J. Henry Owusu

Professor Emeritus

J. Henry Owusu

Professor Emeritus

Education

Ph. D. 1993: University of Iowa — Geography (Regional Development)

M.A. 1990: University of Iowa — Geography (Regional Development)

M.S. 1980: Indiana University of Pennsylvania — Geography & Regional Planning

B.A. 1977: University of Science & Technology, Ghana — Economics/Geography

Teaching Interests

  • Human Geography

  •  Economic Geography

  • Cultural Geography 

  • Regional Geography -- African Development

  • Non-Western Cultures – Africa

  • Geography of Economic Development

Research Interests

  • Conflict and Cooperation among the Riparian Countries of the Volta River Basin in West Africa.

  • Industrialization (Formal & Informal Sectors) and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa;

  • Decentralization, Local livelihoods and Sustainable Forest Management in Sub-Saharan Africa;

  • Political Economy of Regional Development;

  • Third World/International Development and Policy;

  • Tropical Timber Trade, The Environment and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa;

  • Regional Economic Restructuring;

  • The Role of the Human Factor in Third World Development;

  • Globalization;

Professional Accomplishments

  • Owusu, J. Henry.  2012.  “Africa, Tropical Timber, Turfs and Trade: Geographic Perspectives on Ghana’s Timber Industry and Development.”  Lanham, MD.: Lexington Books, A Division of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group.

  • Owusu, J. Henry. 2011. “Conflict and Cooperation among the Riparian Countries of the Volta River Basin in West Africa: A Geographic Perspective.” – Chapter 7 (pp.187-222) in Vajpeyi Dhirendra, ed. Water Resource Conflicts and International Security: A Global Perspective.  Lanham, MD.: Lexington Books (Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group).

  • Owusu, J. Henry. 2010. “Trends in Ghana’s International Timber trade: Some Implications for Local Livelihoods  and Sustainable Forest management.” – Chapter 13 in German, Laura, Alain Karsenty, and Anne-Marie Tiani, eds.Governing Africa’s Forests in a Globalized World, for The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). London, U.K: Earthscan.

  • Owusu, J. Henry. 2010. “Le commerce international du bois au Ghana : tendances et repercussions sur les conditions de vie locales et la gestion durable des forêts.” – Chapter 13 in German, Laura, Alain Karsenty, and Anne-Marie Tiani, eds. Gouverner les forêts africaines à l’ère de la mondialisation,Bogor, Indonesie: Center for International Forestry Research CIFOR.

  • Owusu, J. Henry. 2006. “Political/Economic Convenience and Unprecedented Deforestation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Development Lessons from Ghana’s Adjustment Program”  –  Chapter 10 (pp. 161-181) in Konadu-Agyemang, K and Panford, K .eds. Africa in the 21stCentury: Pertinent Socio-Economic and Development Issues. Aldershot, HampshireUK: Ashgate International.

  • Owusu, J. Henry. 2004. “Structural Adjustment sans Spatial Integration: Another Sub-Saharan African Development Policy Debacle.”  Chapter 4 (pp. 75-110), in Adjibolosoo, S. B-S. K. (ed.), The International Development Program of Activities: What are We Doing Wrong?  Bloomington, IN: 1st Books.

  • Owusu, J. Henry. 2001. “Economic Recovery, Debt and Dependence in African Economies: The Case of Ghana”, Chapter 2 (pp. 17-39), in Columbus, F. (ed.), Politics and Economics of Africa, Vol. I, Huntington, NY: Nova Science Publishers.

  • Owusu, J. Henry. 1998. “The Myth of Development Under Ghana’s Structural Adjustment Program:  Evidence From The Formal Wood-Processing Sector (1983-1991),” Chapter 12 (pp.193-216), in Adjibolosoo, S. B-S. K. and B. Ofori-Amoah (eds.), Addressing Misconceptions About Africa’s Development: Seeing Beyond The Veil. Lewiston,NY: The Edwin Mellen Press. 

  • Owusu, J. Henry.  2001. “Determinants of Export-Oriented Industrial Output in Ghana: The Case of Formal Wood Processing in an Era of Economic Recovery.”   The Journal of Modern African Studies. Vol. 39, No.1, pp. 51-80.

  • Owusu, J. Henry. 2001.  “Spatial Integration, Adjustment and Structural Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Some Linkage Pattern Changes in Ghana.”  The Professional Geographer. Vol. 53, No.2, pp. 230-247.

  • Dean M. Hanink and J. Henry Owusu.  1998. “Has ECOWAS Promoted Trade Among Its Members?”   Journal of African Economies. Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 363-383.

  • Owusu, J. Henry. 1998. “Current Convenience; Desperate Deforestation: Ghana’s Adjustment Program and the Forestry Sector.”  The Professional Geographer, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 418-436.

  • Owusu, J. Henry.  1998. “Adjustment, Industrial Locational Incentives and Structural Transformation in Ghana.” The East African Geographical Review (now African Geographical Review) Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 1-24 (Lead Article).

  • Owusu, J. Henry. 1995. “Structural Adjustment and African Development: Evidence from Ghana’s Formal Wood-Processing Sector.” Review of Human Factor Studies. Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 60-79.