a country. This book focuses on how certain cultural practices lead to an environment more susceptible to cronyism and corruption. The book then discusses the relationship between culture and rampant corruption, and how these in sum have harmed Ghana’s economic development.

Stephen E. Armah is Chair of the Business Administration Department at Ashesi University, Ghana. Stephen is also the Director of the Ashesi Economics Lecture Series, the Faculty Leaf for Capstone Research and the Institution’s Liaison for the Global Liberal Arts Association. He is the author of several articles in development economics, focusing on inflation, foreign aid and the economics of the cocoa sector.