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date: 15 February 2025

African Economies in the Late Colonial Period, c. 1945–1960locked

African Economies in the Late Colonial Period, c. 1945–1960locked

  • Ellen HillbomEllen HillbomDepartment of Economic History, Lund University

Summary

During the late colonial era, the focus of economic strategies was on supporting the export sectors dominated by cash-crop production and extractive industries. While the empires paid for the postwar reconstruction of the European metropoles, colonies also experienced economic growth. Increasing incomes and changing consumption patterns created some opportunities for local agro-processing, manufacturing, and services, but there were few larger initiatives for diversification of the colonial economies. Growth was extensive rather than intensive, and the reliance on a small number of commodities made the economies vulnerable to fluctuating world market prices.

The colonial budgets grew due to increasing tax revenues and more generous grants and loans from the metropoles. Subsequently, there was increasing government spending on administration, infrastructure, and human development. Urbanization led to substantial social transformation with new types of occupations, changing consumption patterns, unionization, and new relationships between the urban populations and the emerging African political leadership. With an expanding wage sector and opportunities for engaging in export-oriented commercialization, there was growing differentiation and increasing income inequality. Finally, living standards also improved through better hygiene and healthcare, housing, infrastructure, and other investments in social development.

Subjects

  • Economic History

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