Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the patterns as well as the drivers of, and constraints to, structural transformation in Accra city region, Ghana. The findings contribute to our understanding on how to position cities as centers of economic transformation.

Paper long abstract:

The recent spate of urbanization in most African countries has ignited interest in understanding whether such episodes of urbanization coincides with city-level structural transformation. In this paper, we focus on Accra city region to contribute to our understanding on positioning cities as hubs for inclusive growth and economic transformation. This paper draws on quantitative and qualitative analysis to examine the spatial distribution of economic activity and the patterns of structural of transformation in the Accra city region, as well as the drivers of, and constraints to city-level labour productivity. We further look at how the configuration of power within the city and its interaction with national and city political settlements and institutions shape the possibilities of enhancing structural transformation. The findings show the presence of important spatial variation in economic activity in Accra and that the services sector is the most dominant economic activity in the city, regardless of district. Additionally, we observe that structural transformation has not really taken place in Accra as movements from agriculture are into lower and moderate productive activities in the services and manufacturing sectors. Where businesses are located matters for their productivity with only a few districts acting as effective agents of transformation for businesses. District’s institutional performance and the extent of political competitiveness of the district also explain labour productivity. The main constraints of structural transformation in the Accra include worker fidelity, difficulty in acquiring space for business operations, high cost of doing business, weak public infrastructure, and saturation of business lines.