Contribution of Infrastructure to Economic Growth in Africa

Abstract

Africa is a continent endowed with many resources but lags behind in development compared to other continents. The development of the rural sector (agricultural sector) and raise more people from absolute poverty is one of the first goals of most countries. Another goal is to change the countries from being agricultural led economy to be industrial led economies. In order to reach these goals, there are many prerequisites that have to be in place. These prerequisites might not be the same as the ones that other developed countries needed during the time of their economic transformations due to cultural difference, globalization, and historical difference. One of the important prerequisites to achieving industrial revolution is the availability of physical infrastructure to move resources, labor and end products across different points and places. It is evident through the rule of thumb that if industrial performance exceeds infrastructure capacity to carry the industries there shall be a jam in the economy which has a negative impact in the society. Many African countries have a poor physical infrastructure. The story behind the research question explains that African economies are emerging economies and in most cases, they lack necessary infrastructure such as all-weather roads. This is a bottleneck to economic growth.

Keywords: Africa, rural sector, industrial led economies, physical infrastructure, globalization

JEL Classification: B23, H54, I25, O18