africa

Africa at a Fork in the Road: Taking Off or Disappointment Once Again?
a broader number of people, regions, or countries, while protecting the vulnerable,
all being done in an environment of fairness, equal justice, and political plurality.”
The AfDB’s (2012) vision is generally consistent with that of the World Bank, particularly
as expressed in Ianchovichina and Lundstrom (2009a and 2009b), but with
one major exception relating to the treatment of inequality. AfDB (2012) emphasizes
the following features of inclusive growth: (a) rapid and sustained poverty reduction
allowing all segments of society to contribute and benefit from growth; (b) both the
pace and pattern of growth are important, as is the way they are interlinked; (c) a
long-term perspective should be adopted, with productive employment, rather than
redistribution, as the main instrument of growth. Regarding the treatment of inequality,
the World Bank essentially adopts the view that there is no need to advocate the
reduction of inequality as long as the poor receive some benefits from the ongoing
growth process. 2 The AfDB vision is that within the context of a setting characterized
by very high and persistent income inequality, a reduction in inequality should
be part and parcel of inclusive growth. 3
The case for reducing inequality can be strengthened if it can be shown that there
is a negative link between high inequality and the pace and pattern of subsequent
growth, as argued by proponents of the New Political Economy of Development.
These authors presume that high inequality dampens future growth through a variety
of channels, such as the diffusion of political and social instability, unproductive rentseeking
activities, and reduced security of property rights (Perotti, 1993; Thorbecke
and Charumilind, 2002; and Devereux and Sabates-Wheeler, 2007). Furthermore,
within the context of SSA, inequality in access to oil, mining, and other resources
can exacerbate regional, ethnic, and tribal conflicts. 4
5.3 Socio-economic performance during the present growth spell in Sub-
Saharan Africa: How inclusive has it been?
In this section we review the evidence relating to the present growth spell in SSA.
First, we use a macro lens to scrutinize the macroeconomic performance and current
trends, focusing specifically on growth, poverty, inequality, and human development;
then we use an inter-sectoral and sectoral lens to evaluate how inclusive the present
structural transformation is. 5
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