Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Drawing on the past, looking to the future

Sub-Saharan Africa has enjoyed a sustained period of solid growth that has helped to improve living standards. In many countries, this performance was underpinned by sound economic policies, stronger institutions, debt relief, high investment and supportive global conditions. In 2016, growth slowed to a two-decade low, exposing underlying vulnerabilities, and rising public debt has put the need for consolidation firmly on the agenda. Countries need to strike a better balance between financing much needed investment and avoiding another debt build-up.

At this event, Director of the IMF’s Africa Department Abebe Aemro Selassie reflects on what policy reforms are needed to address these challenges and explores the prospects for sub-Saharan Africa to revert to the high growth rates of the past.

You can read the Storify from the event here and you can follow the discussion on Twitter by using #AfricaDev.

The event is co-organised with the Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa, which works on emphasising public dissemination, engagement with policymakers, and enhancing the quality and availability of evidence. It promotes teaching about Africa and the continent’s changing significance in the world both at LSE and internationally, and upholds robust independent scholarship on Africa.

For more information about the event, please contact Laura Sili at [email protected].