In this article the question of whether or not Sub-Saharan Africa is poised for sustainable, meaningful economic expansion with be discussed. The beginning will speak of the evidence pointing towards booming economic growth, the reason for the boom, and lingering problems. The expert will also discuss whether or not African economies are able to diversify away from natural resource production, if it is possible to provide enough jobs for fast-growing populations, and whether or not Africa is about to undergo an East Asia-style boom. Lastly the outlooks for economies such as East Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa will be discussed to bring forth the differences in African economies.
1. What evidence is there for a boom …show more content…
The first is that rapid rising energy and mineral earning tend to boost the value of the exporting country’s currency, making foreign imported goods cheap for local population but making it harder for local exports of commodities or manufactured goods to compete with countries that have cheaper currencies (McLure). The second factor is that governance may suffer as political leaders focus on capturing ballooning export revenues rather than taxing citizens for public services. Corruption abounds when a relatively small number of government officials control officials control access to lucrative extraction licenses and contracts (McLure). Finally the last factor stated in the article that played into to resource curse is the booms. Booms caused by high world prices often spur high levels of government spending and borrowing, which can lead to busts and debt crisis when commodity prices tumble, as happened in the early 1980s in many African countries …show more content…
They are building a port and oil refinery. It is seen as one of the biggest projects to be carried out in Africa (McLure). Central Africa is ranked 11th most corrupt in the world, according to Transparency International (McLure). An extremely small portion of only .7% of its GDP is spent on education compared to the average 3.9% spent by the rest of Africa. Southern Africa will be seen as a major gem trading hub with the move to Botswana (McLure). According to the article Botswana and other southern African nations comprise sub-Saharans Africa’s wealthiest region. In West Africa Niger is among the world’s poorest countries ranking 186 out of 187 (McLure). Their population is not high because many children are dying before the age of five years old. However there is some hope seen in West Africa as may expand almost 15 percent on higher production of Uranium from the country’s mine
1. What evidence is there for a boom …show more content…
The first is that rapid rising energy and mineral earning tend to boost the value of the exporting country’s currency, making foreign imported goods cheap for local population but making it harder for local exports of commodities or manufactured goods to compete with countries that have cheaper currencies (McLure). The second factor is that governance may suffer as political leaders focus on capturing ballooning export revenues rather than taxing citizens for public services. Corruption abounds when a relatively small number of government officials control officials control access to lucrative extraction licenses and contracts (McLure). Finally the last factor stated in the article that played into to resource curse is the booms. Booms caused by high world prices often spur high levels of government spending and borrowing, which can lead to busts and debt crisis when commodity prices tumble, as happened in the early 1980s in many African countries …show more content…
They are building a port and oil refinery. It is seen as one of the biggest projects to be carried out in Africa (McLure). Central Africa is ranked 11th most corrupt in the world, according to Transparency International (McLure). An extremely small portion of only .7% of its GDP is spent on education compared to the average 3.9% spent by the rest of Africa. Southern Africa will be seen as a major gem trading hub with the move to Botswana (McLure). According to the article Botswana and other southern African nations comprise sub-Saharans Africa’s wealthiest region. In West Africa Niger is among the world’s poorest countries ranking 186 out of 187 (McLure). Their population is not high because many children are dying before the age of five years old. However there is some hope seen in West Africa as may expand almost 15 percent on higher production of Uranium from the country’s mine