Light Manufacturing in Tanzania argues that for Tanzania to remain one of the fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, it has to make progress in the structural transformation that can lift workers from low-productivity agriculture and the informal sector to higher productivity activities. Manufacturing, which has been the main vehicle throughout the world to achieve this transformation, has remained stunted in Tanzania. Using new evidence, the book shows that feasible, low-cost, s...

The Oxford Handbook of Structural Transformation addresses the economics of structural transformation around the world. It deals with major themes, which include history and context, critical issues and concepts, methodological foundations, main theoretical approaches, policy issues, some illuminating country experiences of structural transformation, and important debates on the respective roles of the market and the state in that process. The historical record provides a challeng...

How poor countries can ignite economic growth without waiting for global action or the creation of ideal local conditionsContrary to conventional wisdom, countries that ignite a process of rapid economic growth almost always do so while lacking what experts say are the essential preconditions for development, such as good infrastructure and institutions. In Beating the Odds, two of the world's leading development economists begin with this paradox to expla...

For a long time, economic research on Africa was not seen as a profitable venture intellectually or professionally-few researchers in top-ranked institutions around the world chose to become experts in the field. This was understandable: the reputation of Africa-centered economic research was not enhanced by the well-known limitations of economic data across the continent. Moreover, development economics itself was not always fashionable, and the broader discipline of economics has had its...

A popular myth about the travails of Africa holds that the continent's long history of poor economic performance reflects the inability of its leaders and policymakers to fulfill the long list of preconditions to be met before sustained growth can be achieved. These conditions are said to vary from the necessary quantity and quality of physical and human capital to the appropriate institutions and business environments. While intellectually charming and often elegantly formulated, that con...

“A terrific meditation on contemporary African modernity, conceived through a series of essays that reflect on the practices of everyday life.” ―Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York UniversityThere are two common ways of writing about Africa, says Célestin Monga. One way blames Africa’s ills on the continent’s history of exploitation and oppression. The other way blames Africans themselves for failing to rise above poisonous national prejudices and resentments. But patro...

“A terrific meditation on contemporary African modernity, conceived through a series of essays that reflect on the practices of everyday life.” ―Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York UniversityThere are two common ways of writing about Africa, says Célestin Monga. One way blames Africa’s ills on the continent’s history of exploitation and oppression. The other way blames Africans themselves for failing to rise above poisonous national prejudices and resentments. But patro...

What are the fundamental issues, processes, agency and dynamics that shape the political economy of life in modern Africa? In this book, the contributors - experts in anthropology, history, political science, economics, conflict and peace studies, philosophy and language - examine the opportunities and constraints placed on living, livelihoods and sustainable life on the continent. Reflecting on why and how the political economy of life approach is essential for understanding the social pr...

In One Economics, Many Recipes, leading economist Dani Rodrik argues that neither globalizers nor antiglobalizers have got it right. While economic globalization can be a boon for countries that are trying to dig out of poverty, success usually requires following policies that are tailored to local economic and political realities rather than obeying the dictates of the international globalization establishment. A definitive statement of Rodrik's original and influential perspecti...

• Why have only 13 developing world economies achieved sustained, high growth since World War II? • Why is engagement with the global economy necessary to achieve high growth? • Why do some countries' growth strategies fail to win the public's confidence? • Why are equity and equality of opportunity important components of successful growth strategies? • Why do many countries, blessed with natural resource wealth, not achieve high growth? • Why has no country ever sustained rapid gr...

After the 2008–9 global financial crisis, reforms to promote stability, social inclusion, and sustainability were promised but not delivered. As a result, the global economic situation, marred by inequality, volatility, and climate breakdown, remains dysfunctional.Now, the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic offers us a second chance. Kevin Gallagher and Richard Kozul-Wright argue that we must grasp it by implementing sweeping reforms to how we govern global money, finance,...

Industrial policy, once relegated to resource allocation, technological improvements, and the modernization of industries, should be treated as a serious component of sustainability and developmental economics. A rich set of complimentary institutions, shared behavioral norms, and public policies have sustained economic growth from Britain's industrial revolution onwards. This volume revisits the role of industrial policy in the success of these strategies and what it can offer developed a...