How Solid is Economic Growth in the East African Community?

Abstract

Is rapid economic growth experienced by the East African Community during the past decade built on solid foundations? To gain some clues, we use a variety of newly-collected and existing data sources to analyze the structural transformation of output and exports, as well as indicators of their quality and sophistication. The move from agriculture to a wide range of other sectors - bodes well for continued growth, as do gradual improvements in quality. Yet, no clear winners on the production side seem to have emerged, to embed a durable comparative advantage in international markets. These observations may instill a note of caution against projecting rapid growth into the distant future.

Keywords: Economic growth, East Africa, Production, Exports, Regional economics, Cross country analysis, Structural transformation, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda., total exports, export products, growth rate, growth rates, gdp growth, exporter, exports of goods, export value, real gdp, export product, economic growth performance, quantity of exports, export quality, international markets, export diversification, rapid economic growth, quality of exports, export structure, economic growth rates, export data, gdp growth rates, diversification of export, value of exports, gdp growth rate, goods export, export revenues, per capita incomes, export basket, products export, share of exports, expor

JEL Classification: O11, O14