Ghana Cem: Meeting the Challenge of Accelerated and Shared Growth

Ghana has achieved substantial poverty reduction over the last 15 years and is on track to reduce its poverty rate by half versus the level of 1990 well before the target date of 2015 for the Millennium development Goals. The objective of this study is to summarize key results obtained from an analysis of household surveys in Ghana. The study consists of four parts. The first part provides estimates of the trend in poverty using a range of surveys covering various periods of time, as well as a discussion of the characteristics of the poor and the determinants of poverty. This also includes a discussion of the geography of poverty with the construction of a poverty map at the district level based on census data. The second part of the study deals with the income sources of the population, including discussions of labour income, cash crop income, remittances, and income inequality. The third part of the study discusses the level of access to basic infrastructure services, as well as the targeting performance of public subsidies.