Economic Report on Africa 2013: Making the Most of Africa's Commodities : Industrializing for Growth, Jobs and Economic Transformation

Abstract

Economic Report on Africa 2013 is on “Making the most of Africa’s commodities: industrializing for growth, jobs and economic transformation”. This theme is important because commodity-based industrialization can provide an engine of growth for the continent, reducing its marginalization in the global economy and enhancing its resilience to shocks. This report argues that the deindustrialization of many African economies over the last three decades, resulting in their increasing marginalization in the global economy, was mainly the result of inadequate policies and offers a policy framework for these countries to trigger resource-based industrialization. This report is based on nine studies of African countries, which have helped to generate evidence-based policy recommendations. The studies show that African countries are adding value to their commodities and developing local backward and forward linkages to the soft, hard and energy commodity sectors. But the depth of linkages varies among countries and value addition remains generally limited, mainly because of country- or industry-specific constraints that require strategic and systematic industrial policies.