Rather than moving to an exponential growth path, African Export Processing Zones have been characterized by a slowdown in growth across investment, exports and employment. A look at the case of West Africa – and why it’s time for governments to lift the game. The common image of thousands of women busy on the production line in garment factories has become an iconic symbol of how export manufacturing puts poverty-reducing jobs in the hands of low-wage workers in developing countries. Fo....

National long-term planning appears to have come full circle in many countries across the West African region. From its highest point during the waves of national independence in the 1960s and 70s – when most countries had long term plans – to its lowest when Structural Adjustment Programs were introduced in the 1980s, long-term planning is now gaining popularity again....

The African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) has been part of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Searchlight Programme since 2011, and has produced monthly editions of the West Africa Trends newsletter since January 2011. The Rockefeller Foundation started the Searchlight Programme in 2009, to provide an on-the- ground, regionally focused view of the world, with a particular emphasis on monitoring the economic, societal and political trends which may affect the lives of poor and vulner....

The gap between Africa and East Asia is widening despite Africa’s recent economic growth recovery, according to a new research by ACET economist Abdoul Mijiyawa. Recent African economic growth has generated much euphoria. Over the last decade the continent has achieved significant GDP growth rates, averaging 5%. That is still below the desired 8% that has accelerated economic transformation in Asia. But compared to the period 1974 – 1994, when growth stagnated in Africa, the recent growth....