Sustaining High Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Knowledge and the Structure of the Economy

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of knowledge and the structure of the economy in sustaining high economic growth, with an emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa. A model of growth, involving learning from different activities, is proposed. Within the context of that model, a discussion is provided on some of the recent issues and debates around structural change of economies, and in particular on the measures for measuring the change. Special attention is placed on the recent measures such as Hausmann et al.'s (2007) EXPY and Lall's (1998) technology measures and the popular Herfindahl and Revealed Comparative Advantage measures used for analysing the change in export mixes.