{"id":1043,"date":"2025-10-02T04:01:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T04:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/inequality-employment-and-economic-growth-in-africa\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T04:01:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T04:01:43","slug":"inequality-employment-and-economic-growth-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/blogs\/employment\/inequality-and-the-middle-classes\/inequality-employment-and-economic-growth-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Inequality Employment And Economic Growth In Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"middle content\">\n<div class=\"column left\" id=\"columnleft\">\n<div class=\"block-0\">\n<section class=\"block themeicon Expert opinion\">\n<article>\n<div class=\"icon\">\n<h3>Theme<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/themes\/inclusive-economy\/\" title=\"Inclusive Economy\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"projectimage\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/var\/broker\/storage\/images\/themes\/inclusive-economy\/88458-4-eng-gb\/inclusive-economy_big_icon_theme.png\" alt=\"Inclusive Economy\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/themes\/inclusive-economy\/\" title=\"Inclusive Economy\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInclusive Economy<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpert opinion<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<section class=\"block article author\">\n<div class=\"headline\">\n<h3>About the author<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-content\">\n<div class=\"about-author\">\n<div class=\"tleft\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/var\/broker\/storage\/images\/authors\/van-de-vijsel-annemarie\/46987-8-eng-gb\/van-de-vijsel-annemarie_author.jpg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"tright\">\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/authors\/van-de-vijsel-annemarie\/\">Annemarie  van de Vijsel<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAnnemarie van de Vijsel is knowledge broker on Employment at The Broker.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/authors\/van-de-vijsel-annemarie\/\">full profile<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"block article author\">\n<div class=\"headline\">\n<h3>Tags<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_8\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6617\/\">middle class<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_3\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6377\/\">economic development<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_9\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6357\/\">inequality<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_2\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/7296\/\">employment<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_7\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/7348\/\">development economics<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_1\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6481\/\">development discourse<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_6\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6357\/\">inequality<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_4\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6617\/\">middle class<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_5\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6617\/\">middle class<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_5\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6357\/\">inequality<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_1\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6618\/\">citizenship<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_3\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6617\/\">middle class<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_2\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6357\/\">inequality<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_3\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/7348\/\">development economics<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<section class=\"content column wide left blog_post content view\" id=\"content\">\n<div class=\"edit image\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/images\/759031-1-eng-gb\/inequality-employment-and-economic-growth-in-africa_full_view.jpg\" alt=\"Traders work on the floor of the Ghana Stock Exchange \/ World Bank Photo Collection via flickr\">\n\t<\/div>\n<article class=\"fader\">\n<header class=\"contents\">\n<div class=\"share\">\n\t\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n    var addthis_config = {\n        ui_language = 'en'\n    }\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"addthis sharing\">\n\t<!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><\/p>\n<div class=\"addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style\" addthis:title=\"Inequality, employment and economic growth in Africa \">\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_twitter\" tw:via=\"thebrokeronline\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_facebook\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_pinterest_share\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_preferred_4\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_compact\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_counter addthis_bubble_style\"><\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<p>\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_config = data_track_addressbar;<\/script><br \/>\n\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/js\/300\/addthis_widget.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n\t<!-- AddThis Button END -->\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"addthis article_options\">\n\t\t<!-- \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/mandrill\/subscription\/add\/79343\/79391\">Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t -->\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInequality, employment and economic growth in Africa<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/authors\/van-de-vijsel-annemarie\/\">Annemarie  van de Vijsel<\/a>\t\t|<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t26 June 2025<br \/>\n\t<\/header>\n<div class=\"body contents\">\n\t<!-- body --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"><b><\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"><b>Macroeconomic policy should focus on job creation and labour-intensive manufacturing. This was the main message of a panel session at the EADI conference.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">The bright picture of Africa\u2019s economy is that it is growing and that inequality is declining. However, as Stefano Prato of the Society for International Development (SID) said at the beginning of a panel session at the EADI conference, not all Africans recognize this optimistic version of the state of their continent. Inequality is still high, and economic growth is not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/themes\/inclusive-economy\/\" target=\"_blank\">inclusive<\/a>: a lot of people at the bottom of the income ladder are not formally included in the economy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">When a country\u2019s economy grows, there is no unambiguous effect on inequality: it can increase or decrease. In the words of Bartholomew Armah of UNECA, \u201cgrowth is a necessary but not sufficient condition for inequality reduction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Armah showed that North and East Africa are the least unequal regions of Africa, while Southern and Central Africa are the most unequal. Aidan Eyakuze of SID Tanzania zoomed in further on East Africa. Within this region, Rwanda is the most unequal country. Burundi is the least but, as Eyakuze observed, it also has the smallest economy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Whereas economic growth does not automatically lead to more or less inequality, according to Eyakuze, evidence from East Africa shows that rapid change in the composition of economic sectors is a main driver of inequality. This is compounded by malnutrition and poor education, leading to a loss of GDP.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Armah argued that, to counter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/dossiers\/inequality\/\" target=\"_blank\">inequality<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/dossiers\/employment\/\" target=\"_blank\">unemployment<\/a>, a \u201cskills development programme\u201d that specifically addresses gender and ethnic inequalities is needed to improve equality of opportunities. Moreover, macroeconomic policy should focus on job creation and labour-intensive manufacturing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Growth is not job-rich in Africa, according to Armah. This means that economic growth does not lead to increasing employment. In Sub-Saharan Africa, growth in 2012 even created fewer jobs than in the two decades before.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Industrialization is also low in Africa and does not yet necessarily generate employment. \u201cIt depends on the extent to which industries, heavy or light, absorb labour, and unskilled labour in particular,\u201d said Armah. In general, industrialization based on commodities contributes to productivity and increases the value of produced goods. In Armah\u2019s words, \u201cthe retail value of a polished diamond is three times higher than the raw version.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">In a reality of low inclusiveness and inequality in East Africa and an aim to improve both, Eyakuze explained that most interventions focus on inclusiveness. The challenge, his colleague Prato said, is to become more active on equality as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"><b>The Broker is reporting from the EADI conference <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gc2014.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">&#8216;Responsible Development in a Polycentric World: Inequality, Citizenship and the Middle Classes&#8217;<\/a>, 23 \u2013 26 June 2025 in Bonn, Germany. The Broker is the media partner during this conference.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n<p class=\"credit\">Photo credit main picture: Traders work on the floor of the Ghana Stock Exchange \/ World Bank Photo Collection via flickr<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<!-- body -->\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<section class=\"commentform content column wide left\">\n<div class=\"disqus_content\">\n\t\t<a name=\"comments\" id=\"comments\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"disqus_thread\"><\/div>\n<p>        <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n            \/* * * CONFIGURATION VARIABLES: EDIT BEFORE PASTING INTO YOUR WEBPAGE * * *\/\n            var disqus_shortname = 'broker'; \/\/ required: replace example with your forum shortname\n            var disqus_identifier = '14886';\n            \/* * * DON'T EDIT BELOW THIS LINE * * *\/\n\t\t\tfunction trackComment(comment)\n            {\n                console.log(comment);\n            }\n\t\t\tfunction disqus_config() {\n                this.callbacks.onNewComment = [function() { \n                console.log(comment);\n                }];\n            }\n\t\t\t(function() {\n                var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text\/javascript'; dsq.async = true;\n                dsq.src = '\/\/' + disqus_shortname + 'https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/blogs\/employment\/inequality-and-the-middle-classes\/.disqus.com\/embed.js';\n                (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(dsq);\n            })();\n        <\/script><br \/>\n        <!--\n        <noscript>Please enable JavaScript to view the <a href=\"http:\/\/disqus.com\/?ref_noscript\">comments powered by Disqus.<\/a><\/noscript>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/disqus.com\" class=\"dsq-brlink\">comments powered by <span class=\"logo-disqus\">Disqus<\/span><\/a>\n        -->\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false,"raw":""},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Theme Inclusive Economy Expert opinion About the author Annemarie [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template_3.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1043","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Inequality, employment and economic growth in Africa \/ Inequality and the Middle Classes \/ Employment \/ Blogs - The Broker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Macroeconomic policy should focus on job creation and labour-intensive manufacturing. 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