Book Review: business politics and the state in Africa: challenging the orthodoxies on growth and transformation,by Tim Kelsall

Laura Mann

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Arguing that much of Africa’s recent economic boom has been confined to unsustainable growth in primary commodities, this book contends that African economies need structural transformation into higher-­‐value manufacturing and services. While evidence from other regions emphasizes state action to overcome collective action problems and create the‘predictability’ necessary for structural transformation, conventional wisdom has deemed Africa’s neo-­‐patrimonial political culture too insalubrious an environment for the state to act effectively. This book challenges this view: there can be such a thing as developmental patrimonialism and it mobilizes an array of historical and contemporary material to lobby for stronger and smarter support for industrial policies.

JEL-codes: J1 N0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-07-01
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Published in African Affairs, 1, July, 2014, 113(452), pp. 467-468. ISSN: 0001-9909

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