ABSTRACT
The ‘resource curse’ refers to the paradox that countries with an abundance of natural resources, specifically petroleum resources, tend to have lower economic growth and less democratic government than countries with fewer natural resources. Democratic institutionalization is important in this respect. It seems that a country will be cursed only when the discovery of petroleum resources is made before democratic institutions are established and consolidated. The question is whether Ghana, as a new petroleum-exporting country, can withstand the pressures that a sudden resource boom will create. Are Ghana’s democratic institutions sufficiently strong to withstand the pressures for rent-seeking and political monopolies? Ghana’s level of democracy and institutional strengths are analysed using international, comparative governance statistics, like the World Governance Indicators (WGI), the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the Open Budget Index and assessments by international organizations like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the Revenue Watch Institute. According to these data, which basically picture positively Ghana’s level of democratic institutionalization, and the fact that Ghana has held four fully competitive multiparty elections, it is fair to conclude that Ghana can avoid the trappings of the resource curse.
