Tracking Economic Growth. Enrichment Activity. Background. Name Date Class

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1 Tracking Economic Growth Africa South of the Sahara Background In 2004 British Prime Minister Tony Blair formed the Commission for Africa to study the challenges facing Africa. The commission included leaders from around the world, but the majority were from Africa. In March 2005, the commission published its report, which was called Our Common Interest-because, as the report states, "it is in our common interest to make the world a prosperous and secure place." The report recommended steps to be taken to reduce poverty in Africa. A basic premise of the report was that Africa cannot reduce poverty without economic growth. As a result, one of the goals set by the report was to increase the average growth rate in sub-saharan African countries to 7 percent by The "growth rate" refers to the rate of growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) of a country. GDP is the value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given year. At the time of the report, many countries in sub Saharan Africa had average growth rates of 3 percent or less, although several countries had already achieved growth rates of more than 4 percent. In comparison, the United States had an average annual growth rate from 1990 to 2003 of 3.3 percent. -.{J For Investigation Locate a copy of Our Common Interest. It can be found on the Commission for Africa's Web site org. Read the commission's recommendations for increasing economic growth and reducing poverty in Africa. You can find these recommendations in Chapter 7 of the report. As you read, look for answers to the following questions: 1. Explaining How does economic growth help reduce poverty in a country? 2. Analyzing Why do experts believe that 7 percent is the minimum growth rate that is needed to reduce poverty in Africa? 19

2 3. Making Connections Does increasing the growth rate in a country automatically lead to poverty reduction? Explain. 4. Identifying What steps need to be taken to ensure that poor people benefit from economic growth? s. Listing What obstacles need to be overcome to accelerate economic growth in Africa? 6. Drawing Conclusions What actions need to be taken to overcome these obstacles? Next, conduct research to determine what progress has been made in sub-saharan Africa since the commission's report was published. 7. Identifying What countries had the lowest average growth rates at the time of the report? 8. Identifying Have any of these countries' growth rates improved since that time? If so, which ones? (Information on growth rates can be found at the World Bank's Web site 20

3 Activity Choose five countries in sub Saharan Africa whose growth rates were less than 3 percent at the time of the Commission for Africa's report. Find out what their growth rates have been since that time. Then create a graph of the data, using spreadsheet software. Present your data in a written report. Explain the meaning of the data and its significance for poverty reduction in those countries. Assessment Checklist Assess your graph and report using the checklist below: D Graph is easy to read and interpret D Key is clear and accurate D Report explains the meaning of the data in the graph D Report explains the significance of the data for poverty reduction in the countries on the graph D Report is well organized and logically developed Present your data in an oral report to your class. Display your graph on an overhead transparency or by using presentation software. Be prepared to answer questions about the meaning of the data and its implication for the future of Africa. Choose one of the countries whose growth rates you graphed. Conduct additional research to learn what factors have contributed to economic growth, or lack of growth, in that country. Summarize your findings as a supplement to your report. Working in a group, determine the current growth rate for each of the countries in sub-saharan Africa. Then create a poster-sized map of the region, color-coding each country according to its growth rate. (For example, a growth rate of 7 percent or greater might be green, whereas a growth rate of less than 7 percent might be red.) 21

4 Name Date Class Africa South of the Sahara Measuring Standard of Living Geography and Economics Activity As an American, you live in one of the richest nations in the world. The standard of living in the United States is very high. Standard of living is the quality of life based on the possession of the necessities and luxuries that make life easier. In contrast, many people of Africa south of the Sahara have a low standard of living. The world poverty line is set at $2 per day. Anyone living on less than $2 per day is said to be living in poverty. As shown in the graph on the next page, more than 75 percent of Africans south of the Sahara live in poverty. There is no single way to measure standard of living. Economists look at many measures of well-being to compare standard of living among nations. The table below shows a few of these measures. One common measure is gross domestic product (GDP). GDP is the dollar value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a year. Dividing a country's GDP by its total population yields GDP per person. This dollar amount shows how rich or poor a country's population would be if GDP were divided equally among all the people in that nation. Health conditions are another way to look at standard of living. People in poorer nations often lack access to clean water, good health care, and medicine. As a result, more babies die at birth, and people have shorter life spans. Literacy rate-the percentage of people who can read and write-is another measure of standard of living. Richer nations often provide more educational resources than can poorer nations. Therefore, a larger portion of people can read and write in rich nations. Some Measures for Comparing Standard of Living Literacy rate (% of people wo GOP per person Infant deaths per Expected life can read and Country/Region (U.S. dollars) 1,000 births span write) Zambia $ years 80.6% Chad $1, years 47.5% Sudan $2, years 61.1% World $9, years 82.0% Mexico $10, years 92.2% Japan $30, years 99.0% United States $41, years 97.0% Source: CIA, The World Factbook Q

5 Name Date Class Geography and Economics Activity <I Thinking Economically Directions: Examine the table on the previous page and the bar graph below. Then answer the questions that follow. Percentage of People Living on Less than $2 per Day 75% 75% r Comparing Find Zambia's literacy rate in the table. Is it closer to Chad's literacy rate or the U.s. literacy rate? Explain why Zambia's literacy rate is surprising. t!!.c 53% r--- 47% % 1/1....c u 'iii c 14% <II.c.--- 'iii % '0 1! If ::s c.;: 0 E u... "i: C... c.c 0 :s ::s :c...:: III ::s 1/1 U Z... u ww 1/1 I C <II.c "0.c "c, Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, Describing How do economists mea-. sure standard of living? 2. Identifying Based on the bar graph, what percentage of the world's people are living in poverty? 3. Identifying In what areas of the world do more than half the people live in poverty? 5. Drawing Conclusions Which country in the table do you think has the highest standard of living? Why? 6. GOiNG FURTHER ---- Organize into small groups. Imagine that your group is a charity that helps poor people in Africa. Your task is to design a Web site for your organization. First, choose a focus for your organization's activities - aid for education, health care, farming, or some other type of aid. Then choose a name for your organization that reflects this focus. Together, brainstorm features and links to include on your site. For ideas, go online to see how other charities have arranged their Web sites. Be sure to include ways to encourage donations. Create storyboards for your home page and two other pages of your site. Note on the storyboards what features and links will be included on each page. Present your Web site to the class. 10