Infrastructure Development in Sub-Saharan Africa : A Scorecard
Infrastructure is viewed as a crucial ingredient to foster growth and productivity. Amid the post -- global financial crisis slowdown, Sub-Saharan Africa is in dire need to continue the growth momentum it experienced during the period of the Africa...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/866331525265592425/Infrastructure-development-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa-a-scorecard http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29770 |
| Summary: | Infrastructure is viewed as a crucial
ingredient to foster growth and productivity. Amid the post
-- global financial crisis slowdown, Sub-Saharan Africa is
in dire need to continue the growth momentum it experienced
during the period of the Africa Rising narrative. An
emerging consensus in the empirical literature is that,
under the right circumstances, an adequate supply of
infrastructure can help foster growth in the region. This
paper provides a scorecard on infrastructure development in
Sub-Saharan Africa over the past decades along four sectors
(telecommunications, electric power, transportation, and
water and sanitation) and three dimensions (quantity,
quality, and access). First, it documents the existence of a
large gap in infrastructure in the region—although the
magnitude of the gap depends on the sector, dimension, and
country/group. Second, the potential growth benefits from
closing the infrastructure gap are large. Third, the
infrastructure financing needs are very large, and the
public sector so far is unable to meet these needs. Other
options that involve the private sector may be available for
the region. Finally, there is room for improving the
efficiency of public infrastructure spending (that is, the
quality of public investment management systems and
procurement methods), which, in turn, may increase the
output multiplier of investment spending. |
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