This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

The Economic Tragedy of the XXth Century: Growth in Africa

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Elsa V. Artadi
Xavier Sala-i-Martín ()

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The dismal growth performance of Africa is the worst economic tragedy of the XXth century. We document the evolution of per capita GDP for the continent as a whole and for subset of countries south of the Sahara desert. We document the worsening of various income inequality indexes and we estimate poverty rates and headcounts. We then analyze some of the central robust determinants of economic growth reported by Sala-i-Martin, Doppelhofer and Miller (2003) and project the annual growth rates Africa would have enjoyed if these key determinants had taken OECD rather than African values. Expensive investment goods, low levels of education, poor health, adverse geography, closed economies, too much public expenditure and too many military conflicts are seen as key explanations of the economic tragedy.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.econ.upf.edu/docs/papers/downloads/684.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function: Whole Paper
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra in its series Economics Working Papers with number 684.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Apr 2003
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:upf:upfgen:684

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://www.econ.upf.edu/

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords: Africa; determinants of growth; economic developement;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
O0 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - General
O1 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
O5 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. William Easterly, 2002. "The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262550423.
  2. Ahluwalia, Montek S. & Carter, Nicholas G. & Chenery, Hollis B., 1979. "Growth and poverty in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 299-341, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1369-1401, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Paul Collier & Jan Willem Gunning, 1999. "Why Has Africa Grown Slowly?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 3-22, Summer. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Jeffrey D. Sachs, 2003. "Institutions Don't Rule: Direct Effects of Geography on Per Capita Income," NBER Working Papers 9490, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Ravallion, Martin & Datt, Gaurav & van de Walle, Dominique, 1991. "Quantifying Absolute Poverty in the Developing World," Review of Income and Wealth, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 37(4), pages 345-61, December.
  7. Sachs, Jeffrey D & Warner, Andrew M, 1997. "Sources of Slow Growth in African Economies," Journal of African Economies, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(3), pages 335-76, October.
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Stan du Plessis & Ronelle Burger, 2006. "Examining the Robustness of Competing Explanations of Slow Growth in African Countries," Working Papers 03/2006, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Luca, MARCHIORI, 2007. "ChinAfrica : How can the Sino-African cooperation be beneficial for Africa ?," Discussion Papers (ECON - Département des Sciences Economiques) 2007014, Université catholique de Louvain, Département des Sciences Economiques. [Downloadable!]
  3. Nathan Nunn, 2005. "Historical Legacies: A Model Linking Africa's Past to its Current Underdevelopment," Development and Comp Systems 0508008, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Herve Boulhol, 2004. "Technology Differences, Institutions and Economic Growth: a Conditional Conditional Convergence," Working Papers 2004-02, CEPII research center. [Downloadable!]
  5. Nathan Nunn, 2004. "Slavery, Institutional Development, and Long-Run Growth in Africa, 1400--2000," International Trade 0411007, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  6. Paulo Silva Lopes, 2005. "The Disconcerting Pyramids of Poverty and Inequality of Sub-Saharan Africa," IMF Working Papers 05/47, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  7. Daniel M'Amanja, & Oliver Morrissey, . "Foreign Aid, Investment and Economic Growth in Kenya: a Time Series Approach," Discussion Papers 06/05, University of Nottingham, CREDIT. [Downloadable!]
  8. Amavilah, Voxi Heinrich, 2007. "The effects of technology-as-knowledge on the economic performance of developing countries: An econometric analysis using annual publications data for Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, 1976-2004," MPRA Paper 3482, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  9. Bigsten, Arne, 2006. "Aid and Economic Development in Africa," Working Papers in Economics 237, Göteborg University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  10. Haaparanta, Pertti & Puhakka, Mikko, 2004. "Endogenous time preference, investment and development traps," BOFIT Discussion Papers 4/2004, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition. [Downloadable!]
  11. Manoj Atolia, 2003. "Productivity-Enhancing Reforms, Private Capital Inflows, and Real Interest Rates in Africa," Working Papers wp2003_10_02, Department of Economics, Florida State University, revised Dec 2008. [Downloadable!]
  12. Massimo Tamberi, 2006. "Specialization and Growth Perspectives in the South Mediterranean Area," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 3(2), pages 289-314, December. [Downloadable!]
  13. Haaparanta, Pertti & Virta, Heli, 2006. "Decomposing Growth: Do Low-Income and HIPCs Differ from High-Income Countries? Growth, Technological Catch-up, Technological Change and Human and Physical Capital Deepening," Working Papers RP2006/26, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER). [Downloadable!]
  14. Kevin Joseph Carey & Sanjeev Gupta & Catherine A. Pattillo, 2005. "Sustaining Growth Accelerations and Pro-Poor Growth in Africa," IMF Working Papers 05/195, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  15. Rina Bhattacharya & Dhaneshwar Ghura, 2006. "Oil and Growth in the Republic of Congo," IMF Working Papers 06/185, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  16. Chris Papageorgiou & Winford H. Masanjala, . "Initial Conditions, European Colonialism and Africa's Growth," Departmental Working Papers 2006-01, Department of Economics, Louisiana State University. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? To receive notification of recent additions to the database, subscribe to the free NEP reports.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-20.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.