1. Underdevelopment in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of the Private Sector and Political Elites
- Author:
- Moeletsi Mbeki
- Publication Date:
- 04-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Economic growth in Africa, as in the rest of the world, depends on a vibrant private sector. Entrepreneurs in Africa, however, face daunting constraints. They are prevented from creating wealth by predatory political elites that control the state. African political elites use marketing boards and taxation to divert agricultural savings to finance their own consumption and to strengthen the repressive apparatus of the state. Peasants, who constitute the core of the private sector in sub-Saharan Africa, are the biggest losers. In order for Africa to prosper, peasants need to become the real owners of their primary asset—land—over which they currently have no property rights.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Rights, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- America