Reforms for special drawing rights (SDRs) financing in Ghana's economic recovery

Ghana case study.

From:
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Published
30 April 2024
Country:
Ghana
Document Type:
Research Paper
Theme:
Economic Growth
Authors:
Quartey, P, Atta-Ankomah, R, Afful-Mensah G.

Abstract

On 2 August 2021, the International Monetary Fund announced the largest (in its history) allocation of Special Drawing Rights(SDRs) worth US$650 billion (€550 billion),which was approved with effect from 23 August 2021. A large proportion of the total allocation went to developed economies because they hold much higher quotas, although the levels of SDR utilisation by these countries have been historically very low, compared to developing countries like Ghana. The important question is: in what ways could Ghana benefit from SDRs beyond its allocation? How can the unused SDRs allocations be rechannelled to support developing countries’ public finances and help their recovery from recurrent global multiple shocks?

To help address these questions, this case study on Ghana sought to:

  1. comprehensively explore the state of Ghana’s public sector finance and how it has been affected by the triple crisis (COVID-19 pandemic, rising external debts, and Russia-Ukraine war)

  2. explore the evolution of Ghana’s external balance position and its vulnerabilities in the context of local constraints and external shocks

  3. explore the opportunities for using SDR facilities to support public financial management, improve external balance position, and as a vehicle to promote stable economic growth and development in Ghana

This research is part of the Capacity for Economic Research and Policy making in Africa (CERPA) programme.

Citation

Quartey P, Atta-Ankomah R and Afful-Mensah G. ‘Reforms for special drawing rights (SDRs) financing in Ghana’s economic recovery’ 2024

Reforms for special drawing rights (SDRs) financing in Ghana’s economic recovery

Updates to this page

Published 30 April 2024
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