Construction in the economy and in national development

Building and other construction assets constitute a significant part of a country's physical and economic infrastructure. Construction infrastructure plays a role as a capital input into production and wealth generation, and its economic impact can be transformative, especially at low-to-middle levels of income per capita. The close association between physical capital and different measures of national aggregates is one of the reasons why physical infrastructure has been considered a powerful engine of economic growth and development. The chapter reviewed the literature on the role the construction sector plays in the national economy and in economic development, and assessed the development pattern of this sector in two groups of middle-income countries in Sub-saharan Africa, over the period 2000-2018. The results showed that the proportion of construction in gross domestic product revolves around a norm that is determined by a country's level of built assets prior to the period of reference.