Franklin Obeng-Odoom
Biographic Data
| ID | 3619586 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Franklin Obeng-Odoom |
| GIVEN NAMES | Franklin |
| FAMILY NAME | Obeng-Odoom |
| SIGNATURE | OBENG-ODOOM F |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Helsinki |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 68 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 391 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 68 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 11 |
The political economy of debating urban property rights: A response to rejoinder
Attention to, and precision in, how property rights are analysed should be cardinal to research in urban political economy. This methodology is presented in Obeng-Odoom and Haila (2024) , the focus of W.C. Lai's (2025) rejoinder. Contrary to Lai's claim that our work misquoted or misunderstood his position, a close reading of the relevant texts indicates otherwise. Instead, Lai's response reflects a particular interpretation of property rights th…
Early knowledge but delays in climate actions: An ecocide case against both transnational oil corporations and national governments
International audience
Reproductive Justice in the Hindu Balinese Compound: Community, Property and Development
Building communities is one way to limit inequality in the global development process. In Indonesia, that principle can best be illustrated in the Hindu Balinese compound. But does discrimination against women, especially those of lower class and caste, fundamentally undermine the community? Feminists contend so, but what is the nature of the pressure on Balinese women? Why is this experienced? How could this discrimination be resolved? Drawing o…
Capitalism and the Legal Foundations of Global Reparations
It is widely contended that Africans were complicit in enslaving other African people, that slavery was legal at the time it was in force and, hence, that demanding reparations from states can have no legal basis. Drawing on the work of Nora Wittmann, this essay questions these presumptions, advances the argument that there is a legal basis for reparations, and puts the case for grounding the legal approach within a wider political economy of rep…
Urban economics in the Global South: A study of The Economist
Urban economic analysis receives little attention in the Global South.The COVID-19 pandemic and its highly urbanized impacts made urban economics more relevant, but how it was applied warrants investigation.One way to address this issue is to examine how African economiesthe focus of much attention during the peak of the COV-ID-19 pandemic (2020-2021) -were discussed among economists.Did they pay attention to the urban economy in Africa?How well …
Urbana ekonomija na globalnem jugu: Raziskava člankov, objavljenih v reviji The Economist
Analizam s področja urbane ekonomije se na globalnem jugu namenja le malo pozornosti. Zaradi pandemije COVID-19 in njenih posledic, vidnih zlasti na mestnih območjih, je postala urbana ekonomija spet pomembnejša, pri čemer bi bilo treba raziskati, kako so se njena načela dejansko uporabljala. Med drugim bi bilo treba proučiti, kako so o afriškem gospodarstvu, ki je med vrhuncem pandemije pritegnilo veliko pozornosti, razpravljali ekonomisti. Ali …
Reconsidering Reparations By Olúfẹmi O. Táíwò
Urban housing analysis and theories of value
Housing is a major focus in urban and regional studies, but an overemphasis on empiricism inhibits its analytical study. Previous attempts to resolve this tension have proposed the use of research themes, but this strategy makes marginalised approaches even more invisible. Using disciplines as taxonomies takes us no further because, even within disciplines, approaches differ widely. To address the problem, in this paper, I propose to ground the ‘…
Global Migration Beyond Limits: Ecology, Economics, and Political Economy
Education and Experience
The mobility of students has become one of the most common fixtures of global migration. Yet, international student migration experiences are under-researched. When discussed, they are typically assumed. The neoclassical economics theory of human capital usually serves as a short-cut for doing so. In turn, the lived experiences of such students are hardly empirically verified, except to be read off theory as win–win. Nevertheless, their increasin…
Afro-Chinese Labour Migration
Labour migration is, perhaps, the most widely discussed economic issue today. Yet, its underpinning theory and its empirical tests have remained largely Western-centric. In turn, the causes, effects, and policy options for the substantial, but widely neglected, Afro-Chinese labour migration, are poorly understood. By systematising existing data, this article shows that Afro-Chinese labour migration experience is far more complex than what neoclas…
Why inequality persists in Africa
How to explain persistent inequality in Africa and its widespread consequences of uncertainty and social costs continues to be the focus of heated debate. In this debate piece, I argue that the contending orthodox, heterodox and political economy explanations are not satisfactory. Instead, stratification economics, centred on property and institutions, offers a more compelling elucidation of why stratification and inequality persist in Africa
The Political Economy of Inequality
The Political Economy of Inequality FRANKSTILWELL. The Political Economy of Inequality. Polity Press, Cambridge, 2019. pp. 289 + xiii. ISBN: 978–1–5095-2865-3 Franklin Obeng-Odoom Franklin Obeng-Odoom Development Studies and Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science, University of Helsinki Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Contributions to Political Economy, Volume 39, Issue 1, June 2020, Pages 110–113, h…
Property, Institutions, and Social Stratification in Africa
In this book, Franklin Obeng-Odoom seeks to carefully explain, engage, and systematically question the existing explanations of inequalities within Africa, and between Africa and the rest of the world using insights from the emerging field of stratification economics. Drawing on multiple sources - including archival and historical material and a wide range of survey data - he develops a distinctive approach that combines key concepts in original …
Ghana on the Go – African Mobility in the Age of Motor Transportation, written by Jennifer Hart
Book review. Reviewed work: Ghana on the Go – African Mobility in the Age of Motor Transportation / Jennifer Hart. - Bloomington/Indianapolis, Indiana : Indiana University Press. 2016; vii-xi + 250 pp. ISBN: 978-025-302-307-0
Economic Cycles, Economic Crises, Resource Grabs, and Expulsions
What are the causes of the current transnational migration “crisis”? What about the causes of the 2008 global economic crisis? Are these crises separate or interlinked? Previous research has pointed to civil war in refugee-sending countries and problematic financial practices in the United States as causal mechanisms of the refugee and economic crises based on methodologies that considered these crises separately. Publicly available data publishe…
Foundations of Radical Philanthropy
As an institution that often seeks to redress global inequality and poverty, philanthropy is commonly dismissed as either masking structural causes, an insufficient response, or a contribution to the problem itself. Either way, philanthropy is increasingly labelled as philanthro-capitalism because it serves the interest of capital. But what about philanthropy that engages, seeks to transcend, and tries to provide alternatives to the status quo? S…
The Hegemony of Growth—The OECD and the Making of the Economic Growth Paradigm
Political economists typically claim that the idea of growth is problematic because, in economics, it is prioritised over and above other considerations, that the quality of the growth data is suspect, and that, the heavy focus on growth eventually leads to the disintegration of society. Widely regarded as guilty by association, development economics has been chastised for prioritising growth, but economic historians tend to claim that, while thi…
The intellectual marginalisation of Africa
The intellectual marginalisation of Africa is often explained in terms of the lack of human capital. However, the peripheralization and systemic neglect of excellent research published in Africa problematise the human capital thesis and, ironically, demonstrate that the appeal to ‘Southern theory’ is not a panacea either. Although these perspectives are quite distinct, both seek to explain, and ultimately redress, Africa’s intellectual marginalis…
Enclosing the urban commons: Crises for the commons and commoners
Public choice theory and rental housing: An examination of rental housing contracts in Ghana
This paper extends both the literature on rental housing in Ghana and the global literature on the critique of public choice analyses in terms of focus, methods and positioning. It argues that, contrary to the assumption that all housing policy changes are driven by internal national processes, in the case of Ghana at least, neither tenants (through their use of their greater numbers) nor landlords (through the use of their stronger financial and…
The Political Economy of the Ebola Virus Disease
Public health has much to contribute to the global understanding and action on the past, present and future of Ebola but it is currently constrained by the construction of the ‘risk’ of catching Ebola. There has been a consequential emphasis on ‘health systems’, which has deflected attention from social alienation and implosion of social ties at the family, community, national and regional levels, instead justifying a colonial top-down response s…
Critique of development economics
Development economics has struggled to understand the conditions of Africa and Africans. However, the nature of this critique, the alternative to development economics, and the challenges of the existing revisionism of today have not, as yet, received the attention of political economists. As this body of work is relevant to the current debates on Africa’s underdevelopment, and development economics more generally, the present article attempts to…
The myth of economic growth in Africa
Most of the models in economics were formulated based on experiences outside Africa, raising questions about their relevance to the continent where conditions can be markedly different to those that inspired those models. This debate must be revisited in the light of recent economic controversies about Africa
Unequal access to land and the current migration crisis
Property, Institutions, and Social Stratification in Africa
In this book, Franklin Obeng-Odoom seeks to carefully explain, engage, and systematically question the existing explanations of inequalities within Africa, and between Africa and the rest of the world using insights from the emerging field of stratification economics. Drawing on multiple sources - including archival and historical material and a wide range of survey data - he develops a distinctive approach that combines key concepts in original …
The Informal Sector in Ghana under Siege
In order to develop effective policies to improve conditions for people working in the informal sector of the economy, it is crucial to understand how that sector arises, operates, and relates to the state. This article analyses the informal sector in Ghana from this perspective, drawing insight from a wide range of sources such as radio and newspaper accounts to overcome the dearth of official information on the subject. The analysis shows the l…
Globalizing City. The Urban and Economic Transformation of Accra, Ghana
Globalizing City. The Urban and Economic Transformation of Accra, Ghana, Richard Grant, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, NY (2009). xviii+187 pp. US$26.95 (hbk). ISBN 978 0 8156 3172 9. Richard
Africa: On the Rise, but to Where
Africa's hitherto negative image is now being rapidly replaced by a new persona: ‘Africa on the rise’. Developed mainly from Africa's growth experience, this re-imaging of Africa has generated considerable interest even among Africanists concerned that the continent has often been the target of crisis jokes. Even more notably, the rebranding of Africa has gained traction in corridors of power and centres of finance. For this latter group, however…
Land reforms in Africa: Theory, practice, and outcome
Urban Land Policies in Ghana: A Case of the Emperor's New Clothes
The paper examines evidence on the reasons for inefficient land management in Ghana. It argues that the perceived custodians of land have consistently acted in their individual interest while successfully using a discourse of ‘communal’ to secure the backing of the colonial and post colonial state. Overall, the state has substantially promoted the interest of private capital. In turn, the ‘public good’ outcomes the current land policies ostensibl…
Urban Real Estate in Ghana: A Study of Housing-related Remittances from Australia
A combination of rapid population growth and low incomes results in housing shortages in Ghana. Migration to Europe, America and Scandinavia has provided a way for some Ghanaians to escape this housing problem, as they take advantage of salaries there in order to save and build houses much quicker back home. This study of Ghanaian migrants in Sydney shows that by keeping at two or more jobs and saving about 33 per cent of their incomes, they are …
Foundations of Radical Philanthropy
As an institution that often seeks to redress global inequality and poverty, philanthropy is commonly dismissed as either masking structural causes, an insufficient response, or a contribution to the problem itself. Either way, philanthropy is increasingly labelled as philanthro-capitalism because it serves the interest of capital. But what about philanthropy that engages, seeks to transcend, and tries to provide alternatives to the status quo? S…
Far away from home: The housing question and international students in Australia
It has become commonplace for scholars and education managers to talk of the globalisation of higher education. How to provide housing for the growing numbers of international students, however, remains contentious. This paper presents the situation in Australia by analysing the results of two large surveys and official reports published by student associations, housing authorities, the University of Sydney, and the Australian Government Departme…
Life within the Wall and Implications for Those Outside It: Gated Communities in Malaysia and Ghana
The North American scholarship on gated housing communities posits the desire for security as the main driver for gating, but does this hold true for less wealthy countries? To address this question, this study examines evidence of why people live behind gates in Malaysia and Ghana and investigates the socio-economic implications of gating. It uses a critical institutional framework anchored on Foucault's interpretation of 'panopticon' and Runcim…
Beyond access to water
This paper looks beyond the dominant view of access to water – defined as coverage. It shows that, while the spread of improved water sources has widened, problems of affordability, quality, distribution, and reliability (“deep access”) are pervasive. In turn, it argues that declarations about water in international development discourse such as “access to water has increased” can be misleading. Development in practice must look beyond “wide” to …
Understanding Land Grabs in Africa: Insights from Marxist and Georgist Political Economics
Research on current land grabs in Africa has proliferated. Yet, little work has been done explicitly reflecting on competing frameworks for analysing the phenomenon. This paper engages two contrasting approaches, namely Marxian and Georgist, assesses their relevance, and teases out insights for recent land grab research in Africa. It warns against any attempts at combining the ‘best’ elements in each approach, but demonstrates how these different…
Security of tenure in international development discourse
The global campaign for secure land tenure is being championed by the international development community through the world development agencies which advocate a particular interpretation of 'security of tenure'. Yet, this article shows that there are many meanings of secure tenure and multiple ways of ensuring that tenure is secure. It suggests that, by ignoring other legal, economic and social interpretations and mechanisms for enhancing securi…
The intellectual marginalisation of Africa
The intellectual marginalisation of Africa is often explained in terms of the lack of human capital. However, the peripheralization and systemic neglect of excellent research published in Africa problematise the human capital thesis and, ironically, demonstrate that the appeal to ‘Southern theory’ is not a panacea either. Although these perspectives are quite distinct, both seek to explain, and ultimately redress, Africa’s intellectual marginalis…
Measuring What? “Success” and “Failure” in Ghana's Oil Industry
This article analyzes the dominant ways in which questions of oil prospecting, exploration, and production are framed and outcomes measured. Using the case of Ghana, a critical institutional approach, and drawing on multiple sources of data, it shows how existing policy overlooks the structural complexities of distribution, empowerment, and corruption. Willing local institutions can make a difference, but they too have structural impediments to o…
An urban twist to politics in Ghana
Urban housing analysis and theories of value
Housing is a major focus in urban and regional studies, but an overemphasis on empiricism inhibits its analytical study. Previous attempts to resolve this tension have proposed the use of research themes, but this strategy makes marginalised approaches even more invisible. Using disciplines as taxonomies takes us no further because, even within disciplines, approaches differ widely. To address the problem, in this paper, I propose to ground the ‘…
The State of African Cities 2014
After an unprecedented and notable delay, the State of African Cities Report 2014 has been published. It makes a bold claim for re-imagining urban sustainability in Africa, continuing two earlier attempts at shaping the nature of urban discussion among scholars, students, and practitioners interested in cities located in Africa. A systematic content analysis shows that although, as in previous attempts, the report is a major success in highlighti…
The Social, Spatial, and Economic Roots of Urban Inequality in Africa: Contextualizing Jane Jacobs and Henry George
Unravelling the social and economic roots of urban inequality in Africa has remained a thorny issue in African political economy. Stripped to its bare essentials, the critical questions are who causes urban inequality, what causes it, and how it is caused? While all different, the questions are interrelated. Answering the "who causes inequality" question requires a related analysis of what and why, and that is connected to the how question. Indee…
Public choice theory and rental housing: An examination of rental housing contracts in Ghana
This paper extends both the literature on rental housing in Ghana and the global literature on the critique of public choice analyses in terms of focus, methods and positioning. It argues that, contrary to the assumption that all housing policy changes are driven by internal national processes, in the case of Ghana at least, neither tenants (through their use of their greater numbers) nor landlords (through the use of their stronger financial and…
The State of African Cities 2010: Governance, inequality and urban land markets
The Future of our Cities
Critique of development economics
Development economics has struggled to understand the conditions of Africa and Africans. However, the nature of this critique, the alternative to development economics, and the challenges of the existing revisionism of today have not, as yet, received the attention of political economists. As this body of work is relevant to the current debates on Africa’s underdevelopment, and development economics more generally, the present article attempts to…
Oil, Local Content Laws and Paternalism: Is Economic Paternalism Better Old, New or Democratic
Although paternalism has long been studied, the ‘new paternalism’ has received relatively little attention, and much less attention in the oil and gas industry where interferences into preferences centre more strongly on the supply, rather than on the demand, side. The ‘choice architects’ in Ghana have succeeded in nudging local businesses to go into the provision of services for the oil industry and the supply of goods and services needed in the…
The Mystery of Capital or the Mystification of Capital
In contemporary political economic analyses of development processes, Hernando De Soto's The Mystery of Capital, has been one of the most discussed, albeit controversial, books. Although well received by global development agencies such as the World Bank, a key exponent of De Soto's work, positing that the creation and institutionalisation of individual property in housing and land revives “dead capital” and creates the conditions that will enabl…
The Future of our Cities
Microfinance and Rural Household Development: A Ghanaian Perspective
Though at the theoretical level, micro-credit is said to play a significant role in poverty reduction, empirical work on the role of micro-credit in poverty reduction is mixed with some studies indicating high levels of employment and income generation and others suggesting a worsening of poverty with micro-credit. Does micro-credit really get to the poor? Does it enhance or impede their productivity? Based on a study of 139 households in one rur…
Globalizing City. The Urban and Economic Transformation of Accra, Ghana
Globalizing City. The Urban and Economic Transformation of Accra, Ghana, Richard Grant, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, NY (2009). xviii+187 pp. US$26.95 (hbk). ISBN 978 0 8156 3172 9. Richard
Real Estate Agents in Ghana: A Suitable Case for Regulation
Obeng-Odoom F. Real estate agents in Ghana: a suitable case for regulation?, Regional Studies. This paper uses a qualitative approach to examine whether regulation would improve the effectiveness of the Ghanaian estate agency market. Interviews with landlords, estate agents, clients, and officials of the Rent Control Department suggest that (1) most so-called ‘problems with unlicensed agents’ are actually landlord-related problems; (2) there is a…
Urban Real Estate in Ghana: A Study of Housing-related Remittances from Australia
A combination of rapid population growth and low incomes results in housing shortages in Ghana. Migration to Europe, America and Scandinavia has provided a way for some Ghanaians to escape this housing problem, as they take advantage of salaries there in order to save and build houses much quicker back home. This study of Ghanaian migrants in Sydney shows that by keeping at two or more jobs and saving about 33 per cent of their incomes, they are …
An urban twist to politics in Ghana
Nezadostno število in neustrezna kakovost stanovanj v Gani
Raziskave stanovanjskega problema v Gani odpirajo dve glavni temi: kako povečati število stanovanj in tako popraviti vsesplošni stanovanjski primanjkljaj in kako izboljšati stanovanja v slumih. Med tema skrajnostma obstaja le malo raziskav o tem, zakaj so obstoječe stavbe tako slabo vzdrževane. V članku je pregled dosedanjih raziskav s področja neustrezne kakovosti stanovanj, strnjeni so dokazi o morebitnih vzrokih za tovrstno zanemarjanje, preds…
Inadequate housing in Ghana
Two themes are evident in housing research in Ghana. One involves the study of how to increase the number of dwellings to correct the overall housing deficit, and the other focuses on how to improve housing for slum dwellers. Between these two extremes, there is relatively little research on why the existing buildings are poorly maintained. This paper is based on a review of existing studies on inadequate housing. It synthesises the evidence on t…
Ill health unleashed? Cities and municipal services in Ghana
Increasing urbanisation, wealth and ill health in cities necessitate careful study, especially in African cities whose development is widely regarded as rapid and chaotic. Using Ghanaian cities as a case study, this article analyses some of the important sources of ill health, identifies why they persist, and assesses how they impinge on economic growth, redistribution, and poverty reduction. It argues that, although there is considerable evidenc…
The Informal Sector in Ghana under Siege
In order to develop effective policies to improve conditions for people working in the informal sector of the economy, it is crucial to understand how that sector arises, operates, and relates to the state. This article analyses the informal sector in Ghana from this perspective, drawing insight from a wide range of sources such as radio and newspaper accounts to overcome the dearth of official information on the subject. The analysis shows the l…
Politično-ekonomski temelji novega zahodnoafriškega naftnega mesta Sekondi-Takoradi
V članku se z institucionalno-analitično metodo ekonomske zgodovine preučujejo izvor, rast in razvoj novega zahodnoafriškega naftnega mesta Sekondi-Takoradi. Posebna pozornost je namenjena vlogi pristanišč in železnic, njihovemu razvoju in sodelovanju s politično-ekonomskimi ustanovami v preteklih stotih letih. Ta pregledna zgodovinska analiza nakazuje, da je novo zahodnoafriško mesto spet tam, kjer je bilo na začetku. Podobno kot v 20. letih 20.…
Andrew Sunil Rajkumar, Christopher Gaukler, and Jessica Tilahun: Combating malnutrition in Ethiopia: an evidence-based approach for sustained results
Land reforms in Africa: Theory, practice, and outcome
Political economic origins of Sekondi-Takoradi, West Africa’s new oil city
The origins, growth and trajectory of Sekondi-Takoradi, West Africa's newest oil city, are considered by using an "institutional-analytical" method of economic history. Particular attention is given to the role of ports, harbours and railways, and how they evolved and interacted with political economic institutions in the last 100 years. This omnibus historical analysis suggests that West Africa's newest oil city has come full circle. Its contemp…
Far away from home: The housing question and international students in Australia
It has become commonplace for scholars and education managers to talk of the globalisation of higher education. How to provide housing for the growing numbers of international students, however, remains contentious. This paper presents the situation in Australia by analysing the results of two large surveys and official reports published by student associations, housing authorities, the University of Sydney, and the Australian Government Departme…
Beyond access to water
This paper looks beyond the dominant view of access to water – defined as coverage. It shows that, while the spread of improved water sources has widened, problems of affordability, quality, distribution, and reliability (“deep access”) are pervasive. In turn, it argues that declarations about water in international development discourse such as “access to water has increased” can be misleading. Development in practice must look beyond “wide” to …
Health, wealth and poverty in developing countries: Beyond the State, market, and civil society
Poor health and disease and the nature of interventions to ameliorate them typically generate opportunities and costs. What diseases are prevalent, which interventions are favoured and what factors fuel the nature of health interventions are recurrent concerns for political economists. This paper examines the prevailing viewpoints about what health policy works and what does not. Drawing on evidence from developing countries, it shows that there …
Governance for Pro-Poor Urban Development: Lessons from Ghana
The world development institutions commonly present 'urban governance' as an antidote to the so-called 'urbanisation of poverty' and 'parasitic urbanism' in Africa. Governance for Pro-Poor Urban Development is a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the meaning, nature, and effects of 'urban governance' in theory and in practice, with a focus on Ghana, a country widely regarded as an island of good governance in the sub region. The book illust…
Resource curse or blessing in Africa’s oil cities? Empirical evidence from Sekondi-Takoradi, West Africa
Security of tenure in international development discourse
The global campaign for secure land tenure is being championed by the international development community through the world development agencies which advocate a particular interpretation of 'security of tenure'. Yet, this article shows that there are many meanings of secure tenure and multiple ways of ensuring that tenure is secure. It suggests that, by ignoring other legal, economic and social interpretations and mechanisms for enhancing securi…
Do African cities have markets for plastics or plastics for markets
The State of African Cities 2010: Governance, inequality and urban land markets
Urban Land Policies in Ghana: A Case of the Emperor's New Clothes
The paper examines evidence on the reasons for inefficient land management in Ghana. It argues that the perceived custodians of land have consistently acted in their individual interest while successfully using a discourse of ‘communal’ to secure the backing of the colonial and post colonial state. Overall, the state has substantially promoted the interest of private capital. In turn, the ‘public good’ outcomes the current land policies ostensibl…
The Mystery of Capital or the Mystification of Capital
In contemporary political economic analyses of development processes, Hernando De Soto's The Mystery of Capital, has been one of the most discussed, albeit controversial, books. Although well received by global development agencies such as the World Bank, a key exponent of De Soto's work, positing that the creation and institutionalisation of individual property in housing and land revives “dead capital” and creates the conditions that will enabl…
The grab of the world's land and water resources
In this paper, I review recent developments in global political economy and political economy of development that have captured inter alia the attention of agrarian political economists. I do so through the periscope of two recent publications by Fred pearce, Great Britain's leading eco journalist and an edited volume by Tony Allann, Martin Keulertz, Suvi Sojamo and Jeroen Warner, scholars trained in different disciplines and based at various uni…
Political science (53 works) · Economics (49 works) · Sociology (35 works) · Law (33 works) · Politics (27 works) · Urban and Rural Development Challenges (26 works) · Development economics (24 works) · Law (24 works) · Political economy (24 works) · Economic growth (21 works)