African Geography and Growth - Essay Example

? AFRICAN GEOGRAPHY AND GROWTH The geography of Africa has to a large extent shaped the kind of economic opportunities available for the African countries and, thus, impacted on the economic development of the continent in general. Therefore, the implication of geography on the economic development can be used to explain why the rate of economic growth in Africa is relatively slow. Both the human and physical geography of African countries is unique and distinctive. Human geography within Africa has, for example, created political problems with the associated economic implications. The interaction between human and physical geography within the framework of economic development has been a major factor which is shaping the direction and rate of Africa’s economic development. This essay gives a critical analysis and discussion of the importance of geography in the economic growth of Africa, including the tragic economic challenges that the continent is experiencing. The essay also presents a discussion of the policies which would have to be put in place to safe Africa from the challenges it is facing which are hampering its growth. Africa’s physical geography, such as climate, has been described as the causes of its minimal economic growth. However, Collier (2007, p. 6) argues that there are geographic factors which act to divide Africa instead of unifying it. These are said to be the most significant factors which are derailing the economic growth of the continent. To begin with, Africa is an expansive continent. Regardless of this, the nations within the continent and its economic regions are characterized by low income. This is explained by the fact that the natural resources within Africa are not evenly distributed. Some regions have an abundance of natural resources while in some regions of the continent, the resources are very scarce. This has contributed to the uneven economic growth within the continent with most of the continent’s regions registering minimal growth as compare to other parts of the world, such as Asia and Europe, as illustrated in figure 1 below. Figure 1: Comparative Per Capita Growth The physical geography of Africa is very enormous. Bloom and Sachs (1998, p. 207) point out that even if Africa is a large continent, it has been divided into many countries. For this reason, most of the countries within the continent are landlocked. The divisions of countries within Africa have a result caused nations to be divided into those landlocked states which are rich in resources and those which have scarce resources. Moreover, some countries are coastal and rich in resources while others are costal but lack adequate resources. These four categories define the economies of Africa in terms of its physical geography. Those states which have scarcity of resources whether coastal or landlocked are lagging behind in the economic development. Because these two categories of nations are the majority within the continent, Africa’s growth in generally slow as compared to other regions. The landlocked states within Africa lack competitiveness in export and import trade. Lack of competitiveness has also affected the coastal countries. Naude (2004, p. 821) explains that the differences between the resource rich African states are not significant. This is the case whether the resource rich states are landlocked or coastal. It is because of the divisions within African states that the competitiveness in the export and import business has been derailed and thus making the content to have a tragic growth level within its economy. However, costal states in Africa participate in export trade but the landlocked countries are prevented from economic interaction with the world markets. The distribution of the African population is even unlike other developing regions such as Asia in which a majority of the population lives within the costal countries. Even though the trend of economic growth in Africa is generally parallel to that of the global economy, Africa still lags behind in the economic growth. This is because its population is distributed with a large number of people living in landlocked states which have scarce resources. In this sense, the productivity of the African population is much lower which explains the economic challenges that the continent is facing. Abdulai, Diao and Johnson (2005) reaffirm that landlocked states which have scarce resources are globally categorized the worst in economic growth. On the other hand, costal states with scarce resources are described as the best performing states of the world. The costal nations which are scarce in resources grow more rapidly because of their involvement in import and export trade. Therefore, lack of high distribution of the African population within the coastal states with scarce resources explains the economic tragedy within the continent. The human geography within Africa is strikingly unique. Both the social and political geography of the African population have played a role in the growth pattern of the continent’s economic growth. Venables (2009) demonstrates that the political human geography within Africa is divided into many states and regions. The social geography in Africa is even more unique. The social geography is both divided into many regions and at the same time, each region is divided into many ethnic groups and divisions. Therefore, Africa is generally characterized by a social political geography of with ethnic diversity and small populations. The characteristics of Africa’s social political geography have implications in the economic growth. Even though being small does not mean that a country is barred from becoming rich, the small African states have been said to have contributed to the potential economic impediments that are being experienced by the continent. According to Chironga et al. (2011, p. 177), a small population means that significant change or growth is less likely to be experienced by a country. The problems that the African states experienced after independence were cause by poor policies and governance. The small population within the African countries and the ethnic divisions within this population were hard to govern and develop strategies that would lead to growth. The poor policies and governance of the African population is therefore attributed to the lack of economic reform. Chowdhury (2006) explains that it is the political and social geography within African states which makes it difficult for economic reforms to be effectively implemented. The ethnic diversity in Africa is lacking the right economic infrastructure and reform in order to involve the society in the economic activities and thus the development of the continent. The infrastructure within the landlocked states in Africa has limited the economic progress of the continent. Poor infrastructure means that Africa has limitations in the transit of goods within the continent and to other parts of the world such as Asia and Europe. Tang & Woods (2008, p. 175) explains that the infrastructural developments in economically stable are attributed to their growth unlike the African continent which is facing many challenges in developing its infrastructure. Through infrastructure such as roads, railways and airports, the transit of various good are made possible. Through an effective infrastructural framework, a country is enabled to improve trade within and internationally which makes it favorably grow its culture. Despite these challenges, some African countries have demonstrated one of the fastest growing economies, as demonstrated by figure 1 below. Figure 2: Africa's GDP Growth In accordance to Elbadawi et al. (2009, p. 223), African cities are characterized by congestion and thus high costs of such congestion as a result of inefficiencies of economic activities have negatively affected its rate of economic growth. The costs of congestion have directed affected the rate of production within African cities which is attributed to the tragic state of the economy of African countries. Moreover, African cities are relatively fragmented and as a result the benefits of productivity and trade are not realized. Badunenko, Henderson and Houssa (2011) explain that it is through poor economic and social policies that the countries within the continent have been characterized by congested cities. Individuals migrate to urban areas in search of employment. This leads to congestion in urban centers and underutilization of the economic resources in the rural areas of the continent. It is through good policies that Africa would escape from the disadvantage that it has in economic development or growth as compared to other regions of the world. Shalizi and Henderson (2004) reveal that through social policies such as education and health, the African continent should be at a position of enabling its human geography to play a role in the economic growth within African states. Policies that are supportive of education should therefore be implemented in all African states so that the problem of unemployment is solved. Through education and employment congestion of people within the low class estates will be prevented and thus prevent the continent from suffering from the challenges and costs which are associated with congestion. African countries should create legislations and policies which encourage the utilization of resources, especially in the rural areas. This will prevent the surge of people to the urban areas in search of employment. In this manner underutilization of resources will be prevented in addition to reducing the congestion which characterizes African cities. Elbadawi et al. (2009, p. 225) add that economic policies in Africa have not provided for regulation of trade especially import and export. As a result of the poor trade control which characterizes African states, their economies are demonstrating a lower level of growth as compare to other states. Moreover, economic policies have not favored the development of infrastructure within African states. Rampant corruption in Africa has also hampered on the development of infrastructure and, thus, leading to a slow rate of economic growth. According to Tang and Woods (2008, p. 173), economic policies in most African states have created trade barriers within the geographic regions of the continent. Because of these barriers, the investment of the public in the sectors of the economy has been discouraged. This reveals the reason why the rate of economic growth in Africa is lower than other parts of the world. Policy issues which affect the human geography such policies on ethnic grouping and the distribution of the population can be attributed to the social political factors which contribute to the slow economic growth of the continent. It is therefore recommended that African states should discourage ethnic grouping so that people are enabled to invest in any sector of the economy. Moreover, the productivity of the population would be improved if the African government encourages their people to adequately make use of the resources which are available especially in the rural areas. This would be affected through the promotion of agricultural production through supportive policies and legislation. The social and political arrangement of African cities would be improved if policy framework is set with a view of reducing congestion. The population density within African cities is very high which makes them highly congested. This is the case in African cities regardless of the fact that there s rampant unemployment within the towns and cities in Africa. Roberts and Deichmann (2011) emphasize that congestion and unemployment which characterize African cities translated to mean that the majority of the urban population is less productive. With congestion, the cost of governance within cities increases. Congested African cities also have caused increase in the rate of criminal activities. In return, investors have been discouraged to invest in some parts which contribute to the general economic challenges of the continent. In the light of the above discussion, it can be concluded that Africa is facing challenges which has caused its economic progress to be rated the worst in the world. Geographic factors which include both physical geography and human geography have played a role in the slow economic growth that is being experienced by African states. Even though the physical geography of Africa is nothing less than enormous, the African population has been divided into many states. This has caused many African states to be landlocked and, thus, limited to access to international trade through imports and exports. Moreover, the distribution of African population is even which has seen many people to be distributed within the landlocked and resource scarce regions. Since these regions are characterized by low economic growth as compared to coastal regions, Africa is still lagging behind in its economic progress. Human geography in Africa is also characterized by diversity of ethnic groups, congested cities and as a result, the economic growth has been arrested. It is thus recommended that policy formulation should be taken as the most effective approach of solving the economic crises in Africa. African governments should, therefore, formulate appropriate trade policies in addition to support for education and investment so that the economic growth of the continent can catch pace like other regions of the world. References Abdulai, A., Diao, X. & Johnson, M., 2005. Achieving Regional Growth Dynamics in African Agriculture, Rochester, Rochester. Badunenko, O., Henderson, D.J. & Houssa, R., 2011. Explaining African Growth Performance: A Production-Frontier Approach, Rochester, Rochester. Bloom, D.E. & Sachs, J.D., 1998. Geography, demography, and economic growth in Africa. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, no. 2, pp. 207-295. Chironga, M., et al. 2011. Cracking the Next Growth Market: Africa. Harvard Business Review, 89, 5, pp. 117-122. Chowdhury, A.K., 2006. Geography has played cruel trick on landlocked African countries, London (UK), United Kingdom, London (UK). Collier, P., 2007. Africa's Economic Growth: Opportunities and Constraints. African Development Review, 19, 1, pp. 6-25. Elbadawi, I., et al., 2009. Economic Geography and Manufacturing Productivity in Africa: An analysis Of Firm Level Data. Journal of Developing Areas, 42, 2, pp. 223-252. Naude, W.A., 2004. The effects of policy, institutions and geography on economic growth in Africa: an econometric study based on cross-section and panel data. Journal of International Development, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 821. Roberts, M., & Deichmann, U., 2011. International Growth Spillovers, Geography and Infrastructure. World Economy, 34, 9, pp. 1507-1533. Shalizi, Z. & Henderson, J.V., 2004. Geography and Development, Rochester, Rochester. Tang, M., & Woods, D., 2008. The Exogenous Effect of Geography on Economic Development: The Case of Sub-Saharan Africa. African & Asian Studies, 7, 23, pp. 173-189. Venables, A.J., 2009. Rethinking Economic Growth in a Globalizing World: An Economic Geography Lens. African Development Review, 21, 2, pp. 331-351. Read More