{
  "title": "Explaining Episodes of Growth Accelerations, Decelerations, and Collapses in Western Africa",
  "publication": "IMF Working Papers, December 1, 2008",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/explaining-episodes-of-growth-accelerations-decelerations-and-collapses-in-western-africa-22478",
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  "summary": "The growth literature has had problems explaining the \"sub-Saharan African growth dummy\" in cross-country regressions. Instead of taking the usual approach of focusing on long-run growth and assuming that sub-Saharan countries have homogenous parameters in growth regressions, we concentrate our anal",
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    {
      "heading": "Scope and methodology",
      "content": "- Focus: episodes of growth turnarounds (growth accelerations, decelerations, and collapses) rather than long-run growth.\n- Geographic sample: 22 Western African economies.\n- Time coverage: 1960-2006.\n- Empirical approach: probits to estimate driving forces of growth turnarounds.\n- Variables analyzed: external shocks, political and institutional changes, economic reforms, and indicators particularly relevant to the region."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key empirical findings",
      "content": "- Growth accelerations are most clearly associated with:\n  - external shocks\n  - economic liberalization\n  - political stability\n  - closeness to the coast\n- Growth decelerations are associated with:\n  - short-lived regimes\n  - weakening of corruption indices\n- Growth collapses are linked to:\n  - external shocks\n  - falling domestic credit\n  - proximity to the coast"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy implications and analysis",
      "content": "- The paper identifies policy implications based on the empirical associations above (policy implications are discussed in the paper).\n- Analytical emphasis: treating Western African countries on a region-specific basis and focusing on discrete turnaround episodes helps isolate drivers of growth transitions that broad cross-country long-run regressions may miss.\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- wp08287\n  - wp08287 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - wp08287 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/explaining-episodes-of-growth-accelerations-decelerations-and-collapses-in-western-africa-22478"
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    "Authors: Gonzalo Salinas, Patrick A. Imam",
    "Published: December 1, 2008",
    "Series: IMF Working Papers",
    "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451871456.001",
    "Focus: episodes of growth turnarounds (growth accelerations, decelerations, and collapses) rather than long-run growth.",
    "Geographic sample: 22 Western African economies.",
    "Time coverage: 1960-2006.",
    "Empirical approach: probits to estimate driving forces of growth turnarounds.",
    "Variables analyzed: external shocks, political and institutional changes, economic reforms, and indicators particularly relevant to the region.",
    "Growth accelerations are most clearly associated with:",
    "Growth decelerations are associated with:",
    "Growth collapses are linked to:",
    "The paper identifies policy implications based on the empirical associations above (policy implications are discussed in the paper).",
    "Analytical emphasis: treating Western African countries on a region-specific basis and focusing on discrete turnaround episodes helps isolate drivers of growth transitions that broad cross-country long-run regressions may miss.",
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