How Moving Beyond GDP May Help Fight Poverty in Africa

This policy brief argues that the fixation with the use of the index of gross domestic product (GDP) has misled Africa’s policy makers. This approach has led to the replacement of informal economic structures with formal market systems, the exploitation of natural resources and the increase in income inequality as signs of economic progress. Alternative indicators are likely to highlight the important contribution of social cohesion and natural welfare to economic development, thus helping to eradicate poverty in the continent.