The Role of Primary Commodities in Economic Development: Sub-Saharan Africa Versus the Rest of the World

The impact of the dependence on primary commodities for economic development is analysed within the framework of growth regressions. While there is no evidence of a generalized primary commodity curse, reliance on primary commodities does retard growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Which factors account for theis SSA specificity. Some suggest that SSA specializes in commodities that are not conductive to economic growth and that SSA depends on primary commodities more deeply than the rest of the world. These explanations are not strongly supported by the data. The key to SSA specific curse appears to lie in the interaction between institutions and primary commodities.