Development as diffusion: Manufacturing productivity and sub-Saharan Africa's missing middle

Arbeitspapier

We consider economic development of sub-Saharan Africa from the perspective of slow convergence of productivity, both across sectors and firms within sectors. Why have 'productivity enclaves', islands of high productivity in a sea of smaller low-productivity firms, not diffused more rapidly? We summarize and analyse three sets of factors: First, the poor business climate, which constraints the allocation of production factors between sectors and firms. Second, the complex political economy of business-government relations in Africa's small economies, and third, the distribution of firm capabilities. The roots for these factors lie in sub-Saharan Africa's geography and its distinctive history, including the legacy of its colonial period on state formation and market structure.

Angaben zum Objekt

• ISBN: 978-92-9230-763-9
• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Series: WIDER Working Paper ; No. 2014/042

Klassifikation und Themen

• Klassifikation: Wirtschaft ; Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity ; Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope ; Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development ; Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
• Thema: productivity ; manufacturing ; dualism ; firms ; sub-Saharan Africa

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): Gelb, Alan ; Meyer, Christian J. ; Ramachandran, Vijaya
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wer): The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)
• (wo): Helsinki
• (wann): 2014

Weitere Informationen

• DOI: doi:10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2014/763-9
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/96337
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 10.03.2025, 11:46 MEZ