From Primary Commodity Dependence to Diversification and Growth

From Resource Dependence to Growth§The continuous capital accumulation process in East§Asian countries between the 1960s and 1990s has gone§hand in hand with a spectacular economic growth, an§equally impressive poverty reduction and a§significant technological catch up. Over the same§period, Sub-Saharan Africa has been falling further§behind the rest of the world in terms of both§technology adoption and per capita income. Parallel§to this difference between Asia's economic take-off§and Africa's stagnation, an astounding difference§could be observed between the dramatic change in the§export composition of Asian countries and the§constant reliance on the export of raw materials for§most African countries. The author attributes this§difference to the absorptive capacity.§§This book examines the mechanisms by which absorptive§capacity, as a prerequisite for change in export§composition, can explain the transition from the§reliance on primary commodity to a diversified§export. The growth experiences of Mauritius and§Botswana are used for illustration.