Economic Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Inquiry

Literature on the subject of economic resilience suggests that a politically stable country with a diversified economy and a well-educated population would be more resilient to commodity price swings and economic slowdowns... [ view full abstract ]

Literature on the subject of economic resilience suggests that a politically stable country with a diversified economy and a well-educated population would be more resilient to commodity price swings and economic slowdowns compared to one that leans on one or two sectors as its main economic engine(s) and does not have a well-educated population. In the post-2010 economic recovery period, Nigeria, Rwanda and Kenya outperformed their more advanced, diversified counterparts, South Africa and Mauritius. This is in contradiction to what economic resilience literature suggests. One would expect Mauritius and South Africa would have outperformed Kenya, Rwanda and Nigeria in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. How come this was not the case? In this presentation, I will be looking at how political stability, human capital and economic diversification affect the economic resilience of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, in particular focusing on Mauritius and South Africa.