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The Ghanaian manufacturing sector 1991-1995: firm growth, productivity and convergence

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  • Francis Teal

Abstract

The removal of high levels of protection combined with substantial real devaluations has changed the environment in which Ghanaian manufacturing firms have operated in the 1990s. The changes in output, composition and productivity, which have occurred over this period, are examined in this paper. Survey evidence for the growth of the sector is shown to be consistent with data from sales tax returns. Analysis of the panel survey shows that, in a comparative context, the rate of job creation in Ghana’s manufacturing sector is high. This rate is highest in medium sized firms; small firms have not grown more rapidly than larger firms. There has been no underlying growth in technical efficiency and output growth has been matched by a commensurate growth in labour and capital inputs. Labour productivity differs substantially by firm size due primarily to differences in physical, not human, capital endowments.

Suggested Citation

  • Francis Teal, 1998. "The Ghanaian manufacturing sector 1991-1995: firm growth, productivity and convergence," CSAE Working Paper Series 1998-17, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:csa:wpaper:1998-17
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Francis Teal, 1995. "Real wages and the demand for labour in Ghana`s manufacturing sector," Economics Series Working Papers WPS/1995-07, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    2. Teal, Francis, 2000. "Real wages and the demand for skilled and unskilled male labour in Ghana's manufacturing sector: 1991-1995," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 447-461, April.
    3. Steven J. Davis & John C. Haltiwanger & Scott Schuh, 1998. "Job Creation and Destruction," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262540932, April.
    4. Taye Mengistae, 1996. "Age-size effects in productive efficiency: a second test of the passive learning model," CSAE Working Paper Series 1996-02, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    5. repec:nsr:niesrd:77 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Hart, Peter E & Oulton, Nicholas, 1996. "Growth and Size of Firms," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(438), pages 1242-1252, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

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    2. Reyes Aterido & Mary Hallward-Driemeier & Carmen Pagés, 2011. "Big Constraints to Small Firms' Growth? Business Environment and Employment Growth across Firms," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(3), pages 609-647.
    3. Leslie A. Martin & Shanthi Nataraj & Ann E. Harrison, 2017. "In with the Big, Out with the Small: Removing Small-Scale Reservations in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(2), pages 354-386, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ghana; productivity; manufacturing; human capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity

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