Bernardin Akitoby

Sources of Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

Analysis of 1960-2002 data shows that average real GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa was low and decelerated continuously before starting to recover in the second part of the 1990s. Growth was driven primarily by factor accumulation with little role for total factor productivity (TFP) growth. The recent pickup in economic growth was accompanied by an increase in TFP growth, namely in the group of countries whose IMF-supported programs were judged to be on track. Average annual growth in the region, at 3½ percent during 1997-2002, is less than half of the estimated growth needed to halve the fraction of population living below

Dealing with High Debt in an Era of Low Growth

1 per day between 1990 and 2015, one of the Millennium Development Goals.

Sources of Growth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Cointegration Approach

task has become particularly challenging in European advanced economies where expectations of low growth and limits to monetary policy support are shifting the burden of adjustment onto fiscal consolidation. The SDN will investigate the main drivers behind successful past debt reversals, focusing on macroeconomic and financial market conditions, the speed and form of fiscal adjustment, and the institutional policy setting, among other things. Its policy conclusions will depend on the emerging stylized facts but are likely to include considerations on the design and pace of fiscal consolidation, taking into account country-specific as well as regional economic, institutional, and political factors.

Public spending, voracity, and Wagner's law in developing countries

The paper investigates the sources of growth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1960 and evaluates the relative importance of total factor productivity growth and factor accumulation, using a cointegration method and a growth accounting framework. The main findings confirm that poor economic policies and bad governance (through their effects on total factor productivity and capital accumulation) contributed to the country`s economic decline during the 40-year period, 1960-2000. Looking forward, the paper finds that the right policies are being put in place to pave the way for a restoration of economic growth.