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Heights and Development in a Cash-Crop Colony: Living Standards in Ghana, 1870-1980

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  • Alexander Moradi, Gareth Austin and Jorg Baten
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    Abstract

    While Ghana is a classic case of economic growth in an agriculturalâ€export colony, scholars have queried whether it was sustained, and how far its benefits were widely distributed, socially and regionally. Using height as a measure of human wellâ€being we explore the evolution of living standards and regional inequality in Ghana from 1870 to 1980. Our findings suggest that, overall, living standards improved during colonial times and that a trend reversal occurred during the economic crisis in the 1973â€83. In a regression analysis we test several covariates reflecting the major economic and social changes that took place in early twentiethâ€century Ghana including railway construction, cocoa production, missionary activities, and urbanization. We find significant height gains in cocoa producing areas, whereas heights decreased with urbanization.

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    Bibliographic Info

    Paper provided by Economic Research Southern Africa in its series Working Papers with number 325.

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    Length: 52 pages
    Date of creation: 2013
    Date of revision:
    Handle: RePEc:rza:wpaper:325

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    Keywords: Nutrition; health; anthropometrics; colonial; living standards;

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