Perhaps the most destructive aspects of African governance are found
in economic mismanagement. African states’ interventions in the preadjustment era turned out to be terribly bad both in agriculture and
in industry. This is in stark contrast with the extraordinary success of
the ‘developmental’ states of East and Southeast Asia. While the latter
pursued a political strategy of rising living standards, achieved through
prioritizing growth, productivity, competitiveness and human capital
investment, the former sought to manage political competition through
distribution of state consumption. Available literature, notwithstanding, no systematic attempt has been made to investigate how the Asian
‘developmental’ states can reasonably factor into the solution to Africa’s
‘development woes’. Based upon review of published literature, reports
and articles, this article argues, amongst others, that lack of strong bureaucracy is responsible for Africa’s ‘dysfunctional’ state. As a result, it
has been difficult for the continent to transit to a ‘developmental’ state.
Primary Language | English |
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Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | August 1, 2014 |
Submission Date | August 1, 2014 |
Published in Issue | Year 2014 Volume: 12 Issue: 24 |