World Political Review published on 16 January 2024 an analysis titled "African Countries Need a New Economic Model" by Liam Taylor, freelance journalist based in Addis Ababa.
The author argues the structural adjustment reforms that governments adopted in the 1980s, often under duress, have set the tone for economic policy ever since. The lacunae in that model--in particular, its neglect of the state and its dismissal of industrial policy--are part of the reason why Africa remains so vulnerable to external shocks.
The rise of China has given renewed luster to statist development models. In the West, industrial policy is no longer a dirty word. Could the current moment prove an inflection point? The author concludes the old models of public finance, economic policy, and even the climate are all creaking. So far policymakers have been hesitant to explore new ones. Now is as good a time as any to start.
Comment: While it may be a good time to look at new economic models on a case-by-case basis, a new model for all of Africa makes little sense. Some of the continent's 54 countries are doing just fine with their current model. An end to corruption in a number of other countries is more important than implementing a new model that permits corruption to continue. And for goodness' sake, don't return to the statism of the 1960s and 1970s with bloated manufacturing enterprises and inefficient service industries controlled by governments.
