Though African economies have recorded significant growth in output, the increase has not been big enough to lift its teeming population out of poverty, stem rising unemployment and bridge the significant income divide within cities and between rural and urban areas. Jobless growth has resulted in a poor standard of living even in the face of relatively impressive GDP growth. To understand the dynamics of recent development in Africa, ‘Resurgent Africa: Structural Transformation in Sustainable Development’ draws on Arthur Lewis’s ‘dual’ thesis as well as on recent scholarship on structural change which posits that where modern and traditional sectors coexis,t as is the case in African countries, there is potential for capital and labour to move from low productivity sectors to high productivity sectors through the process of structural change that fuels economic growth and raises productivity.
In a resurgent Africa economic growth is inclusive, driven by sustainable urbanization, undergirded by industrial manufacturing that generates widespread employment, resulting in rising living standards through structural transformation. A resurgent Africa is therefore concerned with understanding structural change dynamics and how it affects job creation, living standards and the efficiency of productive cities through manufacturing productivity growth that benefit the majority.
‘Resurgent Africa: Structural Transformation in Sustainable Development’ attempts to connect key drivers of economic development with outcomes of economic growth. It provides in-depth analysis and knowledge of Africa’s diversified economies, including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia, by establishing relationships between industrialization trends; rates of urbanization; and urban living standards, income growth and employment in Africa. Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka’s findings reveal unconventional pathways of structural change, patterns of jobless growth which suggests economic growth that does not necessarily lead to employment, the dominance of services at the expense of manufacturing industry explaining the regress in Africa’s industrial sector, and occurrence of structural transformation without improvement in labour productivity. These are important concerns for Africa’s long-term development leading to the conclusion that sustainable urbanization and industrialization are not just closely connected, but are key drivers of economic change. The book includes recommendations for policymakers to adopt a new approach to development for a resurgent Africa.
