Monetary Policy and Financial Sector Reform in Africa: Ghana's Experience - Paperback

by Mahamudu Bawumia (Author)

Ghana has a reputation as a trailblazer in sub-Saharan Africa in many areas including monetary policy and financial sector reform. This book provides a detailed and chronological account of monetary policy and financial sector reform in Ghana since independence in 1957 in the context of developments in the international monetary system through the Great Depression, the Bretton Woods System, the Washington Consensus, Structural Adjustment, HIPC, and the recent global financial crisis. What informed the choices of the different monetary policy regimes and reforms? What was the role of the political economy? What was the impact of the different monetary regimes and financial sector reforms on the performance of Ghana's economy? The book examines these issues and draws lessons for other African and developing economies.

Author Biography

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is a Visiting Senior Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford, U.K. His research interests are in the areas of monetary policy, financial sector development, and development finance. Dr. Bawumia previously worked for the Central Bank of Ghana where he joined as a Senior Economist in 2000 and rose to the position of Deputy Governor (2006-2009). He is credited with supporting the implementation of significant financial sector reforms in Ghana during his tenure at the Central bank of Ghana. In 2008, Dr. Bawumia was the Vice-Presidential Candidate for the ruling New Patriotic Party in the Ghanaian Presidential Election, which was touted as "Africa's closest election so far. Dr. Bawumia holds Bachelor's, Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from Buckingham University (U.K), Oxford University (Lincoln College), UK, and Simon Fraser University (Canada). He is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (UK) and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (Ghana).