Disparate Data, Disparate Results: Has the Sub-Saharan African Region Deindustrialized?

Abstract This paper shows that evidence in support of region-wide deindustrialization in Sub-Saharan Africa is sensitive to country samples and weights. In many samples and specifications, the data point either to no change or to increases in manufacturing employment and value added shares. A review of key papers on African industrialization shows that past findings of deindustrialization are based on small country samples. This paper re-examines the debate using the most recent and largest available African sectoral data sources. We conclude that deindustrialization in Africa should not be treated as a region-wide stylized fact.