Ghana's Mixed Structural Adjustment Results: Explaining the Poor Private Sector Response

The most worrisome aspect of Ghana's fifteen years of market liberalization reforms is the failure of domestic private business to respond enthusiastically with increased investment. Have domestic private entrepreneurs failed to respond because of their own innate weaknesses as popularly believed in official circles? Do they have genuine concerns that are yet to be addressed? This study focuses on the preconditions for the success of market reforms. The study utilizes survey data to demonstrate that domestic private entrepreneurs in Ghana are not positively responding to Ghana's Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) because they still perceive the existing institutional environment as uncertain. If regime leaders in Ghana and in other African countries wish to ensure sustained development through market reforms, they must address the issue of improving and maintaining institutional credibility.