Economic Development in Ghana and Malaysia investigates why two countries that appeared to be at more or less the same stage of economic development at one point in time have diverged so substantially. At the time of their independence from the UK in 1957, both Ghana and Malaysia were at roughly the same stage of economic development; in fact, Ghana's real per capita income was slightly ahead of Malaysia's. Since then, Ghana's development has been sluggish, while Malaysia's economy has taken off into sustained growth and today, the real per capita income of Malaysia is about five times that of Ghana. This volume examines the pre-colonial and colonial economies of both countries, and the economic policies pursued after independence. In doing so, it aims to identify policies which might have contributed to Malaysia's development and those which might have slowed Ghana's. The authors ask whether lessons can be learned from the successes of countries such as Malaysia. This detailed comparative analysis will be useful to students and researchers of development economics as well as public policy makers in developing countries. It is written in language which makes it accessible to the general reader.

The study of money, banking and financial markets is a required or very popular elective in most undergraduate and graduate programs in economics and finance in Africa. However, the textbooks used are those written primarily for the developed world such as the United States or the U.K. The result is that students graduate with excellent theoretical knowledge about the subject matter as it pertains to the developed economies, but lack the ability to apply the same knowledge to less developed economies. Although the subject matter of money and banking can be treated at a theoretical level, it is best done with institutions in mind. As an application oriented course, references and applications should, as much as possible, be to the conditions and institutions present in the environment where the subject is being studied and where the knowledge will be used, rather than to institutions that exist elsewhere in developed economies. The primary purpose of Essentials of Money, Banking and Financial Institutions is to provide a text in money, banking, and financial institutions in the context of the developing economies, especially Africa. Throughout the book, a deliberate effort will be made to focus the students' attention on the need to develop the existing institutions so they can help to accelerate economic development.