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ISSUES > Features
Africa: Promoting Economic Developement and Political Stability
by Brett D. Schaefer
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Action: Increase economic ties to the region to boost development prospects, increase political stability, and combat terrorism in the world's poorest region while protecting the investments of American consumers and businesses.
The Issue in Brief
Sub-Saharan Africa is the world's second poorest region; only South Asia is poorer. In 2002, per capita income in sub-Saharan Africa was only 29 percent of that in North Africa and the Middle East, 15 percent of that in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 60 percent of that in East Asia and the Pacific. The following facts indicate the economic-development challenge confronting this region.
- The average sub-Saharan African country had a per capita GDP of $568 in 2000.
- To reach middle-income status of $1,500 in GDP per capita, a typical country in sub-Saharan Africa would have to average a growth in GDP per capita of more than 5 percent a year for the next 20 years.
- The average sub-Saharan African country with a per capita GDP of $568 must average growth in GDP per capita of approximately 5 percent for over 80 years to become as wealthy as the United States is today, with a per capita GDP of $31,996. (Of the more than 100 developing countries for which data are available, only two achieved this rate of growth during the past 20 years. By contrast, 40 averaged a compound per capita growth rate of 0 percent or lower.)
Africa's poverty is an American foreign policy concern. In The National Security Strategy of the United States of America, the Bush Administration states that
In Africa, promise and opportunity sit side by side with disease, war, and desperate poverty. This threatens both a core value of the United States--preserving human dignity--and our strategic priority--combating global terror. American interests and American principles, therefore, lead in the same direction: we will work with others for an African continent that lives in liberty, peace, and growing prosperity.
While poverty, in itself, does not cause terrorism, the lack of economic freedom causes both poverty and the resultant resentment that breed terrorism as well as the instability and violence that have plagued Africa. As a case in point, five of the seven state sponsors of terrorism that have been identified by the U.S. Department of State--Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, and Syria--were rated among the world's least economically free economies in the 2003 Index of Economic Freedom. In addition, although Sudan was suspended from grading in the Index because of a brutal civil war that was being waged by the government against its own people and Iraq was not ranked because of a paucity of data, both of these countries clearly exhibit repressive economic policies.
Poverty is a condition that is imposed on a people through ill-conceived and repressive economic policies. A major step toward alleviating poverty is to provide greater economic freedom, because only economic freedom can create the opportunities that lead to greater growth. As noted in The National Security Strategy of the United States of America, "Ultimately the path of political and economic freedom presents the surest route to progress in sub-Saharan Africa, where most wars are conflicts over material resources and political access often tragically waged on the basis of ethnic and religious difference."
What Happened in 2002
The President announced several initiatives focused on Africa, among them increasing funding for education, addressing epidemics of HIV/AIDS, reducing trade barriers, increasing economic liberalization, and bolstering peace and security. Specifically, President Bush signed into law the Sudan Peace Act, which outlines the deplorable actions of the Sudanese government against the Christian and animist people in the south of the country, urges the President to use "all means of pressure" to resolve the war in Sudan, condemns pervasive slavery and human rights abuses in the country, authorizes $100 million in annual assistance for 2003 to 2005 to areas of the country not controlled by the government, and mandates reports and certifications regarding the situation in Sudan. President Bush also authorized U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick to begin negotiations for a free trade agreement with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU, comprised of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland).
Regrettably, with an estimated 14 million people facing starvation in southern Africa, some countries refused food assistance offered by the United States, citing concerns about genetically engineered agricultural products. As recently as October 29, 2002, Zambia refused to distribute U.S. grain, citing the "precautionary principle" as U.S. grain often is modified through biotechnology. Underlying this excuse is a concern that the European Union would refuse imports from Zambia if it accepted the U.S. grain.
What to Do in 2003
America's strategy in Africa should focus on two priorities: increasing economic freedom and strengthening the region's ability to address political instability. To do this, Congress and the Administration should work together to:
- Pass a free trade agreement with the Southern African Customs Union. Free trade benefits the consumers of all nations involved in the agreement. SACU countries are among the freest in Africa and are therefore well-positioned to reap the benefits of free trade with the United States.
- Authorize the President to negotiate a free trade and investment agreement with sub-Saharan Africa. Congress and the Administration should cooperate to expand the successful trade preferences initiated under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. This would benefit African entrepreneurs, promote growth and development, and increase America's access to the region's vast oil and gas resources.
- Press for free trade through the World Trade Organization (WTO), including elimination of agricultural barriers. Africa's competitive advantage includes low-cost agricultural products. However, this advantage has been substantially diminished by enormous subsidies that developed countries give to their own farmers. In forthcoming WTO negotiations, America should follow the ambitious agenda set forth by U.S. Trade Representative Zoellick at the Doha WTO negations--particularly his efforts to liberalize agricultural markets and press for the elimination of barriers to genetically modified foods that have served as a protectionist barrier to trade.
- Increase the capacity of the region to deal with political instability. Africa's greatest challenge is political instability. America should focus on strengthening the region's capacity to police itself with support from outside stakeholders through a strategy focused on bilateral diplomacy and coalitions of the willing, anchored by regional powers such as South Africa and Nigeria. As noted in The National Security Strategy of the United States of America, America should work with its allies to "help strengthen Africa's fragile states, help build indigenous capability to secure porous borders, and help build up the law enforcement and intelligence infrastructure to deny havens for terrorists." To this end, the United States should support bilateral efforts to promote peace, such as that envisioned in the Sudan Peace Act, while closely monitoring the situation to ensure that both the Sudanese government in Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) live up to their obligations in the peace process.
Brett D. Schaefer is the Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs in the Center for International Trade and Economics at The Heritage Foundation.
EXPERTS
The Heritage Foundation
Brett D. Schaefer
Jay Kingham Fellow in
International Regulatory Affairs
Center for International Trade
and Economics
The Heritage Foundation
214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 608-6123
fax: (202) 608-6129
brett.schaefer@heritage.org
Other Experts
Dr. George Ayittey
Distinguished Economist
in Residence
Department of Economics
American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016
(202) 885-3779
fax (202) 885-3790
ayittey@american.edu
Jeffrey Krilla
Director, Africa Regional Program
International Republican Institute
1225 Eye Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 408-9450
fax: (202) 408-9462
jkrilla@iri.org
Dave Peterson
Director, Africa Program
National Endowment
for Democracy
1101 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 293-9072
fax: (202) 223-6042
Learned Dees
Senior Program Officer,
Africa Program
National Endowment
for Democracy
1101 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 293-9072
fax: (202) 223-6042
Jennifer J. Cooke
Deputy Director, Africa Program
Center for Strategic and
International Studies
1800 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 775-3135
fax: (202) 775-3199
jcooke@csis.org
All per capita GDP data from World Bank, World Development Indicators 2002, at www.worldbank.org/data.
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