From Scattered Data to Ideological Education: Economics, Statistics and the State in Ghana, 1948-1966
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The London School of Economics and Political Science From Scattered Data to Ideological Education: Economics, Statistics and the State in Ghana, 1948-1966 Gerardo Serra A thesis submitted to the Department of Economic History of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. London, January 2015. Declaration I, Gerardo Serra, certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis, including footnotes but excluding references, consists of 97,090 words. 2 Abstract 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. 3 Acknowledgments First of all I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisors, Leigh Gardner and Mary Morgan. With their invaluable insights, detailed feedback, encouragement and psychological support Mary and Leigh have guided me through this journey with expert hands. Gareth Austin, who made me passionate about African history, and Morten Jerven, who got me interested in the history of statistics, have represented constant sources of support, encouragement and inspiration. But perhaps none of this would have happened if it was not for Luca Fantacci, who made me fall in love with ‘the historian’s craft’. In the Department of Economic History, I was very lucky to be surrounded by friends like Yasin Arslantas, Joe Francis, Steve Ivings, Cecilia Lanata Briones, Ulas Karakoc, Leonard Kukic, Kazuo Kobayashi, Andrea Papadia, Nuno Palma, Esther Sahle, Raphaelle Schwarzberg, Greta Christine Seibel and Xun Yan. Their company over the years has made the PhD experience much more rewarding than it would have been otherwise. Furthermore, I would like to thank Alejandra Irigoin for her wise advice, and Tracy Keefe and Linda Sampson for being so helpful at all times. The kindness and understanding of Claire Langhamer and Clive Webb of the Department of History of the University of Sussex made possible the task of completing this thesis in a reasonable time. This work has been significantly shaped by multiple conversations had over the years with friends and colleagues, who helped me clarify my thoughts and enriched my understanding of the issues at stake. Among these I would like to mention Marisa Candotti, Giulia Casartelli, Claudio Columbano, Federico D’Onofrio and Frank Gerits. My life has been made easier by my friends back home, who make me feel at every return that nothing has changed, and by the presence in London of Shalinee Basak, Aproop Bhave, Clizia Deidda, Lorenzo Floris, Alfonso Pagano, Silvia Ruga and Sarabvijay Singh. At the Centre for the History of Political Economy at Duke University, where part of the manuscript was written during a research fellowship in the fall of 2013, I found another intellectual home and, in Bob Dimand, Paul Dudenhefer, and Scott Scheall some friends from whom I learnt a lot. Marge Williams and Donny and Laura 4 Messer gave me a home away from home during my stay in the United States. Thandika Mkandawire and Kathrin Flikschuh provided invaluable help in establishing contacts with the University of Ghana in Legon. During my permanence in Ghana I greatly benefitted from the kindness of Ddodzi Tsikata of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, and the help of Kofi Baku of the Department of History. But what ultimately made my stay in Accra so enjoyable was the company of Alessandra Brivio, Giulia Casentini, Craig Duncan, Samuel ‘Flow/Fluo’, Papa Chico and the crowd of the Hotel Crown Prince in Adabraka. I would like to thank the librarians and archivists of the David M. Rubestein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke University, the library of the Economics Department of the University of Ghana, the London School of Economics and Political Science, the Public Records Office in London and, especially, the Public Records and Archives Administration Department in Accra. I gratefully acknowledge the financial support received to conduct research or to present parts of this work from the Economic History Society, the Economic and Social Research Council, the History of Economics Society, the LSE Department of Economic History and the Warren J. and Sylvia J. Samuels Young Scholars Prize. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude and affection to my ‘extended family’. My brother Filippo Argo Casati inspires me every day with his dedication, intellectual honesty and commitment to rigour. With her unwavering love and care, Mini Sinha has made me truly lucky. But the biggest thanks of all is for my parents. Even when they are far away, they perpetuate again and again the miracle of unconditional love. The thesis is dedicated to my extended family, and to the memory of my dear R. 5 Contents Declaration .................................................................................................................. 2 Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................... 4 Contents ...................................................................................................................... 6 Figures ....................................................................................................................... 11 Maps .......................................................................................................................... 11 Tables ........................................................................................................................ 12 Abbreviations ........................................................................................................... 13 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 14 1.1 The choice of Ghana ............................................................................................ 15 1.2 Aims and argument .............................................................................................. 17 1.3 Perspectives from the history and political economy of Africa ........................... 19 1.3.1 Writing the political history of Ghana, 1940s-1966 ......................................... 19 1.3.2 Ghana and the African state: perspectives from economic history and political economy...................................................................................................................... 25 1.4 Perspectives from the history of economics......................................................... 30 1.4.1 The historiography of development economics: intellectual genealogies, paradigm shifts, institutions and individuals ............................................................. 30 1.4.2 Economists and economic ideas in the making the developing world: insights from Latin America ...................................................................................................