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Structured Transformation And Natural Resources Management In Africa, William G. Moseley

William G Moseley

This chapter examines recent trends in African resource-based economies, explores the risks of an economy overly focused on primary production, reviews the theoretical literature on the reasons countries get stuck as peripheral producers, and interrogates past approaches that have been undertaken to pursue economic diversification (failed and successful). In sum, the chapter seeks to answer a few fundamental questions. Given the recent commodity boom, and soaring economic growth rates in many African countries, why should there be cause for concern? How fragile is economic growth based on primary production? Do natural resources intrinsically impede economic diversification? Under what conditions can …