Development and the Debt Trap: Economic Planning and External Borrowing in Ghana

Ghana is one of the earliest and most serious examples of the build up of foreign debt by a developing country to support its policies for economic growth. This study, first published in 1974 in conjunction with the Overseas Development Institute, analyses Ghana’s economy over twenty years and highlights the problems of the debtor/creditor relationship between developed and developing countries.

The study concludes with an assessment of the creditors’ contribution to Ghana’s critical debt position through their readiness to supply funds without adequately analysing the viability of the programmes they supported and through the repayment and interest terms they offered – terms which were too heavy for Ghana to meet.