Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/266593 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
Kiel Working Paper No. 2229
Version Description: 
This Version: 12/2022
Publisher: 
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), Kiel
Abstract: 
Over the past 30 years (1990-2019), African economies have experienced remarkable improvements in real macroeconomic conditions, characterized by higher and more stable real per-capita growth rates, and lower and more stable inflation, which deserves to be called a "Great African Moderation". This paper documents the persistent decline in macroeconomic volatility at the aggregate and sectoral levels and seeks to provide some explanations. Sectoral analysis shows a particularly strong reduction of growth volatility in agriculture, followed by services. On the expenditure side, private consumption and investment growth have stabilized considerably. Analysis of a broad range of explanatory factors yields that only a small fraction of the Africa Moderation can be explained by structural change, or changes in major structural characteristics such as institutions, trade intensity, and diversification, natural resource dependence, or conflict incidence. Rather, this paper brings forth evidence to suggest that changes in the external environment (terms of trade, external debt), improved macroeconomic policy frameworks (exchange rate management, fiscal rules), and 'softer' structural improvements such as the deepening of the financial sector and increases in human capital, were important towards reducing volatility on the continent.
Subjects: 
macoeconomic stability
structural resilience
growth
inflation
volatility
structural change
economic structure
institutions
macroeconomic policy
JEL: 
O11
E30
E60
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.