Promoting inclusive development through allocation of national resources: the case of basic education in Ghana

Abstract

Economic growth and poverty reduction have generally recorded monumental gains in the last two decades globally. On the other hand, worldwide regional inequality has widened considerably. In the year 2009, spatial or regional inequality was one of the major themes of the World Development Report. Similarly, Goal 10 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aims at reducing inequalities within and among countries. These examples point to the relevance of issues of inequalities in contemporary global discourse on development. This study examines the dynamics of regional development disparities in Ghana from a political economy perspectives. The study specifically focuses on whether, through the mechanism of resource allocation, there are any long run causal relationships between political representation and development disparity.

The study comprises both a quantitative and a qualitative part. The quantitative aspect of the study analysed TSCS data from the education sector in Ghana using the ARDL technique. Also, a Benefit Incidence Analysis (BIA) was conducted in the analysis of the Ghana Partnership for Education Grant programme (GPEG). The qualitative aspect of the study utilised both content analysis and interviews. Findings from the study indicate that political representation is significant in the determination of development outcomes. Political representation was found to be significant in the resource allocation process, confirming the arguments of power relations theorists that resource allocation is the primary mechanism via which regional inequalities emerge.

Beside the significance of political representation in the development process, variables such as population, number of schools and population of children of school going age were found to be significant in shaping development outcomes and resource allocation. Consequently, the study recommends that the utilisation of principles of proportionality and deprivation criteria should be strengthened in objective budget allocation models. Findings from the BIA and interviews show that the government of Ghana is making conscious efforts to bridge regional disparities in development through pro-poor social interventions outside the mainstream budgetary allocations.