Why Africa’s Population Boom Could Power Its Next Growth Era

About this episode

The episode discusses how Africa's population boom could become an economic advantage, featuring insights from economist Joe Studwell.

Could Africa’s long-misunderstood population boom become its greatest economic advantage? Economist and author Joe Studwell joins host Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss his book, How Africa Works: Success and Failure on the World's Last Developmental Frontier . He argues that rising population density is already transforming the continent by creating deeper markets, boosting agricultural productivity, supporting urbanization and making manufacturing more viable. While governance, debt and commodity dependence remain risks, he sees a more diverse, locally driven growth story emerging across Africa. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Merryn Somerset Webb

Guest: Joe Studwell

Topics covered

• Africa's population boom
• economic growth
• agricultural productivity
• urbanization
• manufacturing
• governance risks

Keywords

• Africa
• population boom
• economic growth
• agriculture
• urbanization
• manufacturing
• Joe Studwell

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: How Africa Works: Success and Failure on the World's Last Developmental Frontier

Places: Africa

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