Economic and demographic change in Africa

Archie Mafeje

Using a variety of different approaches, arguments and sets of data, the contributors to this book examine the complex relationship between current population growth rates and economic conditions in Africa. In recent years, the interaction between demography and the economy has been at the centre of the debate on the performance of African economies. Africa has in the past decade or so shown some of the highest population growth rates in the world, while the economic crisis has become more entrenched. Some observers blame the present crisis on rapid population increase; others regard this increase as a stimulus to economic development. What emerges is that the quality of African labour is a distinct barrier to rapid economic growth. The rate of expansion of the skill endowment of African labour is accordingly seen both as a constraint on future development and as a potential...

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