The Institute of Economic Affairs, Ghana
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The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Ghana, is a
public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
based in
Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
,
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
. It was founded by a Ghanaian
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
, Dr. Charles Mensa in 1989 at a time when the country was governed by a military regime (Ghana was governed by the
Provisional National Defence Council The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was the name of the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, in a coup ...
). The IEA was set up as an independent, non-government institution dedicated to the establishment and strengthening of a
market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...
and a democratic, free and open society. The IEA supports research and promotes and publishes studies on economic, socio-political and legal issues in order to enhance understanding of public policy. The current Executive Director of the IEA is Dr Dede Amanor-Wilks. Dr Amanor-Wilks took over from Jean Adukwei Mensa in 2018 when the latter was appointed as chairperson of the
Electoral Commission of Ghana The Electoral Commission of Ghana(EC) is the official body in Ghana responsible for all public elections. Made up of seven members, its independence is guaranteed by the 1992 Ghana constitution. The current commission was established by the Elec ...
.


Objectives

* providing a forum/platform for the exchange of ideas * promoting research and publication of economic, socio-political and legal issues in order to enhance the understanding of public policy * strengthening local capacity in Ghana by providing training to institutions of democracy such as Parliament, the Judiciary, the Media and civil society * demonstrating the power of both profit and non-profit private institutions * promoting the use of economic reasoning and understand the world of scarcity, choice and trade offs * monitoring and providing an in depth analysis on the progress of democratic consolidation in Ghana and in
Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
.


Work

Research work at the IEA is undertaken through its two centres: The Economics Centre and The Governance Centre. This work includes in-house research in the areas of economics and governance, commissioned research, the production of a refereed policy journal called the Ghana Policy Journal and review of research and policy-related papers for external organizations. In addition to its research agenda, the IEA also undertakes direct work to promote sustainable democracy in Ghana. For the 1996 presidential election, the IEA established a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (NADEO) to monitor the election. The IEA has played a role in monitoring every major election since then. The IEA has also assisted the
Parliament of Ghana The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Government of Ghana. History Legislative representation in Ghana dates back to 1850, when the country was a British colony known as Gold Coast. The body, called the Legislative Council, ...
in carrying out its functions, training legislative research assistants in 1996 to work in Parliament. In the year 2000, the IEA also organised the first ever Presidential debate in Ghana with the debates being held every election year since. In 2008, Vice-Presidential debates were included for the first time. In 2004, the IEA also facilitated the formation of a Political Parties Code of Conduct and the setting up of a National Enforcement Body to regulate the code. Eight political parties ultimately signed the code. The IEA has also played a role in developing and encouraging the enactment of legislation. In 2003, the Ghanaian Cabinet approved two bills originating from the IEA. These were the Whistle Blowers Bill and the Right to Information Bill. The Whistle Blowers Bill was passed into law in 2008 by Parliament. Through the IEA’s Ghana Political Parties Programme the IEA has also brought the major political parties together to consider other IEA drafted legislation. These have included the Public Funding of Political Parties Bill, the Political Parties Bill and more recently the Presidential Transition Bill. The IEA’s role in facilitating bipartisan cooperation on these Bills was recognised in the inaugural State of the Nation Address by President
John Atta Mills John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party ...
on February 19, 2009. The President stated that:
"Madam Speaker, Several areas of our governance agenda require legislative intervention. Fortunately, The IEA-sponsored 'Ghana Political Parties Programme' which is made up of all the political parties with representation in Parliament has agreed on several draft Bills that will respond to this need. Consequently, the Government will consider these draft Bills for possible Parliamentary enactment in order to fill the void. The Bills are: * Public Financing of Political Parties Bill, including the creation of an Election Fund for political parties and guaranteed funding for the Electoral Commission; * A new Political Parties Bill; and * A Presidential Transition Bill."


Funding

The IEA has collaborated with several foundations and development agencies, including: *
Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD; Dutch: ''Nederlands Instituut voor Meerpartijendemocratie'') works to promote peaceful, just and inclusive politics worldwide. NIMD's approach is characterized by dialogue, which it facilit ...
(NIMD) * The
United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
(UNDP) * The
Canadian International Development Agency The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was a federal Canadian organization that administered foreign aid programs in developing countries. The agency was merged into the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2013 by the federal governmen ...
(CIDA) * The Danish Government, through The
Danish International Development Agency Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is the brand used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark when it provides humanitarian aid and development assistance to other countries, with focus on developing countries. There is no dist ...
(DANIDA) * The Royal Netherlands Embassy * The Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and * The National Endowment for Democracy


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Institute of Economic Affairs, Ghana Economy of Ghana Think tanks based in Ghana