Growth in Africa Under Peace and Market Reforms
IMF Working Papers, February 1, 2011
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Olessia Korbut, Gonzalo Salinas, Cheikh A. Gueye
- Published: February 1, 2011
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781455217861.001
Executive summary
- Economic stagnation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has led some economists to question the region’s ability to attain sustained economic growth and to argue for shifting away from natural resource-based exports.
- The paper finds that low growth has not been common to all SSA countries.
- SSA countries that achieved political stability and significantly liberalized their economies experienced high growth in income per capita, comparable to ASEAN-5 countries.
- These high-growth SSA countries maintained their specialization in natural resource exports.
- The analysis rejects the hypothesis of reverse causality: good growth performance did not simply allow countries to attain political stability or to liberalize their economies.
Key findings
- Political stability coupled with significant economic liberalization is associated with high growth in income per capita in a subset of SSA countries.
- High growth occurred while maintaining specialization in natural resource exports.
- The evidence rejects reverse causality from growth to political stability or liberalization.
Scope, subject, and keywords
- 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