Role of Energy and Exports in Economic Growth in Ghana

Abstract

For many years, the quest for sustained economic growth has remained a paramount agenda for developing and emerging economies. However for many of these economies, this goal remains elusive as the myriad of reforms implemented have often failed to yield desired results. The literature is replete with many studies aimed at identifying the sources of growth. Yet the role of energy access and utilization has received little attention, likewise the role of exports. To fill this void and offer direction to policy in emerging economies, this study attempts to investigate the impact of energy use and exports in fostering economic growth and development using Ghanaian data. Findings from this paper reveal that energy consumption and exports are key drivers of economic growth in Ghana. Hence, development policy in the country and beyond must be designed to give careful consideration towards integrating energy policy and export-promotion in order to harness the growth potentials of other sectors of the economy.