The Wealth and Poverty of African States Book contents
- The Wealth and Poverty of African States
- New Approaches to Economic and Social History
- The Wealth and Poverty of African States
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 A New Economic History for Africa?
- 2 Seeing Like an African State in the Twentieth Century
- 3 New Data and New Perspectives on Economic Growth in Africa
- 4 State Capacity across the Twentieth Century: Evidence from Taxation
- 5 Wages and Poverty: From Roots of Poverty to Trajectories of Living Standards
- 6 Conclusion
- Appendix to Chapter 3
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - New Data and New Perspectives on Economic Growth in Africa
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 January 2022
- The Wealth and Poverty of African States
- New Approaches to Economic and Social History
- The Wealth and Poverty of African States
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 A New Economic History for Africa?
- 2 Seeing Like an African State in the Twentieth Century
- 3 New Data and New Perspectives on Economic Growth in Africa
- 4 State Capacity across the Twentieth Century: Evidence from Taxation
- 5 Wages and Poverty: From Roots of Poverty to Trajectories of Living Standards
- 6 Conclusion
- Appendix to Chapter 3
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The interest in the economic history of Africa in recent influential economic research has been motivated by using econometric techniques to explain Africa’s relative poverty today. It has combined evidence from the very recent past (typically GDP per capita today) with evidence capturing some historical event (slave exports, colonial settlers, and geographical variables) to find some root cause of the relative underdevelopment of African economies. Thus, this analysis of economic growth in Africa has given the impression that African economics have been stuck in zero growth equilibrium for centuries. A longer time perspective makes it clear that growth has recurred in African economies in several periods. The chapter presents new GDP estimates for the colonial period, and discusses other historical proxies of GDP growth, such as terms of trade. New data shows that periods of economic growth are not new in Africa, and thus seeks to place the recent decades of “Africa rising” in historical perspective.
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- The Wealth and Poverty of African StatesEconomic Growth, Living Standards and Taxation since the Late Nineteenth Century, pp. 63 - 104Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022