Development Centre Studies The Rise of China and India: What's in it for Africa?

by OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Helmut Reisen (Contributor), Andrea Goldstein (Contributor)

This book demonstrates how the growing economic power of China and India is already influencing the growth patterns of African countries, particularly oil- and commodities-exporting ones. As world prices for commodities rise, producer countries in Africa and throughout the world will gain, but there is more to the story than that. Some African countries are redirecting part of their trade and other relationships from their traditional OECD partners to China and India. The book explores the consequences of this, and comes to some surprising conclusions.

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 35 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum of countries describing themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seeking answers to common problems, identify good practices and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members.

In 1948, the OECD originated as the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), led by Robert Marjolin of France, to help administer the Marshall Plan (which was rejected by the Soviet Union and its satellite states). This would be achieved by allocating American financial aid and implementing economic programs for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. (Similar reconstruction aid was sent to the war-torn Republic of China and post-war Korea, but not under the name "Marshall Plan".)

In 1961, the OEEC was reformed into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development by the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and membership was extended to non-European states. Most OECD members are high-income economies with a very high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as developed countries.

The OECD's headquarters are at the Château de la Muette in Paris, France. The OECD is funded by contributions from member states at varying rates.