Raising Growth And Investment In Sub Saharan Africa

This paper argues that sub-Saharan Africa’s growth performance needs to be improved substantially in order to raise standards of living to an acceptable level and achieve a visible reduction in poverty. The paper provides a broad overview of the explanations for sub-Saharan Africa’s unsatisfactory growth performance in the past, paying particular attention to the empirical literature. It argues that growth has been hampered by economic distortions and institutional deficiencies that have increased the risk of investing in Africa, and lowered the rates of return on capital and labor as well as the growth of total factor productivity.

Sub-Saharan Africa's long-term growth performance will need to improve significantly for the region to visibly reduce poverty and raise the standard of living to an acceptable level. Appropriate actions will also be needed to ensure that an adequate share of the growing income is devoted to reducing poverty. The key policy question for these countries and their development partners is how to spur economic growth. Empirical studies suggest that the contributions to growth of physical investment and total factor productivity in sub-Saharan Africa have been low in comparison with other regions and have declined over time. These trends have reflected inefficiencies in resource allocation, poor delivery of public goods, notably health care and education; and the high risk of doing business in many parts of the region. Moreover, although the labor force has expanded rapidly, its productivity has remained relatively low because of generally poor standards of health and education.

Africa is the world’s poorest continent, but amid all the bad news, there is hope for change. This pamphlet examines the lessons to be learned from some of the more successful economies south of the Sahara, and discusses a policy framework to promote sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty across the region.

The paper investigates empirically the determinants of economic growth for a large sample of sub-Saharan African countries during 1981-92. The results indicate that (i) an increase in private investment has a relatively large positive impact on per capita growth; (ii) growth is stimulated by public policies that lower the budget deficit in relation to GDP (without reducing government investment), reduce the rate of inflation, maintain external competitiveness, promote structural reforms, encourage human capital development, and slow population growth; and (iii) convergence of per capita income occurs after controlling for human capital development and public policies.

This paper analyzes the factors affecting economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa, using data for 1981–97. The results indicate that per capita real GDP growth is positively influenced by economic policies that raise the ratio of private investment to GDP, promote human capital development, lower the ratio of the budget deficit to GDP, safeguard external competitiveness, and stimulate export volume growth. The favorable evolution of these variables played an important role in the region’s apparent postreform recovery of 1995–97. The paper also discusses a policy framework to promote sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa

In this essay, Dr. Ramachandran examines the constraints to private sector growth in Sub- Saharan Africa. She addresses two sets of issues--the constraints on firm-level productivity and the barriers to investment in the private sector. Focusing on the manufacturing sector, the author identifies and analyzes several key problems that are responsible for low productivity and investment levels in Africa. Finally, she outlines policies that may lead to the improvement of productivity and investment levels, and the role of national and international agencies in promoting these strategies. The author begins by comparing manufacturing sector productivity across developing countries and then examines some of the reasons for the gap between African productivity and that of the rest of the developing world. The key questions with regard to the productivity gap include the following: Can African labor compete with labor from other developing countries? Is the vintage of capital equipment a barrier to raising productivity? How can African firms build export capacity and become competitive in global markets? What types of firms are growing the fastest in Africa? How efficient is the market for credit in the private sector and how does this impact firm-level productivity? Recognizing that Africa's potential to attract private sector investment is at the heart of its ability to achieve a high rate of economic growth, the author identifies some of the major problems faced by investors in the private sector. In particular, she focuses on foreign direct investment because of its critical role in generating growth in the early stages of industrial development. By using case studies and othermaterial, she examines foreign investment trends in Africa, the impact of this investment in terms of output and employment, and the problems faced by new investors in Sub-Saharan Africa. The author concludes with specific recommendations for generating growth in the private sector and for improving productivity and investment levels in Africa. Finally, she suggests concrete steps that national and international policymakers can take to improve the climate for investment in Africa.

Foreign investment is even less likely to meet Sub-Saharan Africa's rising foreign exchange and savings gaps in the 1990s than in the dismal 1980s. Investors interested in Sub-Saharan Africa are more likely to commit technology and management than equity capital. Economic activity and overall economic policy may be more effective at raising the total volume of investment than special fiscal and other incentives.

Evaluates the role of infrastructure in promoting economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa. Examines complementary physical infrastructure: telecommunications, power, transport (roads, railways, ports and airports) and water supply. Explores Africa's infrastructure endowment and financing options.