The Research Program of the Institute has three key objectives, viz.

  • To produce relevant economic policy research results for use by policy-makers and analysts;
  • To create a platform for open and non-partisan discussions on Ghana’s economic issues, particularly on fiscal and monetary matters;
  • To build credible capacity for research into economic issues pertinent to Ghana.

To this end, the Institute adopts a flexible but cautious approach to the selection of the thematic coverage in research, moving from short-term macro-fiscal issues to longer-term sustainable development issues. The research projects,focusing mainly on Ghana’s economic issues, are planned under the following six major themes:

  1. Fiscal Policy
  2. Macroeconomy & Growth
  3. Fiscal Decentralization
  4. Revenue Mobilization
  5. Pensions & Health Insurance
  6. Oil & Gas – Pricing Deregulation

In all cases, the research agenda and program of activities of the Institute provide a mechanism for generating information and knowledge that respond to the growth and developmental needs of Ghana.To do this, the Institute engages professional economists to undertake research on topical economic issues within the major thematic areas outlined above and produce papers of world-class standards for use by policy-makers and analysts. The IFS research results and commentaries will be authoritative, non-partisan,and capable of influencing public policy in the most effective way. The Institute aims at putting all its research results in the public domain, either in a published form, reports or submissions to relevant bodies.