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Using changes in the possession of household assets over the past 20 years, several recent papers have argued that economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa was substantially better than suggested by national income data and income poverty statistics, which suffer from well-known weaknesses. We scrutinize these claims and first argue that trends in assets provide biased proxies for trends in incomes or consumption. In particular we show that the relationship between growth in assets and growth in incomes or consumption is extremely weak; instead, we find evidence of asset drift using macro and micro data, which is consistent with the claims we make about possible biases in the use of asset indices. As a result, we find no evidence supporting the claim of an African growth miracle that extends beyond what has been reported in official GDP/capita and consumption figures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The federal solution has been widely discussed in relation to political systems where the articulation of major cleavages, differences, and pluralities threatens political integration and stability. The relationship between conflict, development, and federalism, however, has been poorly accounted for in the literature on federalism. Existing theories about the utilitarian value of federalism thus face serious challenges, especially with respect to post‐colonial Africa. The relationship between conflict, economic development, and federalism in the African context needs to be carefully examined from the perspective of governance, as well as the impact they have on society‐state relations. This article discusses the impact of ethno‐linguistic, ethno‐regional, and ethno‐religious conflicts on economic development in Nigeria – informed by the inequalities, insecurity, and poverty prevalent in the country – and examines the relevance of the federal solution for mitigating such centrifugal pressures as well as other divisive and violent tendencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While Africa may have overcome its growth tragedy, it is facing a statistical tragedy, in that the statistical foundations of the recent growth in per-capita GDP and reduction in poverty are quite weak. In many countries, GDP accounts use old methods, population censuses are out of date, and poverty estimates are infrequent and often not comparable over time. The proximate reasons have to do with weak capacity, inadequate funding, and a lack of coordination of statistical activities. But the underlying cause may be the political sensitivity of these statistics, and some donors' tendency to go around countries' own National Statistical Development Strategies ( NSDS). Greater openness and transparency of statistics, and a higher profile for the NSDS, possibly with 'naming and shaming' of those who try to circumvent it, may help Africans turn around their statistical tragedy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa is urbanizing rapidly. Yet most dual economy models focus on the sectoral rather than spatial dimensions of development. This article adopts a 'dual-dual' approach to measuring rural/urban and farm/nonfarm linkages. We develop an economy-wide model of Ethiopia that distinguishes between cities, towns, and rural areas. The model captures detailed sectoral and regional linkages, internal migration flows, and externalities from urban agglomeration. We find larger linkages between agricultural production and small towns and show that redirecting urban growth toward towns rather than cities leads to broader-based economic growth and poverty reduction. In contrast, industry and services, particularly within cities, are far less effective in reaching rural areas and the poor. Africa's current urbanization pattern-toward major cities rather than towns-will weaken national growth-poverty linkages. Urbanization that takes advantage of the synergistic relationship between agriculture and small towns has the potential to result in a more inclusive growth trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]