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Is Africa actually developing?

King, Alan; Ramlogan-Dobson, Carlyn

Authors

Alan King



Abstract

The results of previous time-series studies of the income convergence hypothesis indicate that practically no African economies are systematically closing their income gap with the rich world. This implies that almost the entire continent is not ‘developing’ in the literal sense of the term. We argue that this finding reflects the assumptions of the discrete-break unit-root tests previously employed and the sample period chosen. We re-assess the hypothesis for 43 African economies using Fourier-type unit-root tests and find that as many as 18 are currently catching-up with the US. However, most only began to do so after the mid-1990s.

Citation

King, A., & Ramlogan-Dobson, C. (2015). Is Africa actually developing?. World Development, 66, 598-613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.09.023

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 23, 2014
Online Publication Date Oct 19, 2014
Publication Date 2015-02
Deposit Date May 15, 2019
Journal World Development
Print ISSN 0305-750X
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 66
Pages 598-613
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.09.023
Keywords Africa; Economic growth; Income convergence; Catching-up; Nonlinear trend; Fourier function
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1788066
Publisher URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X14002885?via%3Dihub