Foreign official development assistance (ODA) and Ghana’s development: The case for ‘‘bringing culture back in’’ to the analysis

Abstract

Many developing countries, including Ghana, have received substantial amounts of foreign aid inflows for almost
five decades. The benefits associated with such receipts have however been scarce. It is now a general knowledge
that aid has not yet yielded expected ends. It has been argued that Ghana’s underdevelopment is attributable to
colonialism and the integration into the world capitalist system; others also think foreign aid can help salvage the
developmental problems the country faces. This paper argues that when aid is not applied a conducive political,
economic and socio-cultural environment, it would hardly result in sustainable socio- economic development.
Although we dealt with the political, economic and socio-cultural dimensions to Ghana’s development, we seek to
emphasize a reconsideration of the culture-development argument that has been sheltered since the 1960s. With
sociological institutionalism as our methodological approach, our understanding of ‘development’ is much broader
than what just macro-economic indicators will show. Relevant data was gathered from the World Bank, UNDP and
the Ghana Statistical Service to ascertain current levels of development, and where Ghana is headed.