ABSTRACT
Focusing on Sub Saharan Africa, this chapter discusses the evolution of foreign aid, international trade, foreign direct investment and other private flows into the region. The chapter argues that the return of economic growth in most African countries after the mid-1990s has brought about several key new trends in the region, the most important of which has been the relative decline in the economic reliance on foreign aid. At the same time, many of the key constraints to economic growth and a more successful relationship with the global economy have not been addressed adequately, and continue to undermine African countries’ relationship to the global economy. the chapter ends by discussing the implications of these trends for African political economy.
