A few years into sub-Saharan Africa’s renaissance, there were the natural doubts. Economists had competed for so long to explain the region’s growth tragedy that good news was a shock. But now, more than a decade into the revival, the good news has grown better. The lesson is that sound policies can make a difference even in the least promising of settings. Defeatists everywhere, cheer up.
Even before the recent flurry of encouragement, Africa’s turnround was breathtaking. Between 1980 and 2000, the continent had experienced negative economic development: output per person had fallen by a 10th in purchasing power terms. Then, just as the Aids pandemic was thought to represent the final straw for Africa, its fortunes changed dramatically. According to the World Bank’s development indicators, gross domestic product per person has risen every year since 2000, delivering a cumulative gain of more than a third.
