Economic complexity and employment for women and youth : the case of Ghana

Abstract

Industry expansion in Ghana is hampered by difficulty in accessing larger markets within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) subregion: products that are exportable through a free tariff regime are subjected to unreasonable delays at the ports. Additionally, costs of production are extremely high: high interest rates, duties on imported raw materials, exchange rate fluctuations, taxes, electricity, as well as labour and training costs. Ineffective regulation and cheap imports are also impediments to economic complexity. ECOWAS countries must commit to enforcing free trade within the sub-region to promote intra West Africa Trade, facilitating the growth of exports and job creation.