This book explores the significant economic transformation of Ghana over the three decades since the end of the Cold War, focusing on the role of political-economic change and reform. The Politics of Economic Reform in Ghana presents a range of perspectives from scholars drawn from both academia and policy-making on the way Ghanaian economic reforms have been shaped by various political and economic actors. First, it establishes and debates the uniqueness of Ghana as a case study in Africa, and the developing world. Second, the book offers a broad account of how global and domestic political or institutional actors have contributed to shaping economic development in Ghana. Drawing on theoretical perspectives, the volume assesses how major political-economic changes have affected Ghana’s economic development. This book will be of interest to students, scholars, policymakers, and organizations interested in the economic and political advancement of Africa, as well as African Politics and Economics.

Policymakers around the world have increasingly agreed that macroeconomic discipline, microeconomic liberalization, and outward orientation are prerequisites for economic success. But what are the political conditions that make economic transformation possible? At a conference held at the Institute for International Economics, leaders of economic reform recounted their efforts to bring about change and discussed the impact of the political climate on the success of their efforts. In this book, these leaders explore the political conditions conducive to the success of policy reforms. Did economic crisis strengthen the hands of the reformers? Was the rapidity with which reforms were instituted crucial? Did the reformers have a "honeymoon" period in which to transform the economy? The authors answer these and other questions, as well as providing first-hand accounts of the politically charged atmosphere surrounding reform efforts in their countries.

The global economic crisis of 2008/2009 has had a broad impact far beyond economic concerns. Most importantly, it has been seen as a crisis of governance and debates have not just questioned specific regulations, e.g. of global financial markets, but have additionally challenged the appropriateness of underlying governance concepts not only in global markets, but also at the national level. For the post-socialist countries, which adopted market-oriented governance mechanisms less than two decades ago, the global crisis was the first stress test after the post-socialist recovery. The contributions in this book focus on the impact of the crisis and related reform attempts in two important areas. The first area is financial and monetary policy, which is at the core of the global crisis of 2008/2009. The second area is relations between business and state actors, where corruption and weak institutional frameworks can both seriously hamper reform attempts. The volume comprises essential contributions on how the post-socialist countries have tried to cope with the first global economical crisis they saw themselves confronted with.

Over the last several years, Vanuatu has become one of the fastest growing economies in the Pacific region driven primarily by tourism, construction, and aid inflows. The achievement of strong economic growth has also occurred on the back of improved economic policy, effective fiscal management, and improved environment for private sector development. While recent gains have been impressive, more remains to be done to sustain growth and ensure the benefits are distributed throughout the nation. The Government is now on a sound financial footing and is well placed to address key development issues. The report discusses options for responding to these needs with a view to helping guide public policy formulation in Vanuatu.

First published in 1999, this book has its main emphasis on the consequences of privatisation for the Russian population in Estonia, The Book will attempt to answer the following questions by comparing the Estonians and the Russians.The process of restoration of the Republic of Estonia (which began to move fast in the late 1980’s and culminated with the declaration of national independence in 1991) is seen as an important political factor behind the economic reform in Estonia. This reform during the transition period is generally considered to be among the most successful in eastern Europe.

First published in 1998, this volume contributes to the debate after the fall of the Soviet Union on the transition of Eastern European, former Soviet countries to a market economy. The transition was an enterprise as daring in practice and historically unprecedented as it is an analytical laboratory subject to constant reflection. The first two chapters address foreign direct investment in Central and Eastern European countries. The rebuilding of social insurance systems is then addressed, with a focus on state pension schemes. The subsequent two chapters examine the political and demographic features of transition countries, highlighting media reform as a key aspect for the consolidation of a democratic, law-based, market economy and society. Focus then turns to Poland, the country which is considered to display the most progress in the political economy of transition. Finally, the controversial issue of the electoral successes of former Communist parties in Central and Eastern Europe is discussed.

In a single volume, this book treats the theoretical, empirical, and case studies approaches to the implementation of monetary reforms and discusses specific countries' experiences with these approaches. The analyses are not restricted to central bank or exchange rate reforms, but consider all the principal tools of monetary reforms in this volume. The first section surveys and examines the types of monetary reforms. The second and third sections examine the pros and cons of exchange rate management and central bank independence. The final section of the book presents case studies on monetary and central bank experiences in Germany, the United States, Canada and Hungary.

This book examines the economic reforms and material progress made since the Central Asian republics became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Without some of the neo-liberal reforms recommended by the "Washington Consensus" and with an authoritarian presidency, Uzbekistan, the largest of these countries, has nevertheless achieved modest economic growth, stability, and a relatively impressive degree of income equality. The country has also preserved its economic and political independence from the great powers — Russia, China, and the USA — who are rivals for influence and energy in Central Asia. Human rights have been poorly enforced, though occasional thaws have also taken place. In second half of the book features a comparative analysis of four Central Asian states, all super-presidential authoritarianisms but with very different resource endowments and external commitments. A separate chapter deals with the energy resources of the region and the challenges of bringing oil and gas to the world market, and the question of whether Central Asian states will return to the Russian sphere of influence or seek closer ties with Asia or Europe is examined. The book concludes with prospects for future political and economic progress in the key Central Asian states.