Official development assistance, volatility and per capita real gdp growth in sub-Saharan African countries: a comparative regional analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perekunah. B. Eregha ◽  
Tope Rufus Oziegbe
2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-156
Author(s):  
Belinda Archibong ◽  
Brahima Coulibaly ◽  
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Over three decades after market-oriented structural reforms termed “Washington Consensus” policies were first implemented, we revisit the evidence on policy adoption and the effects of these policies on socio-economic performance in sub-Saharan African countries. We focus on three key ubiquitous reform policies around privatization, fiscal discipline, and trade openness and document significant improvements in economic performance for reformers over the past two decades. Following initial declines in per capita economic growth over the 1980s and 1990s, reform adopters experienced notable increases in per capita real GDP growth in the post-2000 period. We complement aggregate analysis with four country case studies that highlight important lessons for effective reform. Notably, the ability to implement pro-poor policies alongside market-oriented reforms played a central role in successful policy performance.


2001 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur A. Goldsmith

African countries are among those receiving the most foreign aid per capita. Many detractors blame that aid for encouraging dictatorship and undermining democracy. This article takes a contrary view. It analyses the relationship between the amount of development assistance given to sub-Saharan countries in the 1990s, and changes in their political systems. There is empirical evidence that arbitrary, unrepresentative government diminished in Africa. The data also suggest a positive, though small, correlation between development assistance and democratisation in the 1990s. The issue now facing many African countries is how to consolidate and extend these reforms on their own, with less external support.


Author(s):  
Richard E. Mshomba

Since independence, African states have been striving for economic development, but relatively few countries have achieved their goal. Between 1970 and 2016, real GDP per capita in sub-Saharan Africa grew by an annual average of just 0.48%. However, there was a wide range of economic performance across different countries, as well as clear variation in growth rates over time. Countries such as the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Madagascar had, on average, a negative growth rate in terms of real GDP per capita. Meanwhile, countries such as Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Swaziland had positive average annual growth rates of at least 3%. The differences in economic growth rates reflect the diversity of economic structures, governance, and political stability across African states. Although deeper economic integration among African countries may work to reduce the large disparities in economic development, any projections must nonetheless recognize that countries will differ in their economic trajectories. Variation over time is also important. The dominant patterns of economic development in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s and 1990s on the one hand, and the 1970s and past the 1990s on the other, were quite different, reflecting a long business cycle. If we look solely at economic growth statistics, the 1980s and 1990s can be described as lost decades. On average, real GDP per capita on the continent declined annually by 1.54% and 0.62% in the 1980s and 1990s, respectively. By contrast, between 2000 and 2016, real GDP per capita increased by an annual average of 2.13%. One important debate has focused on whether these shifts are primarily the result of domestic or international factors. Structural adjustment programs (SAPs) imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have been blamed for the decline in the economic fortunes of African countries in the 1980s. At the same time, they are praised for pulling many countries out of unsustainable macroeconomic policies. Moreover, a balanced overview of Africa’s development trajectory must conclude that even without major policy shifts such as those brought forth by the SAPs, many countries would still have remained highly dependent on one or just a few commodities, and would therefore have continued to experience wild swings in their business cycles in the absence of international intervention. The lack of economic diversification of many economies on the continent means that the future is hard to predict. However, the prerequisites for a prosperous Africa are not a mystery—they include good governance, economic diversity, and genuine economic integration.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danjuma Maijama'a ◽  
Shamzaeffa Samsudin ◽  
Shazida jan Mohd Khan

<p>This study investigates the effects of the HIV and AIDS epidemic on economic growth in 42<br />sub-Saharan African countries using data spanning from 1990-2013. Unlike previous studies,<br />we use a longer data horizon and take the time lag effect of the epidemic’s incubation period<br />that is, after it might have developed to AIDS into consideration in our estimations. We<br />estimated an empirical growth equation within an augmented Solow model and applied the<br />dynamic system GMM estimator. The results suggest that current HIV prevalence rate –<br />associated with rising morbidity, has a negative effect on GDP per capita growth, conversely<br />AIDS – associated with higher mortality in addition to morbidity, increases per capita GDP<br />growth.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 38-61
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Andrzejczak ◽  
Agata Kliber

The paper analyses the official development assistance provided by France to African countries within 2001—2012. The term official development assistance is understood as financial flows directed by the institutions of donor countries to a certain group of countries and multilateral institutions in order to support the progress and prosperity of developing countries. The aim of the study is to verify whether the criteria for granting financial support declared by the donors (in here: France) and determined by the Millennium Development Goals (defined by the UN General Assembly in 2000), are covered by actual financial flows. Data concerning the volume of the development assistance within 2001—2012 were analysed in the following subgroups of countries: the ones which were and were not historical colonies as well as countries with and without natural resources. For each subgroup, a panel model with fixed effects was estimated. It was stated that although mainly the development issues and anti-poverty campaign are postulated by the French foreign policy, the recipients structure of development assistance provided by France is largely dependent on the common colonial past, energy sources potential (oil, gas, uranium), migration level as well as bilateral trade exchange.


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