Publication:
The Dog that Didn’t Bark: The Missed Opportunity of Africa’s Resource Boom

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorCust, James
dc.contributor.authorBallesteros, Alexis Rivera
dc.contributor.authorZeufack, Albert
dc.date.accessioned2022-07-07T17:32:23Z
dc.date.available2022-07-07T17:32:23Z
dc.date.issued2022-07
dc.description.abstractThe commodity price boom from 2004–2014 was a huge economic opportunity for African countries abundant in oil, gas and minerals. During this period their government revenues from resources grew by an average of 1.1 billion US$ per year, and economic growth in those same resource-rich countries surged. GDP growth in resource-rich countries accelerated from 4.6% to 5.4% as countries entered a decade long period of sustained high commodity prices. Nonetheless, the paper traces a significant missed opportunity for resource-rich countries in Africa, with little to show for it in the post-boom period, which saw growth collapse far below pre-boom levels, to 2.7% per annum. This paper considers the record of performance during the boom (2004–2014) and subsequent bust from 2015 onwards. The paper describes four main outcomes of the boom: 1) measures of resource dependency rose in Sub-Saharan Africa during the boom, 2) the growth record was strong during the boom but collapsed once commodity prices fell, 3) poverty and inequality rose during the boom despite strong GDP growth, 4) resource-rich countries failed to diversify both their exports and their asset base, leaving them poorly prepared for the end of the boom and a period of lower commodity prices and subsequent COVID-19 pandemic. The conclusions are stark. During this golden decade of sustained high commodity prices and booming revenues, there was limited re-investment of those revenues into building sustainable assets for the future. In other words, countries consumed the boom, rather than successfully transformed their economies. The conclusion is that many resource-rich countries in the region squandered their “once in a generation” opportunity for economic transformation, offering policy lessons that may prove valuable as we enter a new period of elevated commodity prices.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099250407062241649/IDU0b75f6a280775e041420816b0734e6d9ed810
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10120
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/37653
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWashington, DC : World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper;10120
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.subjectAFRICA
dc.subjectNATURAL RESOURCES
dc.subjectGROWTH
dc.subjectCOMMODITIES
dc.subjectPOVERTY
dc.subjectRESOURCE CURSE
dc.titleThe Dog that Didn’t Barken
dc.title.subtitleThe Missed Opportunity of Africa’s Resource Boomen
dc.typeWorking Paperen
dc.typeDocument de travailfr
dc.typeDocumento de trabajoes
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.date.disclosure2022-07-06
okr.date.lastmodified2022-07-06T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Policy Research Working Paper
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099250407062241649/IDU0b75f6a280775e041420816b0734e6d9ed810
okr.guid099250407062241649
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10120
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum33862696
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum33862696
okr.identifier.reportWPS10120
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099250407062241649/pdf/IDU0b75f6a280775e041420816b0734e6d9ed810.pdfen
okr.region.geographicalAfrica
okr.topicMacroeconomics and Economic Growth::Economic Growth
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Poverty Reduction Strategies
okr.topicEnergy::Energy and Natural Resources
okr.unitAfrica Region, Office of the Chief Economist
relation.isAuthorOfPublication83529956-4c02-5ee8-99c9-d6e9ab43f3a8
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery83529956-4c02-5ee8-99c9-d6e9ab43f3a8
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
IDU0b75f6a280775e041420816b0734e6d9ed810.pdf
Size:
2.05 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
IDU0b75f6a280775e041420816b0734e6d9ed810.txt
Size:
136.62 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
Collections
Policy Research Working Papers