Raw goods, raw deal: Neoliberalism and the prospects for economic development in Ghana

Like many nations of the developing world, Ghana's economy is built around the exportation of a few raw commodities. This economic base proves problematic for development efforts as raw commodities are incredibly vulnerable to an inherently volatile market. As such, Ghana should seek to diversify its economic base. This has been the goal of every successive government since independence through the adoption of internally oriented development strategies. Proving unsuccessful, Ghana has since adopted the neoliberal export-oriented strategy to economic development. This thesis seeks to evaluate the prospects for economic diversification under such a trade strategy through examining Ghana's relations with its dominant trading partner; the European Union. This relationship has increasingly adopted a neoliberal view of trade as epitomized in the current Economic Partnership Agreements. Ultimately, this increasingly view of liberal trade is antithetical to Ghana's diversification efforts, and as a result, Ghana should abandon this approach to trade.