Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1885-2008

Working paper

Estimates of GDP per capita are provided on an annual basis for eight Sub-Saharan African economies for the period since 1885. Although the growth experienced in most of SSA since the mid-1990s has had historical precedents, there have also been episodes of negative growth or "shrinking", so that long run progress has been limited. Despite some heterogeneity across countries, this must be seen as a disappointing performance for the region as a whole, given the possibilities of catch-up growth. Avoiding episodes of shrinking needs to be given a higher priority in understanding the transition to sustained economic growth.

Authors: Broadberry, S; Gardner, L

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: University of Oxford
• Article number: 169
• Series: Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers
• Publication date: 2019-03-01
• DOI: 10.1017/s0022050720000273
• Paper number: 169
• Language: English