Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Spatial Diversity in the Socio-Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa as Measured by a Composite Index

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2015.030106

Abstract

The main aim of the article is to present the level of the socio-economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa's sub-regions: West Africa, South Africa, East Africa, and Central Africa. The second aim is to identify whether some of the sub-regions have significantly different level of the socio-economic development in comparison to the others.

A composite index of development has been created. Hypotheses are verified through statistical analysis (including parametric tests).

Sub-Saharan countries do not differ significantly in the socio-economic development level. No sub-region has a significantly higher (or lower) level of development in comparison to the others. However, after eliminating Seychelles from the analysis (as an outlier value) East Africa proves to be significantly lower developed than the whole region and other sub-regions.

The lack of significant differences in the level of the socio-economic development in Sub-Saharan countries proves that analysing them as one group is justified.

A new composite index of the socio-economic development has been created to test the hypotheses.

Keywords

socio-economic development, developing countries, Sub-Saharan Africa

PDF

References

  1. Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J.A. (2010). Why is Africa poor? Economic History of Developing Regions, 25(1), 21-50.
  2. Adams, S. (2009). Can foreign direct investment (FDI) help to promote growth in Africa? African Journal of Business Management, 3(5), 178-183.
  3. Bhattacharyya, S. (2009). Root Causes of African Underdevelopment. Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE). Journal of African Economies, 18(5), 745-780.
  4. Boccanfuso, D., Savard, L., & Savy, B.E. (2013). Human capital and growth: new evidences from African data. International Economic Journal, 27(1), 55-77.
  5. Boone, P. (1996). Politics and the effectiveness of foreign aid. European Economic Review, 40, 289 329.
  6. Burnside, C., & Dollar, D. (1997). Aid, Policies, and Growth. Policy Research, No. 1777, Washington, DC: World Bank.
  7. Collier, P., & Gunning, J. W. (1999). Explaining African economic performance. Journal of Economic Literature, 37(1), 64-111.
  8. Collier, P., & Hoeffler, A.E. (1998). On economic causes of civil war. Oxford Economic Papers, 50, 563 73.
  9. Dulani, B., Mattes, R., & Logan, C. (2013). After a Decade of Growth in Africa, Little Change in Poverty at the Grassroots. Policy Brief No. 1, Afrobarometer.
  10. Easterly, W., & Levine, R. (1997). Africa's growth tragedy: policies and ethnic divisions. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(4), 1203-1250.
  11. Elbadawi, I., Ndulu, B. J., & Ndung’u, N. (1997). Debt overhang and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Z. Iqbal, R. Kanbur (Eds.), External finance for low-income countries (pp. 49-76). International Monetary Fund.
  12. Fosu, A.K. (1992a). Political instability and economic growth: evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 40(4), 829-41.
  13. Fosu, A.K. (1992b). Effect of export instability on economic growth in Africa. Journal of Developing Areas, 26(3), 323-332.
  14. Ghura, D., & Hadjimichael, M.T. (1996). Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Staff Papers-International Monetary Fund, 43(3), 605-634.
  15. Gu, J. (2009). China's private enterprises in Africa and the implications for African development. European Journal of Development Research, 21(4), 570-587.
  16. Gupta, S., Pattillo, C.A., & Wagh, S. (2009). Effect of remittances on poverty and financial development in Sub-Saharan Africa. World Development, 37(1), 104-115.
  17. Gyimah-Brempong, K., & Traynor, T.L. (1999). Political Instability, Investment and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of African Economies, 8, 52-86.
  18. Kaplinsky, R., McCornick, D., & Morris, M. (2007). The Impact of China on Sub-Saharan Africa. IDS Working Paper, 291.
  19. Karshenas, M. (2001). Agriculture and economic development in Sub‐Saharan Africa and Asia. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 25(3), 315-342.
  20. Kraay, A., & Raddatz, C. (2007). Poverty traps, aid, and growth. Journal of Development Economics, 82(2), 315-347.
  21. Lumbila, K.N. (2005). What makes FDI Work? A Panel Analysis of the Growth Effect of FDI in Africa. Africa Region Working Paper Series, No.80, February, Washington, DC: World Bank.
  22. Nunn, N. (2008). The long-term effects of Africa's slave trades. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 123(1), 139-176.
  23. Platteau, J.-P. (2000). Institutions, Social Norms, and Economic Development. Amsterdam: Psychology Press.
  24. Platteau, J.-P. (2009). Institutional obstacles to African development: State, ethnicity, and custom. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 71(3), 669-689.
  25. Sachs, J.D., & Warner, A.M. (1997). Sources of slow growth in African economies. Journal of African Economies, 6(3), 335-376.
  26. Zeliaś, A. (Ed.) (2004). Poziom życia w Polsce i krajach Unii Europejskiej. Warszawa: Polskie Wydawnictwo Ekonomiczne.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.