Rethinking Persistent Poverty in Northern Ghana: The Primacy of Policy and Politics over Geography

• Published in: Politics & policy (Statesboro, Ga.) Ga.), 2018-04, Vol.46 (2), p.233-262
• Main Authors: Abdulai, Abdul‐Gafaru, Bawole, Justice Nyigmah, Kojo Sakyi, Emmanuel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Africa; Agricultural Policy; Agricultural products; Bias; Causas de Alta Pobreza; Causes of High Poverty; Comparative advantage; Development; Economic Geography; Elections; Expenditures; Fairness; Food; Geografía; Geography; Income inequality; Internet; Labor Migration; Mass media; Migración Laboral; Migration; Norte de Ghana; Northern Ghana; North‐South Migration; Palabras Clave: Pobreza; Politics; Políticas Agrarias; Poverty; Primacy; Resource allocation; Rewards; Spatial Poverty Traps; Spatial Unevenness in Economic Development; Sub‐Saharan; Sub‐Sahariana; Trampas de Pobreza Espacial; Urban development; Voting; África; 亚撒哈拉; 关键词：贫困; 农业政策; 加纳北部; 劳动力迁移; 地理; 空间贫困陷阱; 非洲; 高度贫困的起因
• ISSN: 1555-5623; 1747-1346
• DOI: 10.1111/polp.12250

The Ghanaian economy has long been characterized by the persistence of regional income inequalities along a north‐south divide, where poverty remains disproportionately concentrated in the northern part of the country. In contrast to much of the extant literature, which explains this phenomenon in terms of the relatively unfavorable geography in the north vis‐à‐vis the south, this article suggests the need to understand this problem as the product of the export‐biased orientation of agricultural policy and the relative neglect of the agricultural products in which the north has comparative advantage in producing. The Ghanaian experience suggests that relying on migration and other redistributionist measures as the means to overcome spatial poverty traps can be problematic not only for regions that are not well connected to those prosperous parts of a country but also for those that are fully connected through adverse forms of inclusion. Related Articles Moreno‐Jaimes, Carlos. 2011. “Is Local Spending Responsive to the Poor? An Appraisal of Resource Allocation and Electoral Rewards in Mexico.” Politics & Policy 39 (6): 1021‐1052. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00328.x/ Bowman, Kirk S. 2002. “Will Vote for Food? Regime Type and Equity in the Developing World.” Politics & Policy 30 (4): 736‐760. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2002.tb00142.x/ Dent, David W. 1985. “The Politics of Regional Inequality in Urban Development: Colombia's Costa Atlantica.” Politics & Policy 13 (2): 133‐164. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.1985.tb00017.x/ Related Media Videos: United Nations University. 2013. Politics and Institutions. IGA Conference Parallel 3.4. https://www.wider.unu.edu/video/politics-and-institutions UNU‐Wider. 2013. “IGA Conference ‐ Politics and Institutions Q&A.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXOJoPWSofs UNU‐Wider. 2013. “IGA Conference ‐ Politics and Institutions 2/3.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgsrATArkWg Resumen La pregunta de por qué algunas regiones dentro de las economías del espacio nacional se empobrecen y se quedan en la pobreza ha sido un tema por mucho tiempo de los debates académicos y políticos. Este documento busca contribuir al debate al explorar las causas de fondo de la concentración desproporcionadamente alta de pobreza de ingresos en el norte de Ghana. Mientras que mucha de la investigación existente explica este fenómeno en términos de las variaciones en geog