Consider the Various Dimensions of the Poor Performance of Sub-Saharan

question 12

Essay

Consider the various dimensions of the poor performance of sub-Saharan Africa compared with other developing regions over the last two decades. Which of the following possible causes would you single out as primary causes and which as symptoms, or secondary, proximate causes? In each case, defend and substantiate your selection(s).
a.legacy of colonial period
b.war
c.commodity price declines
d. poor governance/corruption
e. low investment in human capital
f.poor macroeconomic policies
g.excessive state ownership of industry
h.poor business climate; harassment of entrepreneurs
i.neglect of agriculture
j.disincentives for exports
k.low incentives for foreign investment
l.debt crisis
m.low savings and investment in nonhuman capital
n.high population growth
o.environmental degradation and climate change
p.bad advice or conditionality of the IMF and World Bank
q.inequality of income or assets
r.underdeveloped institutions

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Definitions:

Median

The middle value in a data set when the values are arranged in ascending or descending order.

Discretionary Expense

Non-essential spending or expenses that an individual chooses to make, which can be cut without impacting their ability to cover basic living costs.

Measures Of Central Tendency

Single numbers, such as the mean, median, and mode, designed to represent a “typical” value for the data.

Outliers

Outliers are data points in a dataset that deviate significantly from the rest of the distribution, potentially indicating an error or a unique underlying process.