Findings from the Economic Transformation Database presented at virtual workshop

Growth, poverty & inequality: The challenge in Africa, is a virtual workshop held on 31 August, which precedes the International summit on the SDGs in Africa 2021; a three-day, online international event, taking place 13–15 September 2021. 

During the workshop the participants discuss the outlook for growth, poverty and inequality on the African continent, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) nexus. The workshop also focuses on reassessing deindustrialization in Africa, reflecting on manufacturing’s renaissance, and the role of manufacturing in structural change in sub-Saharan Africa. These are crucial issues within the broader discussion of employment, growth, poverty, and inequality in Africa going forward. 

Kunal Sen joins the workshop to present new data from the Economic Transformation Database (ETD) and findings on the potential of a manufacturing renaissance in Africa given the significant employment industrialization found within the ETD data on sub-Saharan Africa. This is based on the recent working paper co-authored with Hagen Kruse, Emmanuel Mensah and Gaaitzen de Vries.