Does Africa really lack international competitiveness? Comparisons between Africa and Asia
Martin, F.; Calkins, P.H.; Lariviere, S.
Issues in agricultural development sustainability and cooperation: 220-228
1992
Document Number: 394756
The frequent claim that Asian development and trade strategies are superior to those of African nations is evaluated objectively. Two separate samples (one for econometric and non-parametric analyses, the other for country- and commodity-specific analyses) are used to test for significant differences between Asian and African success factors in explaining growth in GNP per capita and export values. In addition, Spearman rank correlations are performed to evaluate the ability of Asian and African nations to respond to international price, quantity, and value signals. The results show that for both continents, exports are a significant determinant of GNP growth, agricultural products are particularly determinate of such export growth, and export promotion strategies are based on the evolution of market shares rather than of prices. Extension of the World Bank's MADIA study to an Asian sample further belies the presence of an African 'doom' factor. Finally, the results point to the feasibility of better education and economic policy management as a strategy for those African economies that have performed less well than others. Discussion of the paper is opened by M.E. Burfisher (p.228).