Capital Accumulation in Eastern and Southern Africa

Résumé du livre

This paper attempts to analyze the magnitude of the setback in capital accumulation in Eastern and Southern Africa and the proximate causes of this phenomenon. The sample consists of 16 countries and available data for the late 1960s and 1970s are explored. Given the weakness of the statistics, the authors rely more on expert observations than on rigorous quantitative assessments; available data are analyzed, however. Capital formation increased fairly rapidly during 1967-1974 but then slowed down considerably. Investment was financed to a considerable extent by external concession assistance; rapid growth in such funds during the late 1970s helped offset declining national savings rates to some extent. The setback in investment rates was greatly accentuated by a large and widespread deterioration in the productivity of capital brought about by the impact of government policy, strained absorptive capacity and a variety of exogenous factors.