Journal of Economic Perspectives
ISSN 0895-3309 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7965 (Online)
Why Has Africa Grown Slowly?
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 13,
no. 3, Summer 1999
(pp. 3–22)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
We distinguish between policy and "destiny" explanations of Africa's slow growth during the past three decades. Policies were poor: high export taxation and inefficient public service delivery, and "destiny" was adverse: landlocked, tropical locations, and terms of trade deterioration. During the 1990s, Africa's economic policies improved, although with considerable variation both between countries and between policies: trade and exchange rate policies improved much more than service delivery. Thus, the differing explanations of past slow growth imply different predictions for growth in the coming decade. We argue that poor public economic services are likely to be the binding constraint.Citation
Collier, Paul, and Jan Willem Gunning. 1999. "Why Has Africa Grown Slowly?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, 13 (3): 3–22. DOI: 10.1257/jep.13.3.3JEL Classification
- O55 Economywide Country Studies: Africa
- O10 Economic Development: General
- O47 Measurement of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
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