Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Africa

Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Africa
Author: Kathleen Beegle
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2019-10-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1464812330

Sub-Saharan Africa's turnaround over the past couple of decades has been dramatic. After many years in decline, the continent's economy picked up in the mid-1990s. Along with this macroeconomic growth, people became healthier, many more youngsters attended schools, and the rate of extreme poverty declined from 54 percent in 1990 to 41 percent in 2015. Political and social freedoms expanded, and gender equality advanced. Conflict in the region also subsided, although it still claims thousands of civilian lives in some countries and still drives pressing numbers of displaced persons. Despite Africa’s widespread economic and social welfare accomplishments, the region’s challenges remain daunting: Economic growth has slowed in recent years. Poverty rates in many countries are the highest in the world. And notably, the number of poor in Africa is rising because of population growth. From a global perspective, the biggest concentration of poverty has shifted from South Asia to Africa. Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Africa explores critical policy entry points to address the demographic, societal, and political drivers of poverty; improve income-earning opportunities both on and off the farm; and better mobilize resources for the poor. It looks beyond macroeconomic stability and growth—critical yet insufficient components of these objectives—to ask what more could be done and where policy makers should focus their attention to speed up poverty reduction. The pro-poor policy agenda advanced in this volume requires not only economic growth where the poor work and live, but also mitigation of the many risks to which African households are exposed. As such, this report takes a "jobs" lens to its task. It focuses squarely on the productivity and livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable—that is, what it will take to increase their earnings. Finally, it presents a road map for financing the poverty and development agenda.

Poverty Reduction Strategies in Africa

Poverty Reduction Strategies in Africa
Author: Mike O. Odey
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2017-09-08
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 131528295X

A fundamental question about contemporary Africa is why does Africa remain so poor, long after the departure of the European Colonial domination and in the midst of so many natural resources? Poverty Reduction Strategies in Africa provides new understandings of the persistent issue of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa and makes recommendations for policy frameworks to help African governments alleviate poverty. Each chapters uses case studies to review the old strategies for resolving the problem of poverty in the continent and make the case for new initiatives to address poverty. The contributors focus on practical and day-to-day issues as the best approach to formulate and implement poverty reduction strategies in contemporary Africa. This book is invaluable reading for students and scholars of African politics and development.

New Growth and Poverty Alleviation Strategies for Africa

New Growth and Poverty Alleviation Strategies for Africa
Author: Karl Wohlmuth
Publisher: LIT Verlag Münster
Total Pages: 571
Release: 2009
Genre: Africa, Sub-Saharan
ISBN: 3825819663

This Volume XIV analyses the New Growth and Poverty Alleviation Strategies for Africa. Institutional issues and perspectives in designing new growth and poverty alleviation strategies are considered in various case studies (Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Botswana and Tanzania). Other studies deal with institutional problems of resource-rich countries after conflict (Sudan), and with the institutions to enhance environmental protection parallel with economic growth and poverty reduction (Niger). Further studies deal with institutions to bridge the gap between formal and informal entrepreneurial sectors in Kenya and Tanzania. Local issues and perspectives for designing new growth and poverty alleviation strategies are considered in case studies on rural-urban development gaps in Tanzania, and on microfinance as an instrument for new growth and poverty alleviation strategies (Tanzania and Eritrea). A study on small farmers in Ghana provides information on the role they can play in value chains. Two studies on Nigeria highlight the local and the sub-regional health and poverty alleviation programmes and the relation to growth. Book Reviews and Book Notes on the theme are part of the volume. This Volume builds the foundation for a comprehensive strategy of policy reforms in Africa so as to integrate new growth and poverty alleviation strategies. Complementary to Volume XIV is Volume XIII on New Growth and Poverty Alleviation Strategies for Africa - International and Regional Perspectives. Both Volumes are of importance for all those who work in African countries as officials, executives, managers, researchers, and policy-makers, but also for all those who actively support Africa's development concerns at the international, regional, country, local and project levels. They will experience this Volume XIV and also the complementary Volume XIII as indispensable sources of insight, reference and inspiration.

Unlocking Africa's Business Potential

Unlocking Africa's Business Potential
Author: Landry Signe
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2020-04-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0815737394

Africa welcomes business investment and offers some of the world's highest returns and impacts Africa has tremendous economic potential and offers rewarding opportunities for global businesses looking for new markets and long-term investments with favorable returns. Africa has been one of the world's fastest-growing regions over the past decade, and by 2030 will be home to nearly 1.7 billion people and an estimated $6.7 trillion worth of consumer and business spending. Increased political stability in recent years and improving regional integration are making market access easier, and business expansion will generate jobs for women and youth, who represent the vast majority of the population. Current economic growth and poverty-alleviation efforts mean that more than 43 percent of the continent's people will reach middle- or upper-class status by 2030. Unlocking Africa's Business Potential examines business opportunities in the eight sectors with the highest potential returns on private investment—the same sectors that will foster economic growth and diversification, job creation, and improved general welfare. These sectors include: consumer markets, agriculture and agriprocessing, information and communication technology, manufacturing, oil and gas, tourism, banking, and infrastructure and construction. The book's analysis of these sectors is based on case studies that identify specific opportunities for investment and growth, along with long-term market projections to inform decision-making. The book identifies potential risks to business and offers mitigation strategies. It also provides policymakers with solutions to attract new business investments, including how to remove barriers to business and accelerate development of the private sector.

Nigeria

Nigeria
Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 101
Release: 2005-12-19
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1451828993

This Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for Nigeria highlights the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). NEEDS gives special support to agriculture, industry, small and medium-scale enterprises, and oil and gas. Under the plan, the government will seek long-term capital for investment. Trade policy will be modified to unburden business of the red tape and complex procedures that hinder it from flourishing. NEEDS envisages forging stronger links between educational institutions and industry to stimulate rapid industrial growth and efficient exploitation of resources.

The Composition of Growth Matters for Poverty Alleviation

The Composition of Growth Matters for Poverty Alleviation
Author: Norman Loayza
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2006
Genre: Developing countries
ISBN:

This paper contributes to explain the cross-country heterogeneity of the poverty response to changes in economic growth. It does so by focusing on the structure of output growth. The paper presents a two-sector theoretical model that clarifies the mechanism through which the sectoral composition of growth and associated labor intensity can affect workers' wages and, thus, poverty alleviation. Then in presents cross-country empirical evidence that analyzes first, the differential poverty-reducing impact of sectoral growth at various levels of disaggregation, and the role of unskilled labor intensity in such differential impact. The paper finds evidence that not only the size of economic growth but also its composition matters for poverty alleviation, with the largest contributuons from labor-intensive sectors (such as agriculture, construction, and manufacturing). The results are robust to the influence of outliers, alternative explanations, and various poverty measures.

Rural Development

Rural Development
Author: Paola de Salvo
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2022-02-02
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1839686170

The book brings together a series of contributions with a common goal of reflecting the links between economic development and rural development. The scenario is dotted not only with old and new wounds but also with innovative strategies in an attempt to overcome existing delays. The chapters of the book are composed of scenarios full of case studies. The plans to be adopted to help the countries that have lagged behind fueled an intense debate since the obstacles to development, as evidenced by the extensive scientific literature available, now appeared to be the realities present in the socio-economic structures of a large number of villages. Although the data available are still few, it is assumed that the Covid-19 pandemic will make a landscape already full of criticalities even more fragile.

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso
Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2004-03-25
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781451803747

Despite severe exogenous shocks, the macroeconomic program remained broadly on track, and several social indicators, particularly in the area of basic education, progressed. A variety of measures have been successfully implemented to improve the environment for private sector development, reduce the vulnerability of the rural sector, and strengthen public finance management. A more comprehensive framework for growth-enhancing policies should encompass the rural sector; foster the development of analytical links between budgets and results; and strengthen the role of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) as an integrative framework for sectoral policies.

Poverty Reduction in the Course of African Development

Poverty Reduction in the Course of African Development
Author: Machiko Nissanke
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 331
Release: 2017-03-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0192518372

In light of the opportunities and the challenges facing African economies in the 21st century, this edited volume traces the evolution of poverty in the course of economic development in sub-Saharan Africa over the recent decades. By engaging with, and seeking to develop on, the work of Professor Erik Thorbecke, it examines the evolving dynamics of poverty in multiple dimensions. It also discusses how to lay down foundations for improved governance and institutions that will realize inclusive development in sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, the volume contributes to our understanding of dynamics of pro-poor growth and pro-growth poverty reduction, and to the on-going policy and academic debates on how to overcome fragility and vulnerability and secure inclusive development through socio-economic transformation in sub-Saharan Africa. The volume is divided into four parts; two overview chapters in Part 1 set out a common theme running through the volume. Four chapters in Part II examine an evolution of the poverty profile in different dimensions in sub-Saharan Africa since the new millennium. Part III presents three country case studies of tracing poverty dynamics under a country-specific institutional and policy environment. Part IV consists of three chapters, each of which addresses the question of how to advance an inclusive development agenda in sub-Saharan Africa, but from three different perspectives: structural changes, a governance framework, and an institutional foundation.

Wealth through Integration

Wealth through Integration
Author: Elias T. Ayuk
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781461448891

Could regional integration be a first step toward joining the global market? In a context where liberalizing trade has not produced the expected gains in developing countries and growth in global trade has not led to the expected economic growth, an alternative solution has emerged. This new paradigm suggests that trade liberalization should be accompanied by public investment. However, by its very nature, trade liberalization leads to a reduction in revenues from duties and taxes, which means that the available resources for public investments will also be reduced. There are now solid arguments for encouraging the less-developed countries to first emphasize regional integration before trying to access the global market. This book explores the issues linked to regional integration in West Africa and presents empirical data about the experiences in = West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries to converge their economies. It also examines how these efforts, which make a major contribution to regional integration, influence poverty reduction in the economic and monetary community. It will be of interest to researchers working in this area. Elias T. Ayuk is Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa in Accra, Ghana, and was formerly a senior program specialist at the International Development Research Centre. Samuel T. Kaboré is a researcher/lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Management at the University of Ouagadougou II, Burkina Faso. Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supports research in developing countries to promote growth and development. IDRC also encourages sharing this knowledge with policymakers, other researchers, and communities around the world. The result is innovative, lasting local solutions that aim to bring choice and change to those who need it most. Elias T. Ayuk is Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa in Accra, Ghana, and was formerly a senior program specialist at the International Development Research Centre. Samuel T. Kaboré is a researcher/lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Management at the University of Ouagadougou II, Burkina Faso. Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supports research in developing countries to promote growth and development. IDRC also encourages sharing this knowledge with policymakers, other researchers, and communities around the world. The result is innovative, lasting local solutions that aim to bring choice and change to those who need it most.