The persistence of poverty in many developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, in the face of increased globalisation and rapid trade liberalisation during the past two decades has inspired considerable debate on the impact of globalisation, in general, and trade liberalisation, in particular, on poverty. In Ghana, as in many other African countries, poverty remains the fundamental problem confronting policy makers in the new millennium as highlighted in the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy. Yet, between 1991 and 2006, the headcount index of poverty fell by 23.2 percentage points with the proportion of the population living below the national poverty line falling from 51.7% in 1991/92 to 28.5% in 2005/06. Poverty had fallen in the countryside as well as in the towns, though progress had been more rapid in rural areas. This optimism is, however, tempered by the fact that while poverty declined, inequality increased significantly during the same period. Large reductions in...