Development in Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze Africa's progress along the developmental path in the past few decades, to understand what factors were responsible for such success and to identify the risk factors that may compromise further development in the region in the years to come. We advance three basic claims: that Africa has experienced an almost unprecedented (by its standards) level of economic success in the first 15 years of the new millennium, that this success was made possible by a combination of domestic and supranational conditions, and that some of the enabling conditions that supported Africa's growth and development in the new millennium may be disappearing. The study also suggests that while African countries may not be able to influence the global conditions on which their economic success depends, they do have the ability to influence the domestic conditions. This is why, we suggest, in addition to ensuring longer and healthier lives for their citizens, African countries should consolidate democracy and promote good governance.

How COVID‐19 has Affected Africa's Development

“…They additionally noted that strong sustained growth experiences could yield developmental dividends and allow countries to continue to progress along the developmental path. In a review of the factors responsible for economic expansion and development in SSA at the beginning of the new millennium, Pelizzo, Kinyondo, and Nwokora (2018) noted that Africa’s recent economic success has been triggered by a combination of domestic and global factors, which included more democracy, better governance, more aid, more foreign direct investments, lower government debts, more trade, high commodity prices, and progress in containing outbreaks, diseases, epidemics, and pandemics.…”

“…The evidence presented here makes it clear that, because of COVID-19, the “strong sustained growth experience,” which countries in SSA had enjoyed at the beginning of the new millennium, will come to an end. And it will come to an end for some of the reasons that Pelizzo, Kinyondo, and Nwokora (2018) had anticipated. Yet it will also come to an end for some of the reasons that nobody anticipated.…”

“…While the literature (see, for example, Arrighi 2002 ) has long noted that SSA had alternated periods of economic expansion with periods of economic contraction, the sustained economic growth that SSA experienced at the beginning of the new millennium represented a certain novelty—because it reflected changes in both domestic and international conditions. Recent studies (see, for example, Pelizzo, Kinyondo, and Nwokora 2018 ) have observed, in this respect, that Africa’s development in the new millennium resulted from the interaction of domestic factors (such as the spread of democracy in the continent), improvements in public health and in the level of good governance, and international factors (such as the international community’s new approach to aid and development, the rise of China, the fact that Africa’s debt was canceled, and a growing inflow of foreign direct investments). After identifying such factors, and their interaction, as the main determinants of growth and development in the continent, Pelizzo, Kinyondo, and Nwokora (2018) hypothesized that the disappearance of one or more of the success factors identified in their study could have a detrimental impact on African economies’ ability to grow, slow down their progress along the developmental path, and prevent them from further reducing poverty in the continent.…”

Modeling the Impact of a Model: The (Non)Relationship between China's Economic Rise and African Democracy

“…Instead, its aim was institutional stability, and it (seemingly) approached African states as equals, not as past colonies. This made it appealing for both autocratic and democratic African states to turn to China (Hodzi 2018; Kinyondo, Pelizzo, and Nwokora 2018).…”

Note from the Editor: International Cooperation, Global Public Goods, and the COVID‐19 Vaccine Rollout

“… 4 Recent related World Affairs articles on governance, development, and the effects of globalization in Africa include Pelizzo, Kinyondo, and Nwokora (2018) and Asongu (2017). …”