Is structural reform taking place in Africa? The downturn suffered by many African economies in recent years has resulted in what can be called a "re-pricing" of their economies, with currencies falling against a resurgent dollar and asset values tumbling too. As the "Africa rising" hype has subsided, African economies need to work on their competitiveness, the cost of doing business in their economies, and work far harder to attract desperately needed foreign investment and talent. The most evident sign of the often painful but necessary re-pricing process has been falling currency values. Currencies on the continent have depreciated significantly against the dollar since July 2014 or, in the case of managed currencies, have been devalued. In some cases, their value has suffered further as a result of errant monetary policies that have undermined investor confidence and heightened uncertainty. Loss in value of local currencies (% change), average 2014-16 *used in Benin, Burkina Fas...
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