Patterns of Accumulation and Structural Change
This working paper explores past processes of economic transformation in Tanzania, particularly since the economic reforms of the 1980s. The paper starts with the premise that it is not sufficient to look at the evolution of the rate of economic growth to assess the macroeconomic performance of the economy, particularly when making inferences about its impact on poverty reduction. What matters as well is the analysis of the changing patterns of accumulation and structural change that accompanied this process of economic growth. The approach of this paper consists of looking at the data cautiously by triangulating different bits of macro data – taking account of the accounting frameworks within which they are constructed – in order to pinpoint the varied and sometimes contradictory stories they tell, leaving ample room (we hope) for ourselves and for the reader to ponder whether the patterns revealed in the data make reasonable sense in the light of our admittedly subjective hunches and qualitative feel of the Tanzanian economy in terms of both its history and its changing structure.