The Crisis and Challenge of African Development

This collection of essays was assembled to address the economic and social problems in Africa from a variety of perspectives. While recognizing that Africa’s economic decline has resulted from poorly designed policy, the contributors also place that policy in its cultural and historical context. Similarly, they establish a comparative perspective for Africa’s economic performance, and point to outside forces that have been overlooked. Finally, the contributors investigate some key issues in agricultural policy, such as decentralization, the role of women, and food subsidies. The collection is organized in three parts: questions concerning Africa’s development record, questions dealing with the present consensus on policy reform, and questions about the institutions available for enhancing the possibilities of development in Africa in the future.