According to researchers from the Overseas Development Institute, the lack of infrastructure in many developing countries is one of the biggest constraints to economic growth and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Infrastructure investment and maintenance can be very expensive, especially in inland, rural and sparsely populated countries in Africa.
2. colonialism
The impact of African colonization on economy has always been controversial. In this matter, there is prejudice among researchers, some of whom believe that Europeans have had a positive impact on Africa; Others believe that colonial rule has slowed down the development of Africa.
The theory that Africa's current underdevelopment is mainly due to the continuous efforts of colonial powers to keep the African continent poor is particularly popular among the left, but this is an over-generalization. The main purpose of European colonial powers' colonial rule in Africa is to develop the natural wealth of the African continent at low cost.
3. Linguistic diversity
African countries suffer from communication difficulties caused by language diversity. Greenberg's diversity index is the probability that two randomly selected people have different mother tongues. According to this index, among the 25 most diverse countries, 18 (72%) is an African country.
This includes 12 countries where the Greenberg diversity index exceeds 0.9, which means that the probability of a pair of randomly selected people having the same mother tongue is less than 10%. However, the main language of government, political debate, academic discussion and administration is often the language of former colonial countries; English, French or Portuguese.
4. Foreign aid
In the case of serious local shortage, food transportation is usually uncontroversial; But as Amartya Sen? ) shows that most famines are related to local lack of income rather than food.
In this case, contrary to financial aid, food aid has the function of destroying local agriculture, mainly because agricultural subsidies benefit western agricultural enterprises that produce a large amount of food.
Historically, compared with the demand of developing countries, food aid has a higher correlation with the oversupply of western countries. Since1980s, foreign aid has been an integral part of Africa's economic development.
The aid model has been criticized for replacing trade initiatives. There is increasing evidence that foreign aid has made the African continent poorer. One of the biggest critics of the aid development model is the economist Mudesa Moyo (Zambian economist in the United States), who put forward the "death aid" model and emphasized how foreign aid hindered local development.
5. Trade
Less radical theories show that economic protectionism in developed countries hinders Africa's growth. When developing countries harvest agricultural products at low cost, they usually don't export as expected. Developed countries, especially Japan, the European Union, agricultural policies and a large number of agricultural subsidies and high import tariffs formulated by the US Department of Agriculture are considered to be the reasons. Although these subsidies and tariffs have been gradually reduced, they are still high.
Local conditions also affect exports; Excessive state regulation in some African countries may hinder the competitiveness of their export products. Studies on public choice economics, such as jane shaw's, show that protectionism and serious state intervention are complementary, and both inhibit economic development. Farmers subject to import and export restrictions cater to the local market, making them face greater market fluctuations and fewer opportunities.
When the market conditions are uncertain, farmers demand government intervention to curb market competition, which leads to competition being driven out of the market. As competition is excluded from the market, farmers' innovation is reduced and grain cultivation is reduced, which further weakens economic performance.
condition
The data shows that some areas of the African continent are now experiencing rapid growth, thanks to their resources and increasingly stable political situation. "Since 2007, the level of peace has steadily improved."
The World Bank reports that the economic growth rate of sub-Saharan African countries is equal to or higher than the global speed. ? According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the improvement of overall growth in the region is mainly attributed to Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, the three largest economies in Africa.
The economic growth of the fastest growing African countries is obviously higher than the global average. Countries with the highest growth rate in 2007 include Mauritania (growth rate of 65,438+09.8%), Angola, Sudan, Mozambique and Malawi. Other fast-growing countries include Rwanda, Mozambique, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.
Despite this, growth in many parts of Africa, including Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi, has been frustrating, negative or slow. Many international institutions are increasingly interested in investing in emerging African economies, especially in the current global economic recession, where Africa continues to maintain rapid economic growth. ? At present, the return on investment in Africa is the highest among developing China countries.
In order to support Africa's economic development, some international institutions are solving the problem of debt relief.
1996, the United Nations launched the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, followed by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the African Development Fund (? AfDF？ In the form of Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). By the end of 20 13, the initiative had provided partial debt relief to 30 African countries.