africa

Africa at a Fork in the Road: Taking Off or Disappointment Once Again?
Figure 29.6: Trends in Education Levels (average years of tertiary education),
1950-2020
Source: Data from Barro and Lee, 2010.
The results further show that increased manufacturing value addition increases
growth reversals in Africa, among oil exporters and autocratic regimes but not in
countries that export mainly non-fuel primary products. The finding that increased
diversification is associated with more growth reversals may be because some African
countries’ diversification into manufacturing entailed producing products in which
they lacked comparative advantage, and thus introduced vulnerabilities associated
with lack of export competitiveness. On the other hand, increased openness to trade
has no significant effects on growth in Africa except in exporters of non-fuel primary
products. Trade linkages with the rest of the world have increased dramatically in
Africa, but chiefly in commodities and primary products (Figure 29.7).
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