Free markets exist in Ghana but have failed, as shown by the country's low GDP and HDI ranking. This is theorized to be due to factors like political instability, corruption, and biases from colonialism. More modern theories explain the failure as being caused by an inability to create productive capital assets due to most assets existing in an extra-legal sector without clear ownership rights. This limits financing opportunities and the flow of information about assets. Additionally, Ghana has low financial development, with an unbanked population and underdeveloped secondary markets, which makes channeling funds inefficient and limits credit availability and innovation.

1. Why Free Markets Fail in Ghana By Kwasi Osei-Kusi ‘09 University Fellow Faculty Mentor: Dr. R.A. Blewett