Collier, Paul2017-08-282017-08-282008https://hdl.handle.net/10986/28011Over the past four decades Africa has diverged from other developing regions and is now the poorest region in the world. This paper offers an explanation of Africa's slow growth in terms of its distinctive economic and human geography: its high dependence upon natural resource exports, the many landlocked countries, and the high ethnic diversity of the typical state. It discusses how key economic policy choices, especially trade and fiscal policy, and assistance from the international community, need to tailored specifically to these distinctive circumstances. Part one of this paper sets out an explanation for why this happened and whether it is likely to recur, using the building blocks of economic geography. Africa is distinctive both in its physical geography and its human geography and these have shaped its opportunities. Part one has three sections. Section two considers the implications of Africa's distinctive physical geography. It accounts for some of Africa's slow growth and suggests how strategies will need to differ radically among Africa's countries. In section three author turn to its distinctive human geography and the political problems that this has created. To a considerable extent these problems recently have been surmounted: Africa's human geography may explain delayed take-off rather than predict persistent stagnation. Finally, in section four, author consider three interactions between physical geography and human geography that generate intractable problems that are likely to require both regional action and international assistance in various forms. Part two uses the analysis of part one to consider policy options. Section five discusses options for African governments. Section six focuses on the supporting actions that can be taken by governments outside Africa and by international agencies. Section seven offers a brief conclusion.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOABSOLUTE ADVANTAGEADVERSE EFFECTADVERSE EFFECTSADVERSE SELECTIONAGGLOMERATION ECONOMIESAGRICULTURAL POPULATIONAGRICULTUREAIRAIR SERVICEAIR SERVICESAIR TRAFFICAIR TRANSPORTANNUAL GROWTHAPARTHEIDARTERIESBANKING SYSTEMSBENCHMARKSCAPITAL ACCUMULATIONCAPITAL INVESTMENTCENTRAL BANKCENTRAL BANKSCHINESE POPULATIONCITIZENSCIVIL WARCLIMATE CHANGECOMMODITIESCOMMODITYCOMMODITY EXPORTSCOMMODITY PRICESCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGECOMPETITION POLICIESCOMPETITION POLICYCOMPETITIVENESSCONSUMPTION LEVELSCOSTS OF TRANSPORTDEBTDEMAND CURVEDEMOCRACIESDEMOCRACYDEMOGRAPHICDEMOGRAPHIC GROWTHDEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITIONDEREGULATIONDEVALUATIONDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDISEASE VECTORSDISEASESDISINFLATIONDRIVINGDUTCH DISEASEE-TRADEECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GEOGRAPHYECONOMIC OPPORTUNITYECONOMIC PERFORMANCEECONOMIC POLICIESECONOMIC POLICYECONOMIC REFORMECONOMIC STATISTICSECONOMIES OF SCALEETHNIC GROUPEXCHANGE RATEEXCHANGE RATE APPRECIATIONEXCHANGE RATESEXPORT COMMODITIESEXPORT COMPETITIVENESSEXPORT INCOMEEXPORT MARKETSEXPORT PROCESSING ZONESEXPORT SECTOREXPORTSEXTERNAL TRADEEXTERNAL TRADE BARRIERSEXTERNALITIESEXTERNALITYFEWER CHILDRENFINANCIAL SERVICESFISCAL DEFICITFISCAL POLICIESFISCAL POLICYFLOWS OF PEOPLEFOREIGN CURRENCYFREE TRADEFREE TRADE AREAFREIGHTFUTURE PROSPECTSGDPGDP PER CAPITAGLOBAL INTEGRATIONGLOBAL MARKETSGLOBAL STANDARDSGLOBALIZATIONGOVERNMENT REGULATIONGROWTH PERFORMANCEGROWTH PERFORMANCESGROWTH RATEGROWTH RATESHOUSEHOLD SURVEYSHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUMAN GEOGRAPHYIMMIGRANTSIMPORTINCOMEINCOME EFFECTINCOMESINDIVIDUAL FIRMSINFLATIONINTENSIVE INDUSTRIESINTEREST RATESINTERNATIONAL ACTIONINTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCEINTERNATIONAL COMMUNITYINTERNATIONAL MARKETSINTERNATIONAL PRICESINTERNATIONAL TRADEINTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTINVENTORIESLABOR FORCELEGAL STATUSLEVEL OF EDUCATIONLIVING STANDARDSLOCAL CURRENCYLONG-RUN EQUILIBRIUMLOW-INCOME COUNTRIESMACROECONOMIC INDICATORSMARKET SHAREMIDDLE INCOME COUNTRYMINORITYMISMANAGEMENTMISUNDERSTANDINGMONEY SUPPLYMONOPOLIESNATIONAL ACTIONSNATIONAL BORDERSNATIONAL CURRENCIESNATIONAL LEVELNATIONAL SOVEREIGNTYNATURAL RESOURCENATURAL RESOURCESOIL EXPORTSOUTPUTOVERVALUATIONPATRONAGEPEACEPER CAPITA INCOMEPOLICY DECISIONSPOLICY MAKERSPOLITICAL BUSINESS CYCLEPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOLITICAL PARTIESPOLITICAL PROCESSPOLITICAL SUPPORTPOLITICAL SYSTEMPOPULATION DENSITYPOVERTY REDUCTIONPRACTITIONERSPRIMARY EDUCATIONPRODUCTIVE ASSETSPRODUCTIVITY GROWTHPROGRESSPUBLIC GOODPUBLIC POLICYPUBLIC RELATIONSPUBLIC SERVICEPUBLIC SERVICESPUBLIC SPENDINGRAPID DEVELOPMENTRAPID ECONOMIC GROWTHRAPID GROWTHRAPID INDUSTRIALIZATIONRAPID POPULATION GROWTHRATE OF RETURNREAL APPRECIATIONREAL EXCHANGE RATEREAL GDPREAL INCOMEREFUGEESREGIME CHANGEREGIONAL ACTIONREGIONAL INTEGRATIONREGIONAL MARKETREGIONAL TRADEREMITTANCESREPUTATIONREPUTATIONSRESPECTRISK FACTORSROADROADSROUTERURAL DEVELOPMENTSAVINGSSERVICE DELIVERYSERVICE PROVISIONSLOW GROWTHSMALL COUNTRIESSOCIAL COSTSSPILLOVERSTATE FAILURESUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTIONTAXTAXATIONTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETELECOMMUNICATIONSTELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURETERRORISTTERTIARY EDUCATIONTOLLSTOTAL EXPORTTOTAL REVENUETRADE BARRIERSTRADE BLOCTRADE DIVERSIONTRADE LIBERALIZATIONTRADE POLICIESTRADE POLICYTRADE RESTRICTIONSTRADE TAXESTRAINSTRANSPARENCYTRANSPARENCY INITIATIVETRANSPORT COSTSTRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURETRUEURBANIZATIONVOLATILE ECONOMIESVOLATILITYVOLUME OF TRAFFICVOTERSWEIGHTSWORLD PRICESYOUNG MENWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/28011