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A West A frican experiment: constructing a GDP series for colonial G hana, 1891–1950
Author(s) -
Jerven Morten
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the economic history review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.014
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1468-0289
pISSN - 0013-0117
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0289.12066
Subject(s) - colonialism , colonial period , series (stratigraphy) , period (music) , data series , history , economic history , economics , geography , economy , development economics , econometrics , archaeology , art , paleontology , biology , aesthetics
There has been a recent surge in research on long‐term A frican 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 S ub‐ S aharan A frica. This article contributes new time series data for the G old C oast and G hana between 1890 and 2010 and in particular a new GDP time series for G hana 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 S ub‐ S aharan A frica, and points the way forward for expanding the database to cover the colonial period for other A frican economies.