The Expansion and Crisis of the Gate-Keeping State 1950–1985

Ellen Hillbom () and Erik Green
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Ellen Hillbom: Lund University
Erik Green: Lund University

Chapter 6 in An Economic History of Development in sub-Saharan Africa, 2019, pp 153-194 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Towards the end of their rule, the colonial powers increased investments in socio-economic development and these efforts, in combination with increasing export revenues, set Africa on a pathway towards socio-economic progress. However, the economic structures of the gate-keeping states, which transitioned from the colonial to the independent regimes, proved to be fundamentally weak. The agricultural sector was characterized by low productivity and industrialisation never took off. The economies were narrow in scope and crumbled as world market prices fell while oil prices surged. The initial development optimism that prevailed during the independence movements and first decades as free nations, turned into crisis and development pessimism. Neither political leaders nor the state apparatus could prevent the collapse.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-14008-3_6

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