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.

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.

Education and Poverty Reduction Strategies

Education and Poverty Reduction Strategies
Author: Simeon Maile
Publisher: HSRC Publishers
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008
Genre: Case studies
ISBN: 9780796922229

The connection between poverty and lack of education seems entirely self-evident, yet real progress in overcoming the obstacles to education and economic affluence has eluded governments and social activists worldwide for decades. This title interrogates the link between education and poverty reduction and highlights the role of cross-sectoral co-ordination and policy coherence in breaking the poverty trap. The title has four sections. Section 1 examines various conceptual and theoretical frameworks in the discourse on policy coherence and looks at how research can impact on policy. Section 2 deals with poverty in higher education, showing how student income sources such as bursaries and loans, as well as higher education funding policies, create obstacles to access and favour more middle-class students. Section 3 explores the links between education and social development, educational infrastructure and learner performance, and offers practical suggestions for improving the impact of learner feeding programmes, school-based support for children at risk and infrastructure development on combating poverty at the local level. Section 4 offers a set of case studies of local and international best practice in the spheres of college education, state and business partnerships in educational enterprises, and media in education. The final section offers inspirational biographies of hope by people who have pulled themselves out of the poverty trap. Highly relevant for policy-makers, researchers, education practitioners, development professionals and activists in non-governmental organisations, this book offers some practical answers to crucially important questions.

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.

Strategies and Priorities for African Agriculture

Strategies and Priorities for African Agriculture
Author: Xinshen Diao
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 442
Release: 2012
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0896291952

In the first decade of the twenty-first century, countries within Sub-Saharan Africa reached milestones that seemed impossible only ten years ago: macroeconomic stability, sustained economic growth, and improved governance. Continuing this pattern of success will require enhancing the region’s agricultural sector, in which a large proportion of poor people make a living. The authors of Strategies and Priorities for African Agriculture: Economywide Perspectives from Country Studies argue that, although the diversity of the region makes generalization difficult, increasing staple-crop production is more likely to reduce poverty than increasing export-crop production. This conclusion is based on case studies of ten low-income African countries that reflect varying levels of resource endowments and development stages. The authors also recommend increased, more efficient public investment in agriculture and agricultural markets and propose new directions for future research. The last ten years have been an encouraging time for one of the world’s poorest regions; this book offers an analysis of how recent, promising trends can be sustained into the future.

Made in Africa

Made in Africa
Author: Carol Newman
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2016-02-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0815728166

Why is there so little industry in Africa? Over the past forty years, industry has moved from the developed to the developing world, yet Africa’s share of global manufacturing has fallen from about 3 percent in 1970 to less than 2 percent in 2014. Industry is important to low-income countries. It is good for economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction. Made in Africa: Learning to Compete in Industry outlines a new strategy to help African industry compete in global markets. This book draws on case studies and econometric and qualitative research from Africa and emerging Asia to understand what drives firm-level competitiveness in low-income countries. The results show that while traditional concerns such as infrastructure, skills, and the regulatory environment are important, they alone will not be sufficient for Africa to industrialize. The book also addresses how industrialization strategies will need to adapt to the region’s growing resource abundance.

Aid and Poverty Reduction in Zambia

Aid and Poverty Reduction in Zambia
Author: Oliver S. Saasa
Publisher: Nordic Africa Institute
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2002
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9789171064899

Zambia, a once prosperous African country, now has 73 per cent of its people below the poverty line and by the early 1990s, the country was included on the list of the least developed countries. Despite significant aid volumes and structural reforms, the country is getting deeper and deeper into poverty. What is the missing link between aid and positive change? Is the problem mainly that the volume of aid is not sufficient and, as is often heard, more of it would make a difference? Has the sluggish social and economic progress in Zambia been appropriately diagnosed and correct remedies and strategies prescribed? This book attempts to address these and related questions.

Kingdom of Lesotho

Kingdom of Lesotho
Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2006-04-27
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1451978049

This Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for the Kingdom of Lesotho presents a determined plan in pursuance of high and sustainable equity-based economic growth. It contains medium-term objectives and strategies to address the major challenges facing the country. These challenges include employment creation and income generation, and improving quality of and access to education and health services. Lesotho plans to deal boldly with its trading and investment partners by exploiting the opportunities inherent in the process of globalization under such mechanisms as the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act.

Agricultural Policies for Poverty Reduction

Agricultural Policies for Poverty Reduction
Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2012-03-02
Genre:
ISBN: 9264112901

This volume sets out a strategy for raising rural incomes which emphasises the creation of diversified rural economies with opportunities within and outside agriculture.