diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/7.10.3-binary.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/7.10.3-binary.nix
index 48e2ca0a585..53693ff5052 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/7.10.3-binary.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/7.10.3-binary.nix
@@ -153,7 +153,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     [ $(./main) == "yes" ]
   '';
 
-  passthru = { targetPrefix = ""; };
+  passthru = {
+    targetPrefix = "";
+    enableShared = true;
+  };
 
   meta.license = stdenv.lib.licenses.bsd3;
   meta.platforms = ["x86_64-linux" "i686-linux" "x86_64-darwin" "armv7l-linux"];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/7.10.3.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/7.10.3.nix
index 3dd320e0257..2a906d918aa 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/7.10.3.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/7.10.3.nix
@@ -177,6 +177,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     inherit bootPkgs targetPrefix;
 
     inherit llvmPackages;
+    inherit enableShared;
 
     # Our Cabal compiler name
     haskellCompilerName = "ghc-7.10.3";
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.0.2.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.0.2.nix
index 53c5a218cb1..8062e93df54 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.0.2.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.0.2.nix
@@ -183,6 +183,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     inherit bootPkgs targetPrefix;
 
     inherit llvmPackages;
+    inherit enableShared;
 
     # Our Cabal compiler name
     haskellCompilerName = "ghc-8.0.2";
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.2.1-binary.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.2.1-binary.nix
index c88d2a8685a..9bd7dfcb9fc 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.2.1-binary.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.2.1-binary.nix
@@ -155,7 +155,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     [ $(./main) == "yes" ]
   '';
 
-  passthru = { targetPrefix = ""; };
+  passthru = {
+    targetPrefix = "";
+    enableShared = true;
+  };
 
   meta.license = stdenv.lib.licenses.bsd3;
   # AArch64 should work in theory but eventually some builds start segfaulting
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.2.2.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.2.2.nix
index 5f0818a017d..348e909dbdb 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.2.2.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.2.2.nix
@@ -201,6 +201,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     inherit bootPkgs targetPrefix;
 
     inherit llvmPackages;
+    inherit enableShared;
 
     # Our Cabal compiler name
     haskellCompilerName = "ghc-8.2.2";
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.4.3.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.4.3.nix
index a582bf0859d..ac3578927bd 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.4.3.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/8.4.3.nix
@@ -195,6 +195,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     inherit bootPkgs targetPrefix;
 
     inherit llvmPackages;
+    inherit enableShared;
 
     # Our Cabal compiler name
     haskellCompilerName = "ghc-8.4.3";
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/head.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/head.nix
index c128891ec38..8ccd72ef55a 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/head.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/head.nix
@@ -191,6 +191,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     inherit bootPkgs targetPrefix;
 
     inherit llvmPackages;
+    inherit enableShared;
 
     # Our Cabal compiler name
     haskellCompilerName = "ghc-8.5";
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghcjs-ng/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghcjs-ng/default.nix
index affed7e2d07..65b43f712ae 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghcjs-ng/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghcjs-ng/default.nix
@@ -42,6 +42,8 @@ let
     inherit (bootGhcjs) version;
     isGhcjs = true;
 
+    enableShared = true;
+
     socket-io = nodePackages."socket.io";
 
     # Relics of the old GHCJS build system
@@ -96,4 +98,3 @@ in stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
     meta.platforms = passthru.bootPkgs.ghc.meta.platforms;
   }
-
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghcjs/base.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghcjs/base.nix
index 98eb58e6aae..f09a577110b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghcjs/base.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghcjs/base.nix
@@ -179,6 +179,8 @@ in mkDerivation (rec {
     # let us assume ghcjs is never actually cross compiled
     targetPrefix = "";
 
+    enableShared = true;
+
     inherit stage1Packages;
     mkStage2 = stage2 {
       inherit ghcjsBoot;
diff --git a/pkgs/development/haskell-modules/generic-builder.nix b/pkgs/development/haskell-modules/generic-builder.nix
index 52128d3fc5d..3dd023f3430 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/haskell-modules/generic-builder.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/haskell-modules/generic-builder.nix
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ in
 , profilingDetail ? "all-functions"
 # TODO enable shared libs for cross-compiling
 , enableSharedExecutables ? false
-, enableSharedLibraries ? ((ghc.isGhcjs or false) || stdenv.lib.versionOlder "7.7" ghc.version)
+, enableSharedLibraries ? (ghc.enableShared or false)
 , enableDeadCodeElimination ? (!stdenv.isDarwin)  # TODO: use -dead_strip for darwin
 , enableStaticLibraries ? !hostPlatform.isWindows
 , enableHsc2hsViaAsm ? hostPlatform.isWindows && stdenv.lib.versionAtLeast ghc.version "8.4"