The African Economic Outlook 2014 analyses the continent’s growing role in the world economy and predicts two-year macroeconomic prospects. It details the performance of African economies in crucial areas.

The African Economic Outlook is the only annual report that monitors in detail the economic performance of 53 individual countries on the continent, using a strictly comparable analytical framework. The focus of the 2013 edition if structural transformation and natural resources in Africa. This edition draws lessons from Africa and elsewhere on how to accelerate structural change and amplify the positive force of natural resources. The report also features and overview of Africa's performance and prospects, country notes and a rich statistical annex.

Industrialization drives the sustained growth in jobs and productivity that marks the developmental take-off of most developed economies. Yet, academics and policy makers have questioned the role of manufacturing in development for late industrializers, especially ith more job creation. Industrialization drives the sustained growth in jobs and productivity that marks the developmental take-off of most developed economies. Yet, academics and policy makers have questioned the role of manufacturing in development for late industrializers, especially in view of rapid advancements in technologies and restructuring of international trade.Concurrently, industrialization and structural transformation are integral to the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the development strategies of several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Given this renewed interest in industrialization across the region, a central question is not whether SSA countries should pursue industrialization as a potential path to sustainable growth but how to promote the prospects of industrialization. Industrialization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Seizing Opportunities in Global Value Chains addresses this question by reassessing the prospects for industrialization in SSA countries through integration into global value chains. It also examines the role of policy in enhancing these prospects. The main findings indicate that • SSA has not experienced premature deindustrialization; the region has witnessed substantial growth in manufacturing jobs despite a lack of improvement in the contribution of manufacturing value-added to GDP. • The region’s integration into manufacturing global value chains is reasonably high but it is dominated by exports of primary products and engagement in low-skill tasks. • Global value chain integration has led to job growth, and backward integration is associated with more job creation. The report emphasizes the role of policy in maintaining a competitive market environment, promoting productivity growth, and investing in skills development and enabling sectors such as infrastructure and finance. Policy makers can strengthen the global value chain linkages by (1) increasing the value-added content of current exports, (2) upgrading into high-skill tasks, and (3) creating comparative advantages in knowledge-intensive industries.

Examining the changing role of Africa in the global economy.

Development largely depends on how given places participate in global economic processes.The contributions to this book address various features of the integration of sub-Saharan Africa into the world economy via value chains, so as to explain corresponding challenges and opportunities. The book deals with five issues that have not been covered adequately in scientific debates: first, policies are essential to promote value chains and increase their impact on development; second, value chains are diverse, and the variance between them has major economic and political implications; third, regional value chains appear to constitute a viable alternative to global ones (or, at least, are complementary to them), promising better developmental outcomes for the Global South; fourth, political and socio-economic factors are important considerations for a complete assessment of value chains; fifth, cities and city regions are also crucial objects of study in seeking to achieve a comprehensive assessment of value chains.

The main thrust of this book is to examine whether Africa is in a position to benefit from the digital age, given the continent’s many development challenges and slow adoption of digital technologies. While there is substantial literature on the digital economy and the quickening pace of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), comparatively little research has been conducted on what the digital age means for Africa. This book aims to close this research gap by using various qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to arrive at a cross-section of original findings and perspectives on how Africa can capitalise on the benefits of digital developments, including their potential to create jobs and bring about more inclusive growth. The book’s main contribution is its coverage of a range of topics that will affect Africa’s digital future, including industrialisation, global value chains, transport and logistics, trade facilitation, labour-market dynamics, employment and education. The theme of digital trade forms a backdrop to many of the chapters, along with references to the COVID-19 pandemic. The book acknowledges that although African countries should learn from international best practices, they need to chart their own course according to their own particular circumstances. By adopting a digital mindset, countries should be able to diversify economically and extend their market reach across the continent. Furthermore, while Africa should be looking to the future and determining how digital technologies can become effective tools of sustainable development, the continent has much catching up to do.

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Politics - Topic: Globalization, Political Economics, grade: 1,0, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, language: English, abstract: The main question that is supposed to be answered in this paper is: does Africa need Industrial policy for (sustainable) economic development? How are these policies supposed to look like and what are the preconditions to achieve them? To be able to find solutions for these interrelated questions, they have to be embedded in a broader context. First, a short introduction into the history of Africa’s economic development, with regard to (de)industrialization, is being given. To understand why industrial policy might be of importance, one also has to look into the relationship between structural transformation and the chances of economic growth. This paper is aiming to give an overview about the reasons why Africa (mostly Sub-Saharan Africa) has missed industrialization, how structural transformation can lead to (sustainable) economic development and growth and which chances and challenges African countries face as late-industrializers in a world with high levels of globalization. The first part is meant to give a short introduction into the economic development and (de-)industrialization of modern post-colonial Africa. This is important as the current economic situation can only be fully understood by looking at what has happened in the past. The second part is giving theoretical input about structural transformation and the role of industrial policies – discussing its scientific background of pros and cons.