After decades of rapid income divergence between Africa and the rest
of the world, a new era of change has come to several African countries.
This new era is characterized by macroeconomic stabilization,
sustained growth, and improved governance, which mark a historic break from
decades of economic stagnation and political turmoil. Therefore, there is now
a unique opportunity for the front-running African countries to set examples
on how to achieve economic transformation and prosperity on the continent.
This is especially important because the initial conditions of African economies
and societies are markedly different from those of most countries in other
regions of the world. These differences will likely have consequences for
the paths of economic transformation, which might also suggest that African
transformation might differ from experiences in other regions of the world.