Fiscal Policy – Institute for Fiscal Studies Ghana

October 23, 2017

Government Expenditure Arrears in Ghana: Trends, Causes and Management [Occasional Paper 12]

[Occasional Paper 12] Government Expenditure Arrears in Ghana: Trends, Causes, and Management Government expenditure arrears have reached a significant proportion in recent years, and their clearance has contributed to the growth in public expenditure, deficits, and debt. This paper tracks the arrears problem and examines its causes and management. Read full paper here Occasional Paper 12

March 12, 2018

Ghana’s Growing Public Debt and Its Implications for the Economy

Fiscal Alert 11: Ghana’s Growing Public Debt and Its Implications for the Economy Rising public expenditures in the context of persistently weak revenue performance have undermined Ghana’s fiscal and debt sustainability in recent years. As the coun- try’s fiscal risks remained high, credible fiscal consolidation was required to reverse the unfavorable debt dynamics and reduce domestic refinancing risks. The fiscal management strategy of the new government that came into office in January 2017 aims at restoring fiscal discipline, reversing the fiscal deterioration it inherited and putting the public debt on a downward and sustainable path. Unfortunately, it does not appear that […]

November 15, 2018

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[Occasional Paper 18] Ensuring Strong Broad-Based Economic Growth and Significant Reduction in Unemployment in Ghana Having witnessed a decline in economic growth in the 1990s on average, Ghana recorded increased rates of economic growth in the 2000s. In 2011 and 2012, the economy of Ghana registered exceptionally high growth rates. Even though this was partly due to the production of oil in commercial quantities, which began in December 2012, the traditional non-oil sector also saw very high growth rates in these years. However, starting from 2013, the growth of both the total and non-oil economies began to decline, reaching incredibly […]

November 19, 2018

The 2018 Fiscal Policy Objectives and Targets: What has changed?

Fiscal Alert 15: The 2018 Fiscal Policy Objectives and Targets: What has changed? Ghana has been facing fiscal difficulties since 2012 and the effects were at the forefront of the fiscal challenges that confronted the NPP government that came into office in 2017. For most of the past six years, large persistent fiscal deficits and a rising debt burden have posed an increasingly serious policy challenge for the country. The implementation of the single spine salary structure for the public sector in 2010, coupled with a sharp rise in energy-subsidy costs and fiscal transfers, rapidly increased public spending. Consequently, the […]

November 19, 2018

The 2018 Fiscal Policy Objectives and Targets: What has changed?

Fiscal Alert 15: The 2018 Fiscal Policy Objectives and Targets: What has changed? Ghana has been facing fiscal difficulties since 2012 and the effects were at the forefront of the fiscal challenges that confronted the NPP government that came into office in 2017. For most of the past six years, large persistent fiscal deficits and a rising debt burden have posed an increasingly serious policy challenge for the country. The implementation of the single spine salary structure for the public sector in 2010, coupled with a sharp rise in energy-subsidy costs and fiscal transfers, rapidly increased public spending. Consequently, the […]

November 20, 2018

Leslie Mensah delivering post 2019 budget statement

IFS Ghana’s Post-2019 Budget Press Statement

IFS Ghana’s Post-2019 Budget Press Statement Ahead of the reading of the 2019 budget, IFS presented its views and expectations in key areas in a press conference. After the reading, the Institute has assessed the budget in light of its expectations. The Institute is once again meeting with the press to comment on issues it deems pertinent. The presentation will cover: Economic Growth and Job Creation; Fiscal Policy Stance and Realism of the Projections; Domestic Revenue Mobilization; Expenditure Control and Rationalization; Infrastructure Development and financing; and Exiting IMF Financial Program and Legislating Fiscal Responsibility. Our statement is intended to contribute […]