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Globalization, growth, and poverty in Africa.

Article Excerpt
African countries have benefited relatively less from the positive effects of globalization than other parts of the world in terms of economic growth and development. Following largely an inward-oriented development strategy in the early decades of the post-independence period, the majority of African countries failed to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the dynamic growth impetus associated with globalization in the 1970s and 1980s. Instead of becoming more integrated into the world economy, they were largely marginalized and experienced slow growth and stagnation.

As a result the incidence and depth of poverty has risen in the region. The number of poor, measured in income poverty based on the US$1 a day international poverty line, increased in Africa, almost doubling from 164 million in 1981 to 313 million in 2001. In terms of the headcount ratio, the poverty incidence in Africa is 46 per cent in 2001--the highest in the world. Poverty in Africa is both most prevalent and severe in rural areas. Poverty measured in terms of non-income indicators such as health and education has not improved much either over the past 15-20 years in the region. The overall picture gives little cause for optimism that Africa will soon reap the benefits of the process of globalization, unless it scales...

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