Africa's Prospects for Enjoying a Demographic Dividend

David Bloom, Michael Kuhn and Klaus Prettner

No 10161, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We assess Africa's prospects for enjoying a demographic dividend. While fertility rates and dependency ratios in Africa remain high, they have started to decline. According to UN projections, they will fall further in the coming decades such that by the mid-21st century the ratio of the working-age to dependent population will be greater than in Asia, Europe, and Northern America. This projection suggests Africa has considerable potential to enjoy a demographic dividend. Whether and when it actually materializes, and also its magnitude, hinges on policies and institutions in key realms that include macroeconomic management, human capital, trade, governance, and labor and capital markets. Given strong complementarities among these areas, coordinated policies will likely be most effective in generating the momentum needed to pull Africa's economies out of a development trap.

Keywords: Africa; declining fertility; demographic dividend; development; education; health; infrastructure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J11 J13 J16 O10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 24 pages
Date: 2016-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-dem and nep-dev
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Africa’s Prospects for Enjoying a Demographic Dividend (2017)
Journal Article: AFRICA'S PROSPECTS FOR ENJOYING A DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND (2017)
Working Paper: Africa’s Prospects for Enjoying a Demographic Dividend (2016)
Working Paper: Africa’s Prospects for Enjoying a Demographic Dividend (2016)
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