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The African continent has grown by more than 4 percent yearly on average during the past decade. However, the link between this remarkable growth rate and poverty reduction is neither obvious nor simple. This paper focuses on the elasticity of poverty with respect to GDP growth at the sectoral level and takes into account the fact that economic growth may affect poverty directly as well as indirectly through sectoral labor share intensity. It develops a methodology that sheds light on the contribution of sectoral growth to poverty reduction country-by-country in Africa, guiding policy recommendations. As the composition of growth matters at least as much as its overall intensity, it is key to identify the sectors that have the strongest impact on poverty reduction and unleash their potential; if growth happens to concentrate in sectors with scarce pro-poor potential, like commodity-driven growth, redistributive strategies are necessary to compensate the weak effect on poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In examining some big questions on African development, I provide evidence that the dynamics of some development indicators could support both endogenous and neoclassical growth theories in the convergence debate. This paper investigates convergence in real per capita gross domestic product and inequality-adjusted human development in 38 African countries, disaggregated into 10 homogenous panels based on regions ( Sub- Saharan and North Africa), income levels (low, middle, lower middle and upper middle), legal origins ( English common law and French civil law) and religious dominations ( Christianity and Islam). The main finding is that the income component of the Human Development Index moves slower than others in the convergence process, and thus requires a more focused policy intervention. As a policy implication, looking beyond income convergence can provide a concrete agenda for development involving all aspects of economic, institutional and social life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the link between IMF-World Bank stabilisation-cum-structural adjustment programs and long-run economic performance in 18 African countries on a country-specific basis for the period 1960-2009. We employ a structural break approach to study the impact on long-run growth trajectories of the introduction of adjustment programs. The analysis reveals that only few countries have shown positive and sustained results. The traditional ( first-generation) Fund-Bank adjustment package is linked with sustained increase in Gross Domestic Product, export and investment growth rates only in two countries (Ghana and Uganda). Many African economies remained on their pre-reform growth paths whereas some others experienced growth deceleration, despite more-than-a-decade-long adjustment. Taken as a whole, countries in the CFA franc currency zone fared much worse than their non-CFA counterparts because of the different adjustment strategies pursued. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I use satellite imagery on night-time lights to measure growth across states and local government areas in Nigeria since the return of democracy in 1999. The data suggest that states in southern Nigeria have grown faster on average than states in the north. Using the Ordinary Least Squares, I estimate a relationship between change in night lights and real gross domestic product ( GDP) growth in Africa and use the coefficients to estimate GDP growth for states and local government areas in Nigeria over the period. Finally, I evaluate the effects of violence on growth in Plateau, Yobe and Borno states. I find that the crisis in Plateau state has resulted in slower growth compared with other states in the region. I also show that Yobe and Borno states had performed worse than other states in the north even before the outbreak of violence related to the Boko Haram sect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key goal of the COMESA Treaty () was to stimulate sustainable economic growth in the region through increased trade between member states. On the basis of a 1980-2010 annual panel dataset, we examine the contribution of COMESA integration to economic growth in the region using instrumental variables GMM regression in the framework of a cross-country growth model. Contrary to a priori expectation, we find no significant empirical support for a positive growth impact, as yet, on the region from the integration. Growth in capital stock, population, world GDP and the level of openness to international trade turned out to be the most robust drivers of growth in the COMESA region over the period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse the relationship between public debt, economic growth and inflation in a group of 52 African economies between 1950 and 2012. The results indicate that the limits of public debt are negatively related to economic growth and exhibit, from a given level of debt, an inverted U behaviour regarding the relationship between economic growth and public debt. Briefly, the high levels of public debt are coincident with reduced rates of economic growth and rising levels of inflation. Our results for three specific geographical areas resemble those of the overall analysis, despite some differences. In North African countries, the growth rates of the gross domestic product ( GDP) and inflation also show an inverted U behaviour as the ratio of public debt/ GDP increases. The highest rate of economic growth is recorded when the ratio of public debt/ GDP is below 30% of GDP and corresponds to an average inflation rate of 5.33%. An identical behaviour of the GDP growth rates and inflation also appears in Sub-Saharan countries until the third interval (60-90%). However, the highest growth rate of the GDP and GDP per capita is registered when the public debt/ GDP ratio is in the second interval (30-60%). For the countries of the Southern Africa Development Community, the highest average rate of economic growth (6.8%) is similar to North African countries, when the ratio public debt/ GDP is below 30% of GDP, with an average inflation rate of 11%. A number of robustness analyses were performed and the great majority of them confirm the general analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the impact of mobile telephony on economic growth in Africa. It uses panel data on 36 African countries over the period 1995 to 2010, and estimates an econometric model made up of two equations-one expressing output as a function of mobile telephony, and the other, a demand function, reflecting the possibility of a reverse causation from the former to the latter. Given the importance of telecommunication in the development process and the dire state of fixed-line telephones in Africa, the explosive growth in mobile telephony on the continent could potentially contribute to addressing some of the important challenges it faces today, including the lack of robust economic growth and of poverty alleviation. Employing panel data estimation procedures, this study finds evidence that supports the view that increased mobile penetration contributes to the growth rate of real gross domestic product ( GDP). However, the increase in mobile telephone use was not found to have been significantly influenced by GDP growth. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]