Growth, Distribution, and Poverty in Africa : Messages from the 1990s

This book synthesizes, and elaborates on
the results of a series of country studies, completed under
the Poverty Dynamics in Africa Initiative, organized by the
Africa Region of the Bank. These studies made use of vastly
improved household survey data, which have enhanced
understanding of African poverty dynamics during the past
decade. The book examines the main factors behind observed
poverty changes in eight countries - Ethiopia, Ghana,
Madagascar, Mauritania, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and
Zimbabwe. After reviewing the trends in income poverty and
other, more direct measures of well-being (such as
education, health, and nutrition), the authors go beyond the
aggregate numbers, and highlight the insights to be gained
from unraveling the microeconomic data. These data reveal
systematic distributional effects, linking growth and
poverty, which lead to some groups' gaining from
episodes of economic growth, and others being left behind.
It further describes those groups left behind, and calls for
public action to ensure that all poor Africans gain from
future economic growth.