Prof. Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai is Professor of Development Politics at the University of Ghana, and a Senior Honorary Research Fellow at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, UK. His research focuses on the intersection between politics and development, with particular focus on social policy and social protection, natural resource governance, public sector reforms, and urban governance.

 

Selected Publications

Social policy, Poverty & Inequality

Abdulai, A.-G. (2024). Overcoming the constraints of competitive clientelism? Explaining the success of Ghana’s poorest region in reducing maternal mortality. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 39(2), 363–379.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2021). Competitive clientelism, donors and the politics of social protection uptake in Ghana. Critical Social Policy, 41(2), 270–293.

Cuesta, J., Devereux, S., Abdulai, A.-G., Gupte, J., Ragno, L. P., Roelen, K., Sabates-Wheeler, R., & Spadafora, T. (2021). Urban social assistance: Evidence, challenges and the way forward, with application Ghana. Development Policy Review, 39(3), 360–380.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2021). Social protection in Ghana. Briefing Paper. Accra: Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana).

Abdulai, A.-G. (2021). Strengthening Ghana’s social protection system for accelerated SDG implementation: An agenda for reform. Research report prepared for the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development. Accra: CDD-Ghana.

Abdulai, A.-G., & Ibrahim, M. (2021). Ghana's social policy response to Covid-19: Leaving the poorest behind? (CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series, 31). Bremen: Universität Bremen, SFB 1342 Globale Entwicklungsdynamiken von Sozialpolitik / CRC 1342 Global Dynamics of Social Policy.

Abdulai, A.-G., Ibrahim, M., Nunyonameh, C., & Salifu, A. (2021). Citizens' knowledge and perceptions about poverty, vulnerability, rights and social protection in Ghana: A baseline study. Accra: UNICEF-Ghana.

Sabates-Wheeler, R., Wilmink, N., Abdulai, A.-G., de Groot, R., & Spadafora, T. (2020). Linking social rights to active citizenship for the most vulnerable: The role of rights and accountability in the ‘making’ and ‘shaping’ of social protection. The European Journal of Development Research, 32, 129–151.

Mosley, P., & Abdulai, A.-G. (2020). The political economy of progressive fiscal contracts in Africa and Latin America. Development Policy Review, 38(4), 411–427.

Abdulai, A.-G., & Ibrahim, M. (2020). Ghana’s social policy response to COVID-19. Global Dynamics of Social Policy. CRC 1342, University of Bremen, Germany.

Abdulai, A.-G., Abubakari, A.-B., & Martey, J. (2019). Is social protection in Ghana a right? Development in Practice, 29(8), 1064–1074.

Abdulai, A.-G., Bawole, J. N., & Sakyi, E. K. (2018). Rethinking persistent poverty in Northern Ghana: The primacy of politics and policy over geography. Politics & Policy, 46(2), 233–262.

Blampied, C., Chattopadhyay, S., Greenhill, R., Aziz, I., Ellison, C., Thompson, R., Abdulai, A.-G., & Salifu, A. (2018). Leaving no one behind in the health and education sectors: An SDG stocktake in Ghana. London: Overseas Development Institute.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2018). Public spending and educational inequalities in Ghana. In M. H. A. Bolaji, D. A. Bagah, & A. A. Apusigah (Eds.), Critical notes on Northern Ghana’s development: History, politics and development in contention (pp. 211–228). New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Kaltenborn, M., Abdulai, A.-G., Roelen, K., & Hague, S. (2017). The influence of policy and legal frameworks on the development of national social protection systems. IDS Working Paper No. 501. Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK.

Roelen, K., Devereux, S., Abdulai, A.-G., Martorano, B., Palermo, T., & Ragno, L. P. (2017). How to make ‘cash plus’ work: Linking cash transfers to services and sectors (Innocenti Working Papers No. 2017-10). UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, Florence.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2017). Rethinking spatial inequality in development: The primacy of power relations. Journal of International Development, 29(3), 386–403.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2017). The political economy of regional inequality in Ghana: Do political settlements matter? The European Journal of Development Research, 29(1), 213–229.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2017). Social exclusion, adverse incorporation and spatial poverty traps in Africa. In K. A. Osei, J. Y. Abor, R. E. Hinson, R. Boateng, J. M. Onumah, K. Dartey-Baah, & A. Ahenkan (Eds.), Contemporary issues in management development in Africa (pp. 49–79). London: Adonis & Abbey Publishers.

Abdulai, A.-G., & Hulme, D. (2015). The politics of regional inequality in Ghana: State elites, donors and PRSPs. Development Policy Review, 33(5), 529–553.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2014). The politics of resource sharing and regional inequality in Ghana: Lessons for the post-2015 development agenda. Development, 57(3–4), 488–496.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2014). Politicians, public bureaucrats and health inequalities in Ghana. In E. K. Sakyi & A. Ahenkan (Eds.), Health services management: Selected readings from Ghana (pp. 247–262). Tema, Ghana: Digibooks Publishing Ltd.

 

Energy Transition & Extractive Sector Governance

Abdulai, A.-G., & Pedersen, R. H. (2025), The Political Economy Of Energy Transitions in Ghana: From Oil Boom to Nuclear Ambitions? DIIS Working Paper 2025: 13, Copenhagen: Danish Institute for International Studies.

Abdulai, A.-G., Buur, L., & Stacey, P. (2025). Party political campaigning and the illegal extraction of gold in Ghana. World Development, 192, 107008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.107008

Tyce, M., Abdulai, A.-G., & Asante, K. (2025). Confronting shifting energy landscapes and contested domestic politics: Ghana's national oil company and the global energy transition. Energy Research & Social Science, 119, 103901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103901

Nunyonameh, C. R., & Abdulai, A.-G. (2023). Understanding the discourse of the “community” in community development in Ghana’s mining industry. Mineral Economics, 36, 45–58.

Simplice, A., Arhin, G., Abdulai, A.-G., & Bawole, J. (2023). The political economy of the oil and gas sector in emerging and developing countries. In J. Y. Abor, A. Karimu, & R. Brännlund (Eds.), The economics of the oil and gas industry: Emerging markets and developing economies (pp. 296–308). London: Routledge.

Hickey, S., Abdulai, A.-G., Izama, A., & Mohan, G. (2020). Responding to the commodity boom with varieties of resource nationalism: A political economy explanation for the different routes taken by Africa's new oil producers. The Extractive Industries and Society, 7(4), 1246–1256.

Asante, K., Abdulai, A.-G., & Mohan, G. (2020). The ‘new’ institutional politics of Ghana’s hydrocarbon. ESID Working Paper. University of Manchester.

Bebbington, A., Abdulai, A.-G., Hinfelaar, M., Humphreys Bebbington, D., & Sanborn, C. (2018). Governing extractive industries: Politics, histories, ideas. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bebbington, A., Abdulai, A.-G., Hinfelaar, M., Humphreys Bebbington, D., & Sanborn, C. (2017). Political settlements and the governance of extractive industry: A comparative analysis of the longue durée in Africa and Latin America. ESID Working Paper No. 81. Manchester, UK: The University of Manchester.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2017). Competitive clientelism and the political economy of mining in Ghana. ESID Working Paper 78. Manchester: Effective States and Inclusive Development Research Centre, The University of Manchester.

Hickey, S., Abdulai, A.-G., Izama, A., & Mohan, G. (2015). The politics of governing oil effectively: A comparative study of two new oil-rich states in Africa. ESID Working Paper 54. University of Manchester.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2009). Are multinational corporations compatible with sustainable development? The experience of developing countries. In J. R. McIntyre, S. Ivanaj, & V. Ivanaj (Eds.), Multinational enterprises and the challenge of sustainable development (pp. 50–72). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.

 

Public Financial Management/Public Sector Reforms

Abdulai, A.-G., & Appiah, D. (2023). The politics of public financial management in Ghana: What can a political settlements approach offer? Journal of African Political Economy and Development, 12, 1–8.

Appiah, D., & Abdulai, A.-G. (2023). Conceptualizing and measuring state effectiveness as impartiality. Public Organization Review, 23, 1417–1436.

Abdulai, A.-G., & Ibrahim, M. (2023). Institutional and personnel capabilities for budget credibility: A political economy analysis of public financial management in Ghana. PFM Capabilities Assessment Report Series No. 5, The Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI), South Africa.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2023). Political settlement dynamics and the emergence and decline of bureaucratic pockets of effectiveness in Ghana. In S. Hickey (Ed.), Pockets of effectiveness and the politics of state-building and development in Africa (pp. 61–90). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2020). The political economy of tax revenue mobilization in Ghana: The centrality of political settlement dynamics. ESID Working Paper. Manchester, UK.

Abdulai, A.-G., & Mohan, G. (2019). The politics of bureaucratic ‘pockets of effectiveness’: Insights from Ghana’s Ministry of Finance. ESID Working Paper No. 119. Manchester, UK: The University of Manchester.

Salifu, A., & Abdulai, A.-G. (2018). Corruption and international aid. In A. Farazmand (Ed.), Global encyclopedia of public administration, public policy, and governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_3368-1

Appiah, D., & Abdulai, A.-G. (2017). Competitive clientelism and the politics of core public sector reform in Ghana. ESID Working Paper No. 82. Manchester, UK: The University of Manchester. Available at: http://www.effective-states.org/wp-content/uploads/working_papers/final-pdfs/esid_wp_82_appiah_abdulai.pdf

Appiah, D., & Abdulai, A.-G. (2017). Politicization of bureaucracy. In A. Farazmand (Ed.), Global encyclopedia of public administration, public policy, and governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_682-1

Abdulai, A.-G. (2009). Political will in combating corruption in developing and transition economies: A comparative study of Singapore, Hong Kong and Ghana. Journal of Financial Crime, 16(4), 387–417.

 

Local and Urban Governance

Mahama, P., Abdulai, A.-G., & Asamoah, K. (2024). Local politics and the revenue collection effort in a developing country context: Experiences from Ghana. SN Social Sciences, 4, 72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-024-00867-z

Mahama, P. Y., Abdulai, A.-G., & Asamoah, K. (2024). Local revenue mobilisation in Ghana: Why similar metropolitan and municipal assemblies exhibit different outcomes. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 9, 100853.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2024). Accra: City report. ACRC Working Paper 2024-22. Manchester: African Cities Research Consortium, The University of Manchester. Available online: www.african-cities.org

Hickey, S., Azande, P., Abdulai, A.-G., Bukenya, B., Koroma, B., & Lewanika, M. (2024). The politics of informal settlements in African cities: Comparative insights from Accra, Freetown, Harare and Kampala. Cities (under review).

Abdulai, A.-G. (2024). The contentious politics of development in informal settlements: Evidence from Ghana’s capital city, Accra. Manchester: African Cities Research Consortium, The University of Manchester.

Mahama, P. Y., Abdulai, A.-G., & Asamoah, K. (2023). Collective action and revenue generation: Focus on selected metropolitan and municipal assemblies in Ghana. SN Social Sciences, 3, 117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-023-00704-9

Abdulai, A.-G. (2020). The political economy of central bank reforms in Ghana. ESID Working Paper. Manchester, UK.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2017). Political economy of decentralisation and the challenge of improved service delivery in urban Ghana. Ghana Journal of Development Studies, 14(2), 83–104.

Democratization, Elections & Human Rights

Abdulai, A.-G., & Sackeyfio, N. (2022). The uncertainties of Ghana’s 2020 elections. African Affairs, 121(484), e25–e53.

Crawford, G., & Abdulai, A.-G. (Eds.). (2021). Research handbook on democracy and development. London: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Abdulai, A.-G., & Crawford, G. (2021). Democracy and development: An overview of the debates. In G. Crawford & A.-G. Abdulai (Eds.), Research handbook on democracy and development. London: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Abdulai, A.-G., & Crawford, G. (2018). Ghana. In H. J. Giessmann & R. Mac Ginty (Eds.), The Elgar companion to post-conflict transitions revisited (pp. 255–274). London: Edward Elgar.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2017). Ghana: A success story and a model for Africa? In K. A. Osei, J. Y. Abor, R. E. Hinson, R. Boateng, J. M. Onumah, K. Darteey-Baah, & A. Ahenkan (Eds.), Contemporary issues in management development in Africa (pp. 23–47). London: Adonis & Abbey Publishers.

Abdulai, A.-G., & Crawford, G. (2010). Democratic consolidation in Ghana: Prospects and challenges? Democratization, 17(1), 26–67.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2011). The political context of human rights promotion in Ghana. Working Paper No. 4, Human Rights, Power and Civic Action in Developing Societies Research Project. The Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, Norway. Available online at: https://www.jus.uio.no/smr/english/research/projects/ripoca/rn/4-2011.pdf

Abdulai, A.-G., & Quantson, R. (2009). The changing role of CSOs in public policy making in Ghana. Ghana Social Science Journal, 5&6(1&2), 114–151.

 

Technical Reports

Abdulai, A.-G. (2025). Strengthening political decentralization in Ghana: An analytical discussion of key gaps and policy imperatives. Background paper Ghana’s Decentralization Policy and Strategy, 2026–2030. The Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralization, Accra.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2025). The state of cooperatives in Ghana. Report prepared for Cooperation Africa.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2025). A political economy analysis of illegal artisanal mining in Ghana: How politics and corruption fuel galamsey. Consultancy report prepared for The World Bank Group, April 2025.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2024). The political economy of illegal mining in Ghana: Drivers, consequences and opportunities. Report prepared for the United Nations Residence Coordinator’s Office, Accra.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2022). Analysis of the complications in regulatory regimes for ASM and their effects on licensed ASM gold operatives. Report prepared for Third World Network Africa, Accra.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2022). Governance challenges in Ghana’s extractive resource sector. Policy brief prepared for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP-Ghana), Accra.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2021). Ghana’s governance deficits and threats to peace and security: A political economy analysis. Policy brief prepared for UNDP-Ghana, Accra.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2020). A political economy analysis of civil society, philanthropy and the promotion of active citizenship in Ghana. Report prepared for STAR Ghana Foundation, Accra.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2018). Operational research on use of mobile school report card (mSRC) as a social accountability tool in Ghana’s basic education sector (Nov 2017 to Sep 2018). UNICEF-Ghana.

Abdulai, A.-G. (2018). Operational research on use of mobile school report card (mSRC) as a social accountability tool in Ghana’s basic education sector. Study commissioned by UNICEF-Ghana, Accra.