African Economic Development: Evidence, Theory, PolicyThis is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Unevenness and inequalities form a central fact of African economic experiences. This book challenges conventional wisdoms about economic performance and possible policies for economic development in African countries, using the striking variation in economic performance as a starting point. African Economic Development: Evidence, Theory, and Policy highlights not only difference between countries, but also variation within countries. It focuses on issues relating to gender, class, and ethnic identity, such as neo-natal mortality, school dropout, and horticultural and agribusiness exports. Variations in these areas point to opportunities for changing perfomance, reducing reducing inequalities, learning from other policy experiences, and escaping the ties of structure and the legacies of a colonial past. African Economic Development rejects teleological illusions and Eurocentric prejudice, criticizing a range of orthodox and heterodox economists for their cavalier attitude to evidence. Instead, it shows that seeing the contradictions of capitalism for what they are - fundamental and enduring - may help policy officials protect themselves against the misleading idea that development can be expected to be a smooth, linear process, or that it would be if certain impediments were removed. Drawing on decades of research and policy experience, this book combines careful use of available evidence from a range of African countries with economic insights to make the policy case for specific types of public sector investment. |
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African Economic Development: Evidence, Theory, Policy Christopher Cramer,John Sender,Arkebe Oqubay Limited preview - 2020 |
African Economic Development: Evidence, Theory, Policy Christopher Cramer,John Sender,Arkebe Oqubay Limited preview - 2020 |
Common terms and phrases
activities African countries agricultural analysis areas argue arguments balance capital capitalist cent Chapter commodity comparative costs Cramer demand developing countries Development discussed domestic economic economic development economists effects employment especially estimates Ethiopia evidence example exchange experience exports extremely farmers farms Figure firms foreign forms global growth higher households ideas important improve income increase industrial institutions International interventions investment Journal labour lead less live London Management manufacturing measures officials Organization output Oxford political poor poverty production promote rapid recent reduce relatively Research Retrieved Review rising rural sector Sender share social Source South Africa South Korea statistical strategy structural Studies sub-Saharan Africa surveys sustained theory trade trends Uganda University Press urban wage Washington women workers World Bank