This handbook constitutes a specialist single compendium that analyses African political economy in its theoretical, historical and policy dimensions. It emphasizes the uniqueness of African political economy within a global capitalist system that is ever changing and complex. Chapters in the book discuss how domestic and international political economic forces have shaped and continue to shape development outcomes on the continent. Contributors also provoke new thinking on theories and policies to better position the continent’s economy to be a critical global force. The uniqueness of the handbook lies in linking theory and praxis with the past, future, and various dimensions of the political economy of Africa.

This book revisits the perennial challenge that scholars, economists, and politicians have been grappling with since the 1960s. Development, in this book, has been defined in a context that projects it as a multidimensional and complex process which seeks to enhance the human, social, economic and cultural welfare of the people. This book calls for a rethinking of trade and industry for Africa's development. It uses data drawn from national development plans and strategies, and trade and industry issues have been prioritized at the continental level, in key policy documents. On the whole Africa's industry and trade performance have been poor in spite of national, regional, and continental plans. The contributors to this volume propose some alternative strategies and policies which are necessary for trade and industry to grow and to contribute to the well-being of Africa's people. It calls for a developmental trade and industry policy which, fundamentally, must be people-centred. African states should invest time, energy and resources to develop policies which will take into consideration African realities.The different contributors are aware that Africa has experienced strong economic growth in the recent past but this growth has largely been due to a strong demand for Africa's primary commodity exports. It has also been a result of increases in productivity and domestic investment and remittances from Africans living in the Diaspora. It is important to note that despite this unprecedented growth performance, the impact of trade and industry on development has been limited. The book argues that a structural transformation of Africa's economies is inevitable if Africa is to achieve the shift from the dominant paradigm of production and export of primary goods. The various contributors to this book agree that there is need to rethink policy and strategy in order to achieve industrial development in Africa. There is no unique solution or answer that can fit all situations as African countries are not the same. While Africa can draw lessons from other regions which have successfully industrialized, this book argues that policies and strategies will have to be adapted to country-specific situations and circumstances.

The first comprehensive work on globalization within the context of sustainable development initiatives in Africa.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an economically diverse region. Despite undertaking economic reforms in many countries, and having considerable success in avoiding crises and achieving macroeconomic stability, the region’s economic performance in the past 30 years has been below potential. This paper takes stock of the region’s relatively weak performance, explores the reasons for this out come, and proposes an agenda for urgent reforms.

This book maps the process and political economy of policy making in Africa. It's focus on trade and industrial policy makes it unique and it will appeal to students and academics in economics, political economy, political science and African studies. Detailed case studies help the reader to understand how the process and motivation behind policy decisions can vary from country to country depending on the form of government, ethnicity and nationality and other social factors.

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Politics - Topic: Globalization, Political Economics, grade: 1,0, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, language: English, abstract: The main question that is supposed to be answered in this paper is: does Africa need Industrial policy for (sustainable) economic development? How are these policies supposed to look like and what are the preconditions to achieve them? To be able to find solutions for these interrelated questions, they have to be embedded in a broader context. First, a short introduction into the history of Africa’s economic development, with regard to (de)industrialization, is being given. To understand why industrial policy might be of importance, one also has to look into the relationship between structural transformation and the chances of economic growth. This paper is aiming to give an overview about the reasons why Africa (mostly Sub-Saharan Africa) has missed industrialization, how structural transformation can lead to (sustainable) economic development and growth and which chances and challenges African countries face as late-industrializers in a world with high levels of globalization. The first part is meant to give a short introduction into the economic development and (de-)industrialization of modern post-colonial Africa. This is important as the current economic situation can only be fully understood by looking at what has happened in the past. The second part is giving theoretical input about structural transformation and the role of industrial policies – discussing its scientific background of pros and cons.