This is a study of the patterns and processes of change and economic transformation in post-colonial society with a focus on the political economy of industrial and economic policies. It examines the interactions between the state, the transformational and macroeconomic significance of industrialisation and the impact of macroeconomic performance on industrialisation under differing post-colonial policy regimes. It argues that the neo-orthodox approach that assigns a primary role to the market as a sufficient means of achieving industrial development and economic transformation is not only unrealistic, but also historically and empirically unsustainable.

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This thesis re-evaluates the relationship between formal and informal work in third world cities. Until now, informal work has been theorised either as a residue (modernisation), by-product of contemporary capitalism conducted out of economic necessity (structuralism) or an alternative to formal work chosen due to either an overburdensome state (neo-liberalism) or for social, redistributive, resistance or identity reasons (post-structuralism). Keith Hart was the first scholar to use the concept of the "informal sector", which he employed to describe a large segment of the economy of Ghana during the 1970s. Following Hart's seminal work, there has been a continuous debate about the nature of the relationship between the informal and formal sector. This thesis returns to the birthplace of the concept and through a survey of the contemporary informal economy in' Koforidua it critically re-evaluates these various competing theories of the relationship between formal and informal work. Reporting on data from a study of 80 households and three key institutions in Koforidua in Ghana, the study identifies the multifarious relationships between formal and informal work in Ghana. The major finding is that even though each and every theoretical perspective may be applicable to specific types of informal work, no one theory captures the varied character and multiple meanings of the informal economy as a whole in Ghana. As a consequence, this study asserts that a more far-reaching understanding of the multifaceted and diverse character of the informal economy will only be achieved by using all the theoretical perspectives. The outcome is a call for a rethinking of how to explain the relationship between formal and informal work and for an appreciation of the multiple meanings of informal work in different contexts. This thesis concludes by calling for a review of the potential wider applicability of these findings.

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Poverty has adverse impact on economic growth, human dignity and wellbeing. Therefore, experiments with microloans to tackle financial exclusion and underinvestment have positive implications for development economic theory and practice. However, drawing on microfinance analysis, often, the three dimensions of microfinance impact-poverty, empowerment and microenterprise development are evaluated together (Hermes and Lensink, 2011; Duvendack and Palmer-Jones, 2012; and Banerjee, et al., 2013). Ledgerwoods (1999) have argued that this recurring theme in impact studies in Ghana shows the existing evaluations and outcomes have lumped microfinance impact (Annim et al., 2008 and; Adjei and Arun, 2009). Moreover, Karlan and Goldberg (2007) suggested that investigating the impact of microfinance on each of the above elements independently is desirable as it enables policy makers to develop more targeted policy tools. Thus, this study investigated the relationship between provision of microfinance services and microenterprise development. This is an empirical study that is carried out using 134 structured questionnaires, 19 semi-structured interviews (Microfinance Institution (MFI) -9 and Microenterprises-10). The research findings suggest there is a significant relationship between provision of microfinance and positive outcomes of microenterprise projects. However, pre-loan induction, conception and nurturing of enterprise ideas and developing their self-esteem are critical for the success of microenterprise activities. The study results have significant positive implications for the wider literature that suggests microfinance aid microenterprise development and promotes human dignity (Karnani, 2007). Furthermore, the study proposes a conceptual model for the development of microfinance and increase of micro-entrepreneurial activities for the poor.

This thesis analyses the contribution of economics and statistics in the transformation of Ghana from colonial dependency to socialist one-party state. The narrative begins in 1948, extending through the years of decolonization, and ends in 1966, when the first postcolonial government led by Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown by a military coup d’état. Drawing on insights from political economy, the history of economics and the sociology of science, the study is constructed as a series of microhistories of public institutions, social scientists, statistical enquiries and development plans. In the period under consideration economics and statistics underwent a radical transformation in their political use. This transformation is epitomised by the two extremes mentioned in the title: the ‘scattered data’ of 1950s household budget surveys were expression of the limited will and capacity of the colonial state to exercise control over different areas of the country. In contrast, the 1960s dream of a monolithic one-party state led the political rulers to use Marxist-Leninist political economy as a cornerstone of the ideological education aiming at creating the ideal citizen of the socialist regime. Based on research in British and Ghanaian archives, the study claims that economists and statisticians provided important cognitive tools to imagine competing alternatives to the postcolonial nation state, finding its most extreme version in the attempt to fashion a new type of economics supporting Nkrumah’s dream of a Pan-African political and economic union. At a more general level, the thesis provides a step towards a deeper incorporation of Sub-Saharan Africa in the history of economics and statistics, by depicting it not simply as an importer of ideas and scientific practices, but as a site in which the interaction of local and foreign political and scientific visions turned economics and statistics into powerful tools of social engineering. These tools created new spaces for political support and dissent, and shifted the boundaries between the possible and the utopian.