Tiger, tiger, burning bright? industrial policy lessons from Ireland and East Asia for small African economies

The African economies, particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) stand today at an important crossroads. During the 1980s, for the average African country, GDP per capita fell at a rate of 0.5 percent per annum; in the 1990s it rose slightly at a rate of 0.3 percent per annum. However, in the last four years, the average growth rate of this variable has been a respectable 3 percent per annum. In 2007, GDP growth rate in Africa was estimated to be 6 percent per annum, one of the highest rates recorded during any year over the last quarter century. Apart from indicating the recent recovery in African economic growth, the table also highlights the poor long term performance of the African economies relative to other developing countries. Over the entire 26 year period, 1981-2007, for which the data are presented, per capita GDP in African countries rose only by 16 per cent. compared with more than a 100 per cent. rise for all developing countries. For the East and South Asian economies, the growth in GDP per capita has been spectacular, a rise of well over 300 per cent.