Suchergebnisse

"The Possibility of Developmental States in Africa" published on by Oxford University Press.

AbstractThis study investigates the role of political as well as economic institutions, factor endowments and geography as main drivers of change in Botswana's long‐term economic development, from 1850 to the present. The claim that we need to embrace multi‐causal explanations giving equal explanatory value to all mentioned potential drivers is made. Further, in order not to compress history, we should give equal attention to the pre‐colonial, colonial and post‐independence eras. The study leads by example and provides a thorough analysis that enriches our understanding of the country's past and present. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ABSTRACTSmallholders in developing countries can potentially benefit from access to local, regional, national and international markets as they intermediate between rural and urban demand for agricultural products and smallholder supply. This study investigates how smallholders in Meru, Tanzania make use of the various marketing channels that are available to them, and argues that the variety of potential marketing channels and easily accessible market information enables smallholders to weigh advantages and disadvantages with varying market opportunities and form rational decisions. It presents a case where producers, consumers and traders are the principal agents in building market institutions through what should be characterised as endogenous processes. As these market institutions correspond to smallholders' needs, they may be able to play an important role in the overall process of agricultural development in the area.

ABSTRACTDue to its four decades of high long-term economic growth and democratic system, Botswana has been depicted as an exceptional success story in a region full of economic and political failures. In this article, a structural analysis is applied, and it is argued that Botswana's success should be understood as one of pre-modern growth without development. It is claimed that although the country may be a growth miracle, it has not yet experienced 'modern economic growth', characterised by structural change in patterns of production as well as in social and political institutions. Such analysis also offers an explanation for the duality of Botswana's economy and society, since pre-modern growth, as opposed to development, allows for significant poverty rates and extremely unequal resource and income distribution to prevail in the midst of plenty.