The impact of structural change on productivity growth and inequality - the case of Sub-Saharan Africa

In this chapter we propose a review of relevant economic literature focused on the development prospects of Sub-Saharan Africa. A remarkable effort by the literature on economic growth and development has been that to identify the factors that determine the dramatic differences existing between developed and underdeveloped countries. The literature that has studied Africa has described the peculiar characteristics that make growth in the region particularly tricky, which are well identified by the distinction between proximate and deep determinants of economic growth. Our focus is then directed to the process of structural transformation. Structural change has been necessary in the past experience of developed countries to improve productivity and drive economic growth. Sub-Saharan Africa seems to lag behind in the process and part of the renewed interest in African growth prospects is centred on the dimension of the agricultural sector, on the need to foster agricultural productivity and on the benefits that would derive from it.