Markets and States in Tropical Africa. The Political Basis of Agricultural Policies

Abstract

"Interested and well-meaning people in the United States wonder, 'What's the matter with Africa?' Robert Bates's book manages the difficult task of speaking to the specialist and non-specialist alike. It explains the historical, political, and economic roots of Africa's challenges. Best of all, it gives context to why easy prescriptions haven't worked in the past, and some hope for what might work in the future."--Ray Suarez, Senior Correspondent, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer"Ever since its original publication in 1981, this elegant study has been a clarion call for agrarian reform predicated on market incentives. Bates's perspective transcends the lingering ideological nostrums that still impede progress toward the construction of modern economies in Africa. Based largely on his personal empirical research, this lasting work continues to guide the quest for realistic approaches to the problem of poverty in Africa and other agrarian regions of the world."--Richard L. Sklar, author of African Politics in Postimperial TimesPRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION: "[An] analysis of how public policy has fostered Africa's agricultural decline.... [The] description of how that policy has worked--the interests and mechanisms discriminating against the rural sector--is incomparable."--Foreign Affairs