Introduction – Understanding Structural Transformation in Africa

SummaryThe limitations of neo-classical growth models have led to a resurgence of interest in dual economy models and structural change. Structural change entails the movement of labor from low productivity sectors like agriculture into more modern sectors of the economy. Because the share of the labor force in agriculture is so high in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, the potential for structural change to lead to growth and poverty alleviation in Africa appears to be enormous. Yet, very little of this new literature on structural change focuses on Africa. This special issue begins to fill that gap. The first half of this special issue contains five original contributions that provide new insights with respect to the nature of Africa’s growth over the past two decades. The second half contains six original contributions that examine opportunities for structural transformation in Africa.