From Adjustment To Development In Africa

Our Continent, Our Future presents the emerging African perspective on this complex issue. The authors use as background their own extensive experience and a collection of 30 individual studies, 25 of which were from African economists, to summarize this African perspective and articulate a path for the future. They underscore the need to be sensitive to each country's unique history and current condition. They argue for a broader policy agenda and for a much more active role for the state within what is largely a market economy. Finally, they stress that Africa must, and can, compete in an increasingly globalized world and, perhaps most importantly, that Africans must assume the leading role in defining the continent's development agenda.

First published in 1997, this volume is intended to make a contribution to both the literature and the contentious debate on the relationship between structural adjustment and reconstruction and development in Africa, as seen from the multidisciplinary perspective of academics and practitioners working in Africa on African development problems and issues. The implementation of structural adjustment in Africa has spawned a considerable, and still on-going, debate with vociferous advocates on both sides of the issue, particularly with respect to the efficacy of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) as an antidote to Africa’s development crisis. This book contributes to that debate with a rich mixture of analytical views and ideas covering a wide range of countries and sectors on the role and impact of structural adjustment programmes on the process of reconstruction and development in Africa.

This book considers the principal sources of agreement and disagreement among policymakers and analysts concerning the current economic problems of Sub-Saharan Africa. A distinguished collection of international and African authors, including economists from the IMF and the World Bank, as well as their critics, addresses the key policy issues in agriculture, trade, macroeconomic management, social issues, privatization, external capital flow, and political economy. An introductory interpretive essay searches for areas of consensus and identifies those of continuing controversy.

This title was first published in 2001: Bringing together geographers, planners, political scientists, economists, rural development specialists, bankers, public administrators and other development experts, this volume questions the benefits of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs). It critically assesses the impact of SAPs from a wider perspective than a purely economic one, highlighting concerns about impacts of adjustments on the more vulnerable elements of society such as social welfare, the environment, labour, gender and agriculture. Revealing both the costs and benefits of the economic restructuring programme, the book also suggests alternatives to current development models, and how SAPs can be made more sustainable. An original and comprehensive addition to the collections of both students and practitioners of development.

This book focuses on the historical construction of African states, the modes of political control in the region, and the character of political elites. It examines the nature of political legitimacy and the avenues of participation or withdrawal pursued by various popular sectors.

Our Continent, Our Future: African perspectives on structural adjustme

An engaging history of how the idea of development has shaped Africa's past and present encounters with the West.

African Voices on Structural Adjustment presents 14 in-depth studies on the history and future of structural adjustment in Africa. Each study appraises the performance of structural adjustment policies (SAPs) with respect to a particular sector or issue. Each evaluates the compatibility of SAPs with the requirements for long-term development in Africa. And, most importantly, each presents a truly African perspective. The contributors represent an outstanding collection of leading African economists and development experts. This volume is intended as a companion to Our Continent, Our Future. It will appeal to students, professors, academics, and researchers in development, economics, and African studies; professionals in donor organizations around the world; and economic policymakers in both the governmental and non-governmental sectors