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Africa Rising? Short-Term Growth vs. Deep Institutional Concerns

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  • Berhanu Nega
  • Geoffrey Schneider

Abstract

Research on development has moved away from short-term performance to long-term determinants of success. This paper identifies historical factors that shaped the development of key institutions, the degree to which these institutions affected past economic outcomes and, more importantly, which ones are influencing contemporary performance. We first look at the trend in long-term economic performance for the continent compared with other regions of the world. The paper then evaluates the various explanations provided by the standard development model to explain this performance for Africa. The paper shows that the most important long-term determinant of economic and social performance in the continent has been the nature of the distribution of power, which shaped the distribution of economic resources. Furthermore, the paper argues that the distribution of power and the institutions that ensure this distribution were shaped by a number of historical events whose impact still endures.

Suggested Citation

  • Berhanu Nega & Geoffrey Schneider, 2016. "Africa Rising? Short-Term Growth vs. Deep Institutional Concerns," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(4), pages 283-308, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:fosoec:v:45:y:2016:i:4:p:283-308
    DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2016.1200108
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mr. Dhaneshwar Ghura & Mr. Anupam Basu & Mr. Anthony E Calamitsis, 1999. "Adjustment and Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," IMF Working Papers 1999/051, International Monetary Fund.
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    Cited by:

    1. Fernando Lopez-Castellano & Roser Manzanera-Ruiz & Carmen Lizárraga, 2019. "Deinstitutionalization of the State and Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Contribution to the Critique of the Neoinstitutionalist Analysis of Development," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 51(3), pages 418-437, September.

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