africa

Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
Sometime around 2000, the pace of growth accelerated, and for the last 14 years
or so the annual growth rate of per capita GDP in SSA has been close to 3 percent.
This quantum jump in the pace of growth appears to have been accompanied by a
change in the pattern (structure) of growth.
The main objective of this paper is to explore whether, and the extent to which, the
growth pattern has changed from being extractive and exclusive to becoming more
widely shared among the population.
5.2 What is inclusive growth?
Inclusive growth is the new paradigm and strategic recipe embraced by the development
community. It recognizes, first, that wellbeing consists of multiple dimensions
including income, assets, education, health, relative freedom from oppression, and
some fundamental human rights such as the right to vote. True development requires
progress in these various dimensions. Second, inclusive growth calls for the fruits
of economic growth to be spread relatively widely among the different segments of
the population. The poor, the middle class, and the rich should reap the benefits of
growth in all of its many dimensions. In this sense the concept of inclusive growth
emphasizes that the human development of all individuals and households should
be the primary objective.
There are many definitions of inclusive growth. A comprehensive one, capturing well
the essence of the concept, is that of the Indian Planning Commission: “…growth
that reduces poverty and creates employment opportunities, access to essential
services in health and education, especially for the poor, equality of opportunity,
empowerment through education and skill development, environmental sustainability,
recognition of women’s agency, and good governance” (IPC, 2011: 2).
Since the initial conditions differ in different regions of the developing world, it follows
that the appropriate form and content of inclusive growth should match, as much as
possible, the prevailing initial conditions. Thus, focusing on the context of SSA, the
African Development Bank (AfDB, 2012: 2) defines inclusive growth as “economic
growth that results in a wider access to sustainable socio-economic opportunities for
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