CHAPTER 3 gains result from the fact that regional inequities tend to lead to “missed opportunities” in the regions enjoying fewer advantages opportunities, which, if exploited, would raise the average productivity of factors of production in the economy as a whole. More often than not, however, some investment in infrastructure and human capital is called for in the neglected areas, while measures may be needed to alleviate the risk and uncertainty felt by entrepreneurs in investing in relatively unfamiliar territory. Selective intervention by the government is often inevitable, and the challenge to the authorities is to determine the nature and extent of tenable intervention that makes economic sense. Clearly, the higher the level of analytical capability in the country at large, the greater the ability of the authorities to grapple with such formidable issues. 65. A great deal has been achieved with the broad decentralisation policy in recent years, but there is also general agreement that the role and functions of regional governments should be expanded. In particular, the fiscal decentralisation policy will have to be expedited to avoid frustration in rural areas about the slow pace of development. Continuing with market liberalisation policies 66. In all the areas described above, liberalisation policies, if properly sequenced, should provide enormous incentives to the private sector to respond vigorously to public sector initiatives, thereby enhancing the success of the policies. Hence, the Ghanaian authorities are encouraged to continue with their liberalisation policies in the financial, labour and commodity markets. At the same time, they should take appropriate steps to ensure that the order and timing of the liberalisation measures foster economic stability, in addition to enhancing growth. A study of the policy reform experiences of a large number of other countries under highly varied socio-political and economic structural conditions should make this exercise more easily manageable for confident decisionmaking by the Ghanaian authorities. Objective 2: Pursue transparency, effectiveness and predictability of government economic policies i. Self-assessment 67. Transparency refers to an environment in which the public is supplied with the following in a clear, accessible and timely manner: (a) the objectives of policy and its institutional (including legal) and economic framework; (b) policy decisions and their rationale; (c) data and information related to policies; and (d) the terms of accountability. 66