Growth in Africa Under Peace and Market Reforms
February 1, 2011
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Summary
Economic stagnation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has led several economists to question the region’s ability to attain sustained economic growth, some of them arguing for the need to shift away from natural resource - based exports. Yet, we find that low growth has not been common to all SSA countries and that those that achieved political stability and significantly liberalized their economies experienced high growth in income per capita, as high as ASEAN-5 countries. This group of SSA countries attained high growth while maintaining their specialization in natural resource exports. Our analysis also rejects the hypothesis of reverse causality: that good growth performance allowed countries to attain political stability or liberalize their economies.
Subject: Commodities, Comparative advantage, Environment, Exports, International trade, National accounts, Natural resources, Personal income
Keywords: Africa, Comparative advantage, country, East Asia, Exports, growth, liberalization, liberalization program, natural resource, Natural resources, Personal income, South Asia, SSA country, SSA economy, state interventionism, structural adjustment, WP
Pages:
29
Volume:
2011
DOI:
Issue:
040
Series:
Working Paper No. 2011/040
Stock No:
WPIEA2011040
ISBN:
9781455217861
ISSN:
1018-5941
