Over the past decade, sub-Saharan Africa has seen economic growth of approximately 5% per year. Today, 21 African countries are considered “middle income” (Christiaensen and Devarajan). Despite strong growth, the impact on poverty is much smaller than hoped. Today many African countries are among the poorest in the world. To address the problem of poverty the collective recipe is economic development. Economic development refers to the ongoing actions of politicians and corporations that encourage the standard of living and economic health of a specific area. It is a political involvement with objectives of economic and social well-being of people. “Economic development conveys a concrete aspiration: to have clean water, decent schools and health facilities; produce bigger crops and more manufactured goods; have access to consumer goods that people elsewhere consider a normal part of life (Cooper).”Africa has faced many internal and external constraints in trying to reduce poverty and promote development. During the 1940s, African governments and aid agencies sought development economists. This field gave logical nourishment to the idea that poor regions could think about their own future without defeating the global order. Before the new development economists managed to unite their positions in the institution, they were challenged by economists who used parallel academic tools to make contradictory arguments. This argument was that the international economy makes the rich richer and the poor poorer (Cooper). This meant that disadvantaged countries had to distance themselves from global markets. Government corruption was a major obstacle Africa faced. African regimes and non-governmental ones... in the middle of the paper... also for having achieved better results than others. This is due to inequality in resources and economics. Emerging countries have pursued improvements in aspects such as government and economic policies. African countries are poorly managed, which has huge effects on the continent. Introducing accountability would help Africa transform the opportunity for economic growth into more sustained reductions in poverty and inequality. References: CHRISTIAENSEN, LUC and SHANTAYANAN DEVARAJAN. “Making the most of Africa's growth.” (nd): n. page Network. .Cooper, Federico. Africa since 1940: the past of the present. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2002. Print.Radelet, Steven C. Emerging Africa: How 17 Countries are Leading the Way. Baltimore, MD: Center for Global Development, 2010. Print.