The Political Economy of Economic Performance

Sub-Saharan Africa before the Global Recession and the Way Forward

Voxi Heinrich Amavilah

Extant research continues to perpetuate a myth of Sub-Saharan African countries (SSACs) as ever stuck in the past and with incurable growth maladies. However, during the years just before the great global recession some of these countries performed better than countries in other regions. What explains this turnaround? How can it be ignited everywhere in the region and made to stick? The Political Economy of Economic Performance is among a few competitors that celebrate the successes of the region and argue for the positive economics of performance of at least some countries. Organized around two themes which are pursued in six chapters, the book provides a comprehensive, balanced, and thorough analysis of the factors and forces behind the unusually good performance of SSACs just before the great global recession, and shows that there is a way forward for them. The book makes a significant contribution to both policy and research, because while its structure is scholarly and logical, with a writing style that is coherent and easily understandable to all interested readers worldwide.

Lexington Books

Pages: 146 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-4985-9783-8 • Hardback • May 2020 • $100.00 • (£77.00)

978-1-4985-9784-5 • eBook • May 2020 • $45.00 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Business & Economics / Development / Economic Development, Political Science / World / African, Political Science / Developing Nations

The Political Economy of Economic Performance

Sub-Saharan Africa before the Global Recession and the Way Forward

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Extant research continues to perpetuate a myth of Sub-Saharan African countries (SSACs) as ever stuck in the past and with incurable growth maladies. However, during the years just before the great global recession some of these countries performed better than countries in other regions. What explains this turnaround? How can it be ignited everywhere in the region and made to stick? The Political Economy of Economic Performance is among a few competitors that celebrate the successes of the region and argue for the positive economics of performance of at least some countries. Organized around two themes which are pursued in six chapters, the book provides a comprehensive, balanced, and thorough analysis of the factors and forces behind the unusually good performance of SSACs just before the great global recession, and shows that there is a way forward for them. The book makes a significant contribution to both policy and research, because while its structure is scholarly and logical, with a writing style that is coherent and easily understandable to all interested readers worldwide.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 146 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-4985-9783-8 • Hardback • May 2020 • $100.00 • (£77.00)

978-1-4985-9784-5 • eBook • May 2020 • $45.00 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Business & Economics / Development / Economic Development, Political Science / World / African, Political Science / Developing Nations

Author

Voxi Heinrich Amavilah is adjunct professor of economics at Estrella Mountain College.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Intensity of technology use and economic performance
3. Technology-as-knowledge and economic performance
4. Resources, governance, and global links and economic performance
5. Globalization, governance, and economic performance
6. Spread of innovations and economic performance
7. Resource intra- and inter-actions and technological change

Reviews

“This piece of work does an excellent job in summarizing a complex phenomenon such as globalization and governance in the context of African countries. It is a perfect match for those who are interested in development economics and for graduate students in the field of economics and business economics. Written by a versatile economist, The Political Economy of Economic Performance: Sub-Saharan Africa before the Global Recession and the Way Forward aims not for a definite answer, but rather, to provide a wider understanding of the impact of the financial crisis on the economic performance of Sub-Saharan Africa.”
— Antonio Rodriguez Andres, Technical University of Ostrava

“Scholarly and logically structured in a manner that expresses clear articulation of ideas, considerable contribution to literature, as well insightful discovery of knowledge, the author has demonstrated excellent original scholarship and quite interesting and useful descriptions of the performance of selected African economies, as well as its impact on the regional economy, and the role of technical capabilities in transforming African economies.”
— Gbadebo O. A. Odularu, Bay Atlantic University