Toward an understanding of economic growth in Africa: A reinterpretation of the Lewis model

We develop a model economy that has many of the features of Lewis (1954) but that also includes an in-between sector as described by Lewis (1979). Our model underscores the importance of the following determinants of structural change: (i) productivity growth in the agricultural sector; (ii) productivity growth in the nonagricultural sector and; (iii) the terms of trade. Public investment enhances productivity growth in all sectors but when it is financed by foreign inflows, it also causes a real exchange rate appreciation leading to a contraction in the open modern sector. These results provi... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Diao, Xinshen
McMillan, Margaret S.
McMillan, Margaret
Dokumenttyp: Journal article
Erscheinungsdatum: 2018
Verlag/Hrsg.: Elsevier
Schlagwörter: RWANDA / CENTRAL AFRICA / AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA / AFRICA / econometric models / economic sectors / productivity / productivity growth / public investment / finance / economic growth / economic growth rate / economic dualism / economic systems / economic development / structural change / dual-economy model / Africa’s growth / Dutch disease / foreign inflows
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27412862
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
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Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.12.008

We develop a model economy that has many of the features of Lewis (1954) but that also includes an in-between sector as described by Lewis (1979). Our model underscores the importance of the following determinants of structural change: (i) productivity growth in the agricultural sector; (ii) productivity growth in the nonagricultural sector and; (iii) the terms of trade. Public investment enhances productivity growth in all sectors but when it is financed by foreign inflows, it also causes a real exchange rate appreciation leading to a contraction in the open modern sector. These results provide a partial explanation for recent patterns of growth in Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa where the nontradables or what we call the in-between sector has expanded more rapidly than the tradable sector. Our results also highlight the dilemma faced by poor countries in dire need of public investment with a very limited tax base. ; PR ; IFPRI3; ISI; CRP2; D Transforming Agriculture; IFPRIOA; Rwanda SSP ; DSGD; PIM ; CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)