Resource dependence and inequality in Africa: impacts, consequences and potential solutions

Over the last decade an increasing number of the world’s fastest-growing countries have been in Africa. This recent progress created widespread optimism among many as economic development prospects across many parts of the continent improved. This optimism has, however, been accompanied by concerns regarding the inclusivity and longer-term sustainability of the current growth processes, which have been driven largely by extractive industries. Moreover, situating the observed growth in a broader historical context is important. Similar optimism accompanied the relatively short-lived growth boom in Africa following the Second World War (1950-1970), which provided limited longrun gains and should perhaps serve as a cautionary example in the current growth climate (Broadberry and Gardner, 2013). Going further back, Jerven (2010) suggests that periods of rapid growth, followed by reversals, have characterised economic performance in the region for several centuries, with commodity demand always the driving force behind these ‘booms and busts’.