Evaluating the Efficiency of Forestry Policy for Inclusive Growth in Ghana

Abstract

The study evaluates the efficiency of forestry policy implemented in Ghana, where about 70% of the population depends on forest resources for livelihood and cultural purposes. It sought to assess how efficiently forestry policy had been implemented in Ghana, to inform policy on how benefits of forestry policy could promote inclusive growth. It employs an inclusive wealth framework to ascertain the social opportunity cost due to forestry policy implementation in Ghana, an indicator of the economic welfare effect of the policy. The results show negative net divergence in revenue due to forestry policy implementation, indicating a distorting influence of forestry policy on Ghana’s forestry sector, creating increasing inefficiency. Computed summary ratios – Nominal Protection Coefficient, Effective Protection Coefficient and Subsidy Ratio to Producers, confirmed that forestry policy implementation in Ghana had induced lower economic welfare in the country. Ghana will need to apply the holistic model, with special emphasis on the economic and social subsectors to ensure that implemented forestry policy leads to inclusive growth.

Keywords: Efficiency, Forestry policy, Ghana, Inclusive growth, Policy analysis matrix