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‘With a little bit of luck…’ Coping with adjustment in urban Ghana, 1975–90

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2011

Résumé

Cet article, qui s'appuie principalement sur des observations anecdotiques recueillies sur le terrain, retrace le déclin économique du Ghana dans les années 70. Il déciit les perceptions de lutte pour la survie et le succès durant cette période excessivement pessimiste. Il poursuit en décrivant le point de vue de certains sur la notion de survie et l'état du progrès économique du Ghana vers la fin des années 80 et le début des années 90. Ces commentaires discursifs font ensuite place à des données quantitatives simples relatives au travail, à l'accès à l'emploi et à la structure du marché du travail à cette époque. Il en ressort, compte tenu du fait que les Ghanéens continuent à vivre comme dans le passé, que les recommandations et les stratégies politiques du FMI et de la Banque Mondiale en faveur du développement de l'industrie manufacturière, visant à encourager les multinationales à s'implanter, n'ont pas produit les résultats escomptés. Au lieu de cela, les Ghanéens ont favorisé (comme ils l'ont toujours fait) des stratégies basées sur les contacts et la bonne fortune: miser sur la chance en somme. L'élément volatile découvert assez récemment dans les calculs de la Banque Mondiale est depuis longtemps un des facteurs fondamentaux (voire le seul) au sein des projets de nombreuses petites entreprises. Pendant ce temps, les Ghanéens s'efforcent de survivre voire même de prospérer à l'aube du nouveau millénaire, en espérant que la chance va leur sourire.

Type
Cast-off economics: Africa and the West
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1999

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