Contribution to Book
Fostering Durable and Inclusive Growth
Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa
(2014)
Abstract
This chapter considers how growth in the region can be made more inclusive. Supported by sound economic policies, debt relief, stronger institutions, and high investment, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have now sustained 5–6 percent growth rates for more than a decade, in the process bringing down poverty and improving living conditions. Nevertheless, limited structural transformation has prevented further reductions in poverty. For instance, although Mozambique has grown at the same pace as Vietnam, poverty has declined much faster in Vietnam as a result of its faster structural transformation, which moved more workers into better-paying jobs in industry and services.
This chapter identifies areas where more emphasis should be placed to help make growth more inclusive in the near term. Alongside ongoing initiatives to promote structural transformation in many countries—such as investment in physical and human capital—there is scope
to make growth in the near term more inclusive by facilitating job creation, promoting financial inclusion, and raising productivity in agriculture, where most of the population is employed. These objectives can be pursued by improving the business climate, providing better technical training, reducing financial transaction costs, and exploiting new technologies such as mobile banking.
Keywords
- Sub-Saharan Africa,
- Growth,
- Inclusive Growth,
- Jobs,
- Financial Inclusion
Disciplines
Publication Date
April, 2014
Publisher
International Monetary Fund
Series
World Economic and Financial Surveys
ISBN
978-1-48434-288-6
Citation Information
International Monetary Fund (2014), "Fostering Durable and Inclusive Growth," Chapter 2 in Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa. Fostering Durable and Inclusive Growth, April 2014, Washington D.C.: International Monetary Fund, pp. 21-42.