Fiscal policy, natural resource management and economic growth in Ghana

Abstract

The objective of the study is to examine the effect of Ghana fiscal policies on the economic growth with focus on national resource management. The study adopted the Experimental Research Design and approached the study quantitatively. In the research, Ghana was selected as the population of the study. The World Bank and Bank of Ghana database served as a crucial source of data which covered the period 1983 to 2021. The study adopted descriptive statistics and the ARDL (Autoregressive Distributed Lag) model to analyse the data. The study found that increases in government revenue positively impact economic growth, highlighting the importance of effective revenue mobilization. The study further highlighted the significant influence of fiscal policy on natural resource management and underscored the importance of governance mechanisms in maximizing the developmental impact of natural resource wealth. The findings indicated that the sectorial impact of natural resource management on economic growth varies across different sectors, with the oil sector, in particular, showing a substantial positive impact. The study recommend that the Ghanaian government should develop and implement sector-specific policies that cater to the unique challenges and opportunities within each natural resource sector. The study also recommend that the Ghanaian government should intensify efforts to improve revenue collection mechanisms, particularly from the natural resource sectors, through transparent and fair taxation policies.