Accelerating Africa's structural transformation: lessons from East Asia.

In most countries in sub-Saharan Africa at present, the majority of the population is engaged in agriculture, with economies in the very early stages of structural transformation - the process whereby a predominantly agrarian economy is transformed into a diversified and productive economy dominated...

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Main Authors: Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Zaude, Johnston, Bruce F.
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 1999
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161264
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author Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Zaude
Johnston, Bruce F.
author_browse Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Zaude
Johnston, Bruce F.
author_facet Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Zaude
Johnston, Bruce F.
author_sort Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Zaude
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In most countries in sub-Saharan Africa at present, the majority of the population is engaged in agriculture, with economies in the very early stages of structural transformation - the process whereby a predominantly agrarian economy is transformed into a diversified and productive economy dominated by manufacturing and services. These countries are characterized by low levels of farm productivity, limited growth of non-farm employment and high rates of population growth. This paper focuses on the factors involved in fostering a country’s structural transformation. This process of transformation has many dimensions. Among these are emphasized interactions between four factors: increased agricultural productivity, rural industrialization, the expansion of agricultural markets, and the demographic transition. All of these are critical to reducing agriculture’s share in the total labor force and promoting broad-based economic growth. In this paper, the authors assess the relevance of the East Asian experience, primarily that of Taiwan, for the task of determining priorities for agricultural and rural development in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, in spite of their very different historical and cultural antecedents and physical environments.Important lessons emerging from the East Asian experience are that the transformation of the structure of a predominantly agrarian, semi-subsistence economy cannot be achieved without substantial increases in agriculturalproductivity. Second, the structural transformation process must take advantage of the positive interactions between agricultural and industrial development. These interactions depend on the expansion of the marketed share of agricultural output, which enables farm cash incomes to rise. Finally, they emphasize that demography matters in that increasing the growth of non-farm employment relative to the growth of the total labor force can accelerate structural transformation.
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spelling CGSpace1612642025-11-06T07:21:49Z Accelerating Africa's structural transformation: lessons from East Asia. Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Zaude Johnston, Bruce F. industrialization developing countries In most countries in sub-Saharan Africa at present, the majority of the population is engaged in agriculture, with economies in the very early stages of structural transformation - the process whereby a predominantly agrarian economy is transformed into a diversified and productive economy dominated by manufacturing and services. These countries are characterized by low levels of farm productivity, limited growth of non-farm employment and high rates of population growth. This paper focuses on the factors involved in fostering a country’s structural transformation. This process of transformation has many dimensions. Among these are emphasized interactions between four factors: increased agricultural productivity, rural industrialization, the expansion of agricultural markets, and the demographic transition. All of these are critical to reducing agriculture’s share in the total labor force and promoting broad-based economic growth. In this paper, the authors assess the relevance of the East Asian experience, primarily that of Taiwan, for the task of determining priorities for agricultural and rural development in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, in spite of their very different historical and cultural antecedents and physical environments.Important lessons emerging from the East Asian experience are that the transformation of the structure of a predominantly agrarian, semi-subsistence economy cannot be achieved without substantial increases in agriculturalproductivity. Second, the structural transformation process must take advantage of the positive interactions between agricultural and industrial development. These interactions depend on the expansion of the marketed share of agricultural output, which enables farm cash incomes to rise. Finally, they emphasize that demography matters in that increasing the growth of non-farm employment relative to the growth of the total labor force can accelerate structural transformation. 1999 2024-11-21T09:54:31Z 2024-11-21T09:54:31Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161264 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Zaude; Johnston, Bruce F. 1999. Accelerating Africa's structural transformation;lessons from East Asia. MTID Discussion Paper 34. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161264
spellingShingle industrialization
developing countries
Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Zaude
Johnston, Bruce F.
Accelerating Africa's structural transformation: lessons from East Asia.
title Accelerating Africa's structural transformation: lessons from East Asia.
title_full Accelerating Africa's structural transformation: lessons from East Asia.
title_fullStr Accelerating Africa's structural transformation: lessons from East Asia.
title_full_unstemmed Accelerating Africa's structural transformation: lessons from East Asia.
title_short Accelerating Africa's structural transformation: lessons from East Asia.
title_sort accelerating africa s structural transformation lessons from east asia
topic industrialization
developing countries
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161264
work_keys_str_mv AT gabremadhinelenizaude acceleratingafricasstructuraltransformationlessonsfromeastasia
AT johnstonbrucef acceleratingafricasstructuraltransformationlessonsfromeastasia