Economic Report on Africa 2011: Governing development in Africa - the role of the state in economic transformation

Sustainable economic growth and social development constitute the primary goals of economic policy in Africa. It is expected that solid advances towards these goals will not only result in rising living standards across the continent but will also lead to full employment of resources as well as reduced income inequality and poverty. Some progress has been made, including continued improvement in macroeconomic management, the business environment and governance. However, many African countries have not experienced high economic growth rates over extended periods and reaching high levels of social development has been rare. This suggests the need for continuous appraisal of the continent?s development strategies and, in particular, the changing role of the state in the development process. Such appraisal is expected to lead to a deeper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the continent?s development efforts, which, in turn, should provide lessons to shape the future.