Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

A West African Experiment : Constructing a GDP Series for Colonial Ghana, 1891-1950

Jerven, Morten LU (2014) In Economic History Review 67(4). p.964-992
Abstract
There has been a recent surge in research on long-term African development. For this research agenda to be fruitful and its theories tested, it is crucial to have consistent estimates of economic change. However, there is a lack of reliable time series data for the colonial period in Sub-Saharan Africa. This article contributes new time series data for the Gold Coast and Ghana between 1890 and 2010 and in particular a new GDP time series for Ghana for the years 1891–1957. The series implies a sustained period of economic expansion from the late nineteenth century. This suggests a revision of some prevalent truths about the history of economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, and points the way forward for expanding the database to cover the... (More)
There has been a recent surge in research on long-term African development. For this research agenda to be fruitful and its theories tested, it is crucial to have consistent estimates of economic change. However, there is a lack of reliable time series data for the colonial period in Sub-Saharan Africa. This article contributes new time series data for the Gold Coast and Ghana between 1890 and 2010 and in particular a new GDP time series for Ghana for the years 1891–1957. The series implies a sustained period of economic expansion from the late nineteenth century. This suggests a revision of some prevalent truths about the history of economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, and points the way forward for expanding the database to cover the colonial period for other African economies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Economic History Review
volume
67
issue
4
pages
29 pages
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
ISSN
1468-0289
DOI
10.1111/1468-0289.12066
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
b33d439e-7576-4e6b-96de-0d21278f45bc
date added to LUP
2017-06-19 06:05:15
date last changed
2019-03-08 02:25:55
@article{b33d439e-7576-4e6b-96de-0d21278f45bc,
  abstract     = {{There has been a recent surge in research on long-term African development. For this research agenda to be fruitful and its theories tested, it is crucial to have consistent estimates of economic change. However, there is a lack of reliable time series data for the colonial period in Sub-Saharan Africa. This article contributes new time series data for the Gold Coast and Ghana between 1890 and 2010 and in particular a new GDP time series for Ghana for the years 1891–1957. The series implies a sustained period of economic expansion from the late nineteenth century. This suggests a revision of some prevalent truths about the history of economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, and points the way forward for expanding the database to cover the colonial period for other African economies.}},
  author       = {{Jerven, Morten}},
  issn         = {{1468-0289}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{964--992}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Economic History Review}},
  title        = {{A West African Experiment : Constructing a GDP Series for Colonial Ghana, 1891-1950}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-0289.12066}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/1468-0289.12066}},
  volume       = {{67}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}