Implementing Financial Sector Policy Reforms in Africa
Despite how all-consuming the threat of COVID-19 has become for countries around the world, the problems governments faced before the pandemic haven’t disappeared. In Ghana, officials have been taking aggressive action to address risk that arises when there is lax oversight and poor governance of the country’s banking and financial sector, particularly in emerging economies.
By implementing policy and institutional reforms such as the establishment of a new capital requirement for banks and the revocation of licenses of insolvent financial institutions, Ghana has accomplished what arguably amounts to the most sweeping clean-up of financial services in the nation’s history.
This webinar is presented by Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, as part of a Max Bell School MPP Complexity Seminar seminar with Nii Addy. It is hosted in collaboration with McGill's African Studies program and the School for Continuing Studies. It will be moderated by Max Bell School Director Chris Ragan.
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About the Speaker
Dr. Ernest Addison
Co-Chair RCG for Sub-Saharan Africa
Governor, Bank of Ghana
Dr. Ernest Addison was appointed as the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and the Chairman of the Bank of Ghana Board in April of 2017. He has over 25 years of experience working in the central bank as well as in numerous international organizations.
Dr. Addison joined the Bank of Ghana in 1996, during which time he served on a number of committees, including the Open Market Operations Committee, Money Market Auction Committee, and Editorial Committee; he also served as secretary to the Financial Programme Implementation Committee and the Financial Policies Committee. In 2000, on secondment, he was appointed the chair of a Special Task Force set up by the Authority of Heads of State of ECOWAS to lead studies that culminated in the setting up of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI). He was subsequently appointed Chief Economist at the institute. Dr. Addison returned to the Bank of Ghana in 2002, serving for nearly a decade as the Bank’s Director of Research.
At the African Development Bank, Dr. Addison worked as the lead regional economist for the Southern African region. In this capacity he led Dialogue Missions to many countries -- including Mauritius, Lesotho, Swaziland, Angola, and Zambia -- and led technical teams in preparation of New Country Strategy Papers (CSP’s) and mid-term reviews for Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Sao Tome, and Zambia. He also directed the technical team for the study of the Indian Ocean Strategy, leading missions to Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar.
Dr. Addison obtained his first degree in Economics from the University of Ghana, followed by an M.Phil. Degree in Economics and Politics from St. Edmunds College, Cambridge University, U.K. He then matriculated at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ in Montreal, Canada, where he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Economics degree with a specialization in Monetary Economics, Economic Development, and International Economics.
Moderators
Dr. Nii Addy
Assistant Professor (Research), Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID), Ï㽶ÊÓƵ
Dr. Nii Addy is Assistant Professor (Research) at the Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID), Ï㽶ÊÓƵ. Prior to this, he was at the McGill Center for the Convergence of Health and Economics (MCCHE) in the Desautels Faculty of Management. Dr. Addy’s work focuses on developing, implementing, and assessing strategies and policies for institutional change in multi-stakeholder partnerships spanning societal sectors (businesses, public agencies, and civil society organizations) and industrial sectors (education, agriculture, nutrition, health, etc.). His interdisciplinary work combines qualitative and quantitative approaches, with the goal of informing how diverse stakeholders can work together effectively for sustainable development. He applies research in developing knowledge sharing tools, and in training leaders from various sectors as they engage in partnership processes for collective impact.
Christopher Ragan
Director of the Max Bell School of Public Policy
Christopher Ragan is a Canadian academic and economist. He is best known for his research on monetary policy, and for his popular introductory textbook, Economics, now in its fourteenth edition and co-authored by Richard Lipsey. He is chair of Canada's Ecofiscal Commission, a group of Canadian economists seeking to broaden the discussion of environmental pricing reform beyond the academic sphere and into the realm of practical policy application. He is an Associate Professor at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, where he has been on the faculty since 1989. Throughout his tenure, he has taught a wide range of economics courses, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In 2007, he became the first in the Faculty of Economics to receive the H. Noel Fieldhouse teaching award for excellence in teaching. His research and academic writing is largely focused on Canadian public policy challenges, and since 2007, the policy responses to the financial crisis of 2007-2009.
