Structural Change in West Africa : A Tale of Gain and Loss
Economic growth in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cote d'Ivoire occurred in tandem with a rapid exodus of labor out of agriculture. This paper investigates the contribution (or lack thereof) of within- and between-sector productivity changes to over...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/968921518461271453/Structural-change-in-west-Africa-a-tale-of-gain-and-loss http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29370 |
| Summary: | Economic growth in Benin, Burkina Faso,
and Cote d'Ivoire occurred in tandem with a rapid
exodus of labor out of agriculture. This paper investigates
the contribution (or lack thereof) of within- and
between-sector productivity changes to overall productivity
growth and output per capita growth since 2000. Productivity
growth was relatively significant in Burkina Faso, modest in
Benin, and in the negative territory in Cote d'Ivoire.
The results show that static structural change drove growth
in Burkina Faso and Benin, although it was partly offset by
a dynamic loss in Benin. However, structural change made a
smaller contribution in Cote d'Ivoire. Within-sector
productivity loss generally held back growth. The pattern of
structural change observed in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cote
d'Ivoire starkly contrasts with that of Asia, where
within-sector productivity gains were preponderant and
dynamic structural change was the norm rather than the
exception. The bulk of Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cote
d'Ivoire's displaced agricultural workers moved
into still-low productivity service activities, as is
typical of the African sample. |
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