Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/96337 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2014/042
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
We consider economic development of sub-Saharan Africa from the perspective of slow convergence of productivity, both across sectors and firms within sectors. Why have 'productivity enclaves', islands of high productivity in a sea of smaller low-productivity firms, not diffused more rapidly? We summarize and analyse three sets of factors: First, the poor business climate, which constraints the allocation of production factors between sectors and firms. Second, the complex political economy of business-government relations in Africa's small economies, and third, the distribution of firm capabilities. The roots for these factors lie in sub-Saharan Africa's geography and its distinctive history, including the legacy of its colonial period on state formation and market structure.
Subjects: 
productivity
manufacturing
dualism
firms
sub-Saharan Africa
JEL: 
D24
L25
O11
O14
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9230-763-9
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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