Arbeitspapier

Thirty years in Africa's development: From structural adjustment to structural transformation?

Africa has come a long way since the economic turmoil of the 1980s, the decade of "structural adjustment". Growth has been strong, yet poverty remains high. Underlying the shortage of good livelihoods and high social inequality is the lack of diversification in Africa's economies-in contrast to Asia's success stories. Structural adjustment did not change the basic structure of economies. Many countries became mired in war in the 1980s and 1990s. This also brought about structural change, often of the worst kind. Today, structural transformation remains on the policy table, but many of the constraints, notably infrastructure and enterprise finance, have yet to be resolved. Agricultural productivity remains low. And without new manufacturing and service clusters, Africa is yet to follow East Asia in integrating with the global economy in ways that add value and good jobs. Instead, integration continues via Africa's traditional primary exports, making the region vulnerable to commodity price shocks. Today's policy agenda is subtle, and one in which the challenges have no easy answers.

Language
Englisch
ISBN
978-92-9256-008-9

Bibliographic citation
Series: WIDER Working Paper ; No. 2015/119

Classification
Wirtschaft
Subject
Africa
economic transformation
poverty
inequality
aid

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Addison, Tony
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)
(where)
Helsinki
(when)
2015

DOI
doi:10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2015/008-9
Handle
Last update
20.09.2024, 8:21 AM CEST

Data provider

This object is provided by:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.

Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Addison, Tony
  • The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)

Time of origin

  • 2015

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