Routledge The Emerging Middle Class in Africa

The emergence of the African middle class as a driver of Africa’s economic growth stands out as an important milestone in Africa’s contemporary economic history. This growth, though uneven, is a source of hope for Africa, but also a signal to the rest of the world on the prospects for economic recovery and renewal, particularly because it has been steady despite the global downturn. The Emerging Middle Class in Africa analyses specific aspects of the lives of the middle class in Africa. It looks at how people become and remain in the middle class through a series of thematic chapters. It examines how behaviour changes in the process, in terms of consumption patterns and spending on health and education. A further dimension of this analysis is how class impacts on gender relations and whether women are able to reap the same benefits of social advancement available to men. Africa is a continent of such scale and diversity that experiences across countries vary widely. The book thus captures the common patterns across the continent. This text is primarily aimed at Africanist researchers, policy makers, development practitioners, and bilateral and multilateral institutions, as well as students of African studies, political science, political economy, development studies, and development economics. Review "Since the beginning of this new Millennium Africa has enjoyed an unprecedented growth spell and a significant reduction in poverty. One of the correlates of the present growth spell is the emergence of a middle class. This volume describes clearly the importance of education and health in helping poor households move gradually into a higher and more diversified consumption pattern. Likewise, a successful structural transformation providing workers moving out of agriculture with stable and salaried jobs in non-agricultural sectors is crucial to the creation of a middle class. Another contribution of this book is to show the close interrelationship between the existence of a middle class and improved governance and the appearance of democratic institutions. While many obstacles still need to be overcome before a strong and sustainable middle class dominates the social fabric in Africa, this volume provides the reader with a bright ray of hope."–Erik Thorbeck, Cornell University, USA "The global economic sentiment around Sub-Saharan Africa has changed dramatically over the last few years. From being viewed as a continent rife with political and economic uncertainty, together with a tendency toward economic and social collapse, the current dominating view is that Sub-Saharan Africa remains the last of the great untapped markets, ripe for rapid growth and development. These views are supported by the data, which show that six of the world’s ten fastest growing economies during 2001-2010 were in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this timely book, we are given a unique and data-rich insight into one of the key manifestations of this great African renaissance – the rise of the African middle class. Through the expert hands of Mthuli Ncube and Charles Lufumpa, the various authors deal carefully and systematically with issues ranging from the size and shape of this new, huge consumer market – to the role played by educational institutions in ensuring the sustenance of this class. As a compendium for those interested in understanding one of the key drivers of this continent’s economic future – this volume will prove indispensable." –Haroon Bhorat, University of Cape Town, South Africa "These are exciting times in Africa. The region has witnessed sustained growth for about two decades in proportions that parallel Asian tigers. The Africa growth renaissance is not accidental, but generated by fruits of extensive economic and financial sector reforms, including empowerment of private initiative and human capital development resulting from investment in quality education and technology. The growth dividend has manifested itsel