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Infrastructure investment and its performance in Africa over the course of the twentieth century

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Author Info

  • John Luiz

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse long-term trends in the development of Africa's economic infrastructure. Design/methodology/approach – The importance of infrastructure was examined in social and economic processes, followed by an exploration of the changing nature of infrastructure and its implications for delivery. The paper looked at the development of infrastructure in Africa by focusing on what was inherited at independence versus what had been achieved there since and why this was the case. Findings – The development challenges are immense because delivery of infrastructure requires much more than financial resources – it requires the capacity to deliver massive, complex projects in an efficient manner. It is clear that African states do not possess this level of capacity but this can still be delivered through innovative public-private partnerships, global cooperation, and the support of international institutions. Practical implications – Improving Africa's infrastructure is a necessary but not sufficient condition to promote economic development and attract investment back to the continent. Originality/value – The author assesses what needs to be done to ensure the massive infrastructure delivery required for the continent, which is estimated at 6 percent of output, and the innovation required for such a programme.

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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by Emerald Group Publishing in its journal International Journal of Social Economics.

Volume (Year): 37 (2010)
Issue (Month): 7 (July)
Pages: 512-536

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Handle: RePEc:eme:ijsepp:v:37:y:2010:i:7:p:512-536

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Related research

Keywords: Africa; Economic growth; Electricity; Railways; Roads; Telephone;

References

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  1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-37, October.
  2. Holtz-Eakin, Douglas, 1994. "Public-Sector Capital and the Productivity Puzzle," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(1), pages 12-21, February.
  3. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries," NBER Working Papers 3120, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  4. Lim, David, 1994. "Explaining the Growth Performances of Asian Developing Economies," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(4), pages 829-44, July.
  5. David Aschauer, 1988. "Is public expenditure productive?," Staff Memoranda 88-7, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
  6. Murphy, Kevin M. & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1989. "Industrialization and the Big Push," Scholarly Articles 3606235, Harvard University Department of Economics.
  7. Maddison, Angus, 1987. "Growth and Slowdown in Advanced Capitalist Economies: Techniques of Quantitative Assessment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 25(2), pages 649-98, June.
  8. Fagerberg, Jan, 1994. "Technology and International Differences in Growth Rates," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 32(3), pages 1147-75, September.
  9. Peter Perkins & Johann Fedderke & John Luiz, 2005. "An Analysis Of Economic Infrastructure Investment In South Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 73(2), pages 211-228, 06.
  10. Alicia H. Munnell, 1992. "Policy Watch: Infrastructure Investment and Economic Growth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 189-198, Fall.
  11. Paul M Romer, 1999. "Increasing Returns and Long-Run Growth," Levine's Working Paper Archive 2232, David K. Levine.
  12. John Luiz, 2006. "The New Partnership for African Development: questions regarding Africa's response to its underdevelopment," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(2), pages 223-236.
  13. M.G. Pollitt, 2000. "The Declining Role of the State in Infrastructure Investments in the UK," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0001, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
  14. Teresa Garcia-Milà & Therese J. McGuire & Robert H. Porter, 1993. "The effect of public capital in state-level production functions reconsidered," Economics Working Papers 36, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
  15. Alicia H. Munnell, 1990. "How does public infrastructure affect regional economic performance?," Conference Series ; [Proceedings], Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, pages 69-112.
  16. AfDB, . "African Development Report 2001," African Development Report, African Development Bank, number 18 edited by Salami, Adeleke Oluwole, 4.
  17. Johannes Fedderke, 2004. "Investment in Fixed Capital Stock: Testing for the Impact of Sectoral and Systemic Uncertainty," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 66(2), pages 165-187, 05.
  18. Alfredo M. Pereira, 2000. "Is All Public Capital Created Equal?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(3), pages 513-518, August.
  19. Jimenez, Emmanuel, 1995. "Human and physical infrastructure: Public investment and pricing policies in developing countries," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery† & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 43, pages 2773-2843 Elsevier.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. John M. Luiz & Henry Stephan, 2011. "Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment of South African Telecommunications Firms into Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 222, Economic Research Southern Africa.
  2. Roland Bardy & Stephen Drew & Tumenta Kennedy, 2012. "Foreign Investment and Ethics: How to Contribute to Social Responsibility by Doing Business in Less-Developed Countries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(3), pages 267-282, March.

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