The role of country-level institutional factors in escaping the natural resource curse: Insights from Ghana

Empirical research shows that developing countries that are rich in natural resources tend to suffer slow economic growth and development due to various factors such as quality of institutions, governance, among others. The phenomenon of slow growth is widely known as the ‘natural resource-curse’ within the energy sector literature, and past research suggests that the membership of international non-governmental organisations and transparency are key factors in supporting economic development. However, limited research has been conducted to explore the key factors and their impact on the ‘natural resource-curse’. This study utilizes 222 cases from 18 of Ghana's key stakeholders and finds that the membership of country's Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and petroleum revenue management policies are insufficient to avert its ‘resource-curse’ unless they are complemented with country-level institutional factors such as the quality of institutions, quality of governance, government effectiveness, accountability, corruption control mechanisms, natural resource sustainability and effective accounting practices. Consequently, the study contributes to the deeper understanding of complex macro-level factors interlinked with the ‘natural resource-curse’. We also discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings, along with suggestions for future research.