'A valuable corrective to the fraying narrative of [African] failure.'
Foreign Affairs
Not so long ago, Africa was being described as the hopeless continent. Recently, though, talk has turned to Africa rising, with enthusiastic voices exclaiming the potential for economic growth across many of its countries.
What, then, is the truth behind Africa's growth, or lack of it? In this provocative book, Morten Jerven fundamentally reframes the debate, challenging mainstream accounts of African economic history. Whilst for the past two decades experts have focused on explaining why there has been a 'chronic failure of growth' in Africa, Jerven shows that most African economies have been growing at a rapid pace since the mid nineties. In addition, African economies grew rapidly in the fifties, the sixties, and even into the seventies. Thus, African states were dismissed as incapable of development based largely on observations made during the 1980s and early 1990s. The result has been misguided analysis, and few practical lessons learned.
This is an essential account of the real impact economic growth has had on Africa, and what it means for the continent's future.
Dowden, Richard: - After studying history at London University, Richard Dowden taught as a volunteer in Uganda in 1971-2. On his return to Britain he worked for a peace organisation in Northern Ireland and then became a journalist, becoming editor of the Catholic Herald in 1976 and joining The Times foreign desk in 1980 travelling extensively in Africa. He became Africa Editor at the Independent at its foundation in 1986 and in 1995 he was invited to join The Economist as Africa Editor. He left The Economist to work as a freelance journalist and writer and in 2003 he became Director of the Royal African Society. He has made three full length documentaries on Africa for Channel 4 and the BBC and also several shorter films and appears frequently as a commentator on African affairs on the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, Sky News and other media. His book: Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles was published by Portobello Books in September 2008. He is married with two daughters and lives in London.
Honwana, Alcinda: - Alcinda Honwana is visiting professor of anthropology and international development at the Open University (UK). She was chair in international development at the Open University and taught anthropology at the University Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, University of Cape Town and the New School in New York. She was also programme director at the Social Science Research Council in New York. Honwana has written extensively on the links between political conflict and culture and on the impact of violent conflict on children and youth, conducting research in Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Colombia and Sri Lanka. Her latest work has been on youth transitions and social change in Africa, focusing on Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia. Alcinda Honwana's latest publications include: The Time of Youth: Work, social change, and politics in Africa, 2012; Child Soldiers in Africa, 2006; and Makers and Breakers: Children and youth in postcolonial Africa, 2005 (co-edited). She was awarded the prestigious Prince Claus Chair in Development and Equity in the Netherlands in 2008.
Jerven, Morten: - Morten Jerven is the author of Poor Numbers: How We Are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to Do about It (2013); Africa: Why Economists Get It Wrong (2015); and The Wealth and Poverty of African States: Economic Growth, Living Standards and Taxation since the Late Nineteenth Century (2022). Jerven holds a Ph.D. in Economic History from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, is Professor of Development Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and is Visiting Professor in Economic History at Lund University.
Kitchen, Stephanie: - Chair of the Publications Committee, International African Institute
Waal, Alex de: - Alex de Waal is Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation and a research professor at Tufts University. During 2009-11 he served as senior advisor to the African Union High Level Implementation Panel for Sudan and Program Director at the Social Science Research Council. His academic research has focused on issues of famine, conflict and human rights in Africa including. He was awarded an OBE in the UK New Year's Honors List of 2009, was on the Prospect/Foreign Policy list of 100 public intellectuals in 2008, and the Atlantic Monthly list of 27 'brave thinkers' in 2009.
