Thought Leadership

2005 - Globalisation and Economic Success

This comprised a three-part conference and research programme to identify best practices for emerging economies engaging with globalisation. It was staged during 2005-2007 in collaboration with the Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung; and the Ministry of Investment, Egypt

The project pinpointed the relevant macro- and micro-economic steps necessary for higher rates of economic growth especially in countries that have undergone significant political change and have dealt with acute socio-political challenges. The project also focused on key African countries to assess their record and potential for growth and engagement in the international economy.

Round One of the project was held 7-8 November 2005 in Singapore and Round Two in Cairo, Egypt, in November 2006. The final event was held in South Africa in November 2007, which examined options for applying specific lessons identified by the project to Africa's particular contexts.

As Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf put it in the Introduction to the conference compendium in recommending the papers to those interested in African development:

"Our development methods will depend on the circumstances that African states find themselves in. No 'one-size-fits-all' approach can work. Those African states emerging from conflict have to ensure that, first, the basics are in place including human and hard infrastructure such as roads, electricity and ports, and that the traditional drivers of economic activity are restored. Africa's bigger states face particular challenges of extending governance over larger territories. And those states which have been blessed with abundant natural resources have to meet the challenge of investing these proceeds and diversifying their economic base. '

She also identified a number of shared challenges and solutions, including:

• First, those states that have done more (reform) have generally done better, while the need for reform never ends, and new lessons should be learnt continuously.

• Second, war and conflict are bad for growth, and ending conflict is good for business.

• Third, the executive, and especially the chief executive (usually the president), must make economic reform and growth a priority, reaching out to the private sector and individual citizens as part of a comprehensive vision.

• Fourth, reforms are not about the apparently zero-sum game relationship between the state and market, but require both greater state capacity and efficiencies and more market freedom.

• Fifth, openness to the international economy is sine qua non for growth. Regionalism is important in both providing a stepping-stone to global competitiveness and offering regional examples of success.

• Sixth, given the difficulty of undertaking development regimes within a hungry population, there is a need to align poverty reduction and growth strategies.

• Seventh, policy-makers have to take care not to confuse transitory wealth initiatives with long-term development policies and needs.

• Eighth, money is seldom the only problem - governance, government capacity, skills, and the right policy set are more important. Hence development is more than growth figures and mercantilism, but is also about employment, inclusiveness, political values and resources.

• Finally, and especially important for Africa in the context of its current commodity super-cycle and the comparative advantage it possesses in this regard, natural resource management is important. How such resources are managed will help to determine the extent and duration of the benefit extracted.

The full document can be downloaded here.