Former BoG Governor Ernest Addison joins Harvard as Senior Research Fellow

Former Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor Dr Ernest Addison has been appointed a Short-Term Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University’s Center for International Development (CID) and Center for African Studies (CAS).

Dr Addison is expected to lead four CID student seminar sessions in October, drawing on his eight-year tenure as Governor of the Bank of Ghana and reflecting on some of the major economic and financial developments Ghana experienced during the period.

The sessions will examine the policies that contributed to Ghana’s strong economic growth during the first half of his tenure, with particular focus on macroeconomic management and the financial sector clean-up.

Dr Addison is also expected to discuss the policy responses to a series of major economic shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

He will share insights into the challenges faced by the Bank of Ghana in managing the impact of these shocks and the policy measures adopted to stabilise the economy.

Dr Addison retired from the Bank of Ghana in March 2025 after serving as Governor since 2017.

During his tenure, the central bank oversaw a major financial sector clean-up that resulted in the resolution of nine banks and 347 other financial institutions.

The Bank also introduced stronger capital and supervisory requirements aligned with Basel III standards as part of efforts to strengthen the resilience of the financial sector.

The Harvard sessions will also examine the economic challenges that emerged during the second half of Dr Addison’s tenure, when Ghana lost access to international capital markets following a series of credit-rating downgrades amid rising public debt and weakening fiscal conditions.

The loss of market access contributed to a severe liquidity and debt crisis, eventually leading Ghana to seek an IMF-supported programme and undertake a comprehensive debt restructuring.

Dr Addison is expected to provide insights into the role of the central bank during the crisis, including the policy measures implemented in 2023 and 2024 to restore macroeconomic stability and strengthen Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves.

His discussions will also explore the interaction between monetary policy, fiscal conditions, financial-sector stability and external shocks in shaping Ghana’s economic trajectory.