The Political Economy of Economic Growth in Africa, 1960–2000

by Benno J. Ndulu , Stephen A. O'Connell , Robert H. Bates , Paul Collier , Chukwuma C. Soludo

• ISBN13: 9780521127752
• ISBN10: 0521127750
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-05-11
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The period from 1960 to 2000 was one of remarkable growth and transformation in the world economy. Why did most of Sub-Saharan Africa fail to develop over this period? Why did a few small African economies succeed spectacularly? The Political Economy of Economic Growth in Africa, 1960-2000 is by far the most ambitious and comprehensive assessment of Africa's post-independence economic performance to date. Volume 1 examines the impact of resource wealth and geographical remoteness on Africa's growth and develops a new dataset of governance regimes covering all of Sub-Saharan Africa. Separate chapters analyze the dominant patterns of governance observed over the period and their impact on growth, the ideological formation of the political elite, the roots of political violence and reform, and the lessons of the 1960-2000 period for contemporary growth strategy.

Author Biography

Benno J. Ndulu is Governor of the Central Bank of Tanzania. Stephen A. O'Connell is Eugene M. Lang Research Professor of Economics at Swarthmore College. Robert H. Bates is Eaton Professor of the Science of Government at Harvard University. Paul Collier is Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford. Chuwuma C. Soludo is Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Table of Contents

List of figures	p. vii
List of tables	p. ix
List of contributors	p. xii
Foreword	p. xv
List of acronyms	p. xviii
Overview
Policy plus: African growth performance, 1960-2000	p. 3
Opportunities and choices	p. 76
Anti-growth syndromes in Africa: a synthesis of the case studies	p. 137
Interpretation
Domestic interests and control regimes	p. 175
Sacrificing the Future: intertemporal strategies and their implications for growth	p. 202
The Political geography of redistribution	p. 225
Political conflict and state failure	p. 249
Shocks, risk, and African growth	p. 297
Explanation
The evolution of global development paradigms and their influence on African economic growth	p. 315
Political reform	p. 348
Endogenizing syndromes	p. 391
Looking Ahead
Harnessing growth opportunities: how Africa can advance	p. 421
Index	p. 439
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