Abstract: This article tries, based on existing literature and statistics, to identify the obstacles to the development of West African countries, specifically the causes of their de-industrialization, which began in the 1980s. The analysis showed that the underperformance of these countries is due to their low technological level and the weakness of their institutions, leading to high transaction and production costs, difficulties in financing investments and other constraints, including those related to geography, which, by striking a blow to competitiveness, hindered the construction of the West African Economic Area.
Keywords : West Africa, industrialization, market, institution, knowledge economy, savings,
distance.
Jel Classification : D02, F13, F14, F15, F16, F54.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18559/RIELF.2019.2.2