This compendium of papers is the product of three events aimed at understanding how Africa can take advantage of international economic opportunities by examining the relationship between globalisation and economic success. Comprised of 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, with specific focus on key African countries.
In the introduction to the conference, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf recommended the paper to all practitioners and commentators engaged with African development issues:
"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:
- Those states that have done more (reform) have generally done better, although the need for reform never ends, and new lessons should be learnt continuously.
- War and conflict are bad for growth, and ending conflict is good for business.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Given the difficulty of undertaking development regimes within a hungry population, there is a need to align poverty reduction and growth strategies.
- Policy-makers have to take care not to confuse transitory wealth initiatives with long-term development policies and needs.
- 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.
- And finally, especially important for Africa in the context of its current commodity super-cycle and the comparative advantage it possesses in this regard, is natural resource management. How such resources are managed will help to determine the extent and duration of the benefit extracted.
The full document can be downloaded
here.
