IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jintdv/v32y2020i5p607-635.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Rise and Fall of the Bureaucratic Bourgeoisie: Public Sector Employees and Economic Privilege in Postcolonial Kenya and Tanzania

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca Simson

Abstract

In 1961, Frantz Fanon scathingly characterised the emerging African elite as a bourgeoisie of the civil service. Many have since described Africa's public sector employees as a rentier class that grew disproportionately large in relation to the continent's underdeveloped private sector. Is this characterisation still accurate? Using educational data and household budget surveys from Kenya and Tanzania, this article situates public sector employees within their respective educational hierarchies and national income distributions over time. It finds that since independence, the share of public sector employees at the top of these distributions has declined. The corollary to this is an increase in the share of private sector employees and business owners at the top, providing some cautious support for the notion of a rising private sector upper and middle class. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of International Development published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca Simson, 2020. "The Rise and Fall of the Bureaucratic Bourgeoisie: Public Sector Employees and Economic Privilege in Postcolonial Kenya and Tanzania," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 607-635, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:32:y:2020:i:5:p:607-635
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.3470
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3470
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/jid.3470?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Todaro, Michael P, 1969. "A Model for Labor Migration and Urban Unemployment in Less Developed Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(1), pages 138-148, March.
    2. Birdsall, N. & Graham, C. & Pettinato, S., 2000. "Stuck in the Tunnel: Is Globalization Muddling the Middle Class?," Papers 14, Brookings Institution - Working Papers.
    3. William Easterly & Ross Levine, 1997. "Africa's Growth Tragedy: Policies and Ethnic Divisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1203-1250.
    4. Samer Al-Samarrai & Paul Bennell, 2007. "Where has all the education gone in sub-Saharan Africa? employment and other outcomes among secondary school and university leavers," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(7), pages 1270-1300.
    5. Christine Binzel & Jean†Paul Carvalho, 2017. "Education, Social Mobility and Religious Movements: The Islamic Revival in Egypt," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(607), pages 2553-2580, December.
    6. Abebe Shimeles & Mthuli Ncube, 2015. "The Making of the Middle-Class in Africa: Evidence from DHS Data," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(2), pages 178-193, February.
    7. Coulson, Andrew, 1982. "Tanzania: A Political Economy," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198282921.
    8. Mkandawire, Thandika, 2013. "Neopatrimonialism and the political economy of Economic Permormance in Africa: Critical Reflections," Arbetsrapport 2013:1, Institute for Futures Studies.
    9. Kenneth Harttgen & Stephan Klasen & Sebastian Vollmer, 2013. "An African Growth Miracle? Or: What do Asset Indices Tell Us About Trends in Economic Performance?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 59, pages 37-61, October.
    10. Antoinette Handley, 2015. "Varieties of Capitalists? The Middle–Class, Private Sector and Economic Outcomes in Africa," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(5), pages 609-627, July.
    11. repec:bla:rdevec:v:4:y:2000:i:3:p:229-43 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Mkandawire, Thandika, 2001. "Thinking about Developmental States in Africa," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 25(3), pages 289-313, May.
    13. Peter Darvas & Shang Gao & Yijun Shen & Bilal Bawany, 2017. "Sharing Higher Education's Promise beyond the Few in Sub-Saharan Africa [Enseignement supérieur et équité en Afrique subsaharienne]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 27617.
    14. Sahn, David E. & Stifel, David C., 2000. "Poverty Comparisons Over Time and Across Countries in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 2123-2155, December.
    15. International Monetary Fund, 1995. "Kenya: Recent Economic Developments," IMF Staff Country Reports 1995/133, International Monetary Fund.
    16. Christine Binzel & Jean‐Paul Carvalho, 2017. "Education, Social Mobility and Religious Movements: The Islamic Revival in Egypt," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(607), pages 2553-2580.
    17. Lipset, Seymour Martin, 1959. "Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy1," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(1), pages 69-105, March.
    18. Francisco H.G. Ferreira & Julian Messina & Jamele Rigolini & Luis-Felipe López-Calva & Maria Ana Lugo & Renos Vakis, 2013. "Economic Mobility and the Rise of the Latin American Middle Class [La movilidad económica y el crecimiento de la clase media en América Latina]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 11858.
    19. Dani Rodrik, 2000. "What Drives Public Employment in Developing Countries?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(3), pages 229-243, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Selhausen, Felix Meier zu & Weisdorf, Jacob, 2024. "Gender Inequality and the Colonial Economy: Evidence from Anglican Marriage Registers in Urban British Africa," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 711, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    2. Alvaredo, Facundo & Cogneau, Denis & Piketty, Thomas, 2021. "Income inequality under colonial rule. Evidence from French Algeria, Cameroon, Tunisia, and Vietnam and comparisons with British colonies 1920–1960," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    3. Maia Green, 2021. "The work of class: Cash transfers and community development in Tanzania," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(2), pages 273-286, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2021. "Income Levels, Governance and Inclusive Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(1), pages 71-103, February.
    2. Reham Rizk & Ricardo Nogales, 2017. "Revisiting the Middle-Class Myth: Evidence From A Cross-Country Analysis of African Social Progress," Working Papers 1139, Economic Research Forum, revised 09 2003.
    3. Wietzke, Frank-Borge, 2024. "Perceptions of social class in Africa. Results from a conjoint experiment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    4. El-Mallakh, Nelly & Maurel, Mathilde & Speciale, Biagio, 2018. "Arab spring protests and women's labor market outcomes: Evidence from the Egyptian revolution," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 656-682.
    5. Sascha O. Becker & Jared Rubin & Ludger Woessmann, 2024. "Religion and Growth," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(3), pages 1094-1142, September.
    6. Simplice Asongu & Joseph Nnanna, 2020. "Inclusive human development in sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(2), pages 183-200, May.
    7. Florencia Torche & Luis F. Lopez-Calva, 2013. "Stability and Vulnerability of the Latin American Middle Class," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 409-435, December.
    8. Nicolas Berman & Mathieu Couttenier & Victoire Girard, 2023. "Mineral Resources and the Salience of Ethnic Identities," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(653), pages 1705-1737.
    9. Jean-Philippe BERROU & Matthieu CLÉMENT & François COMBARNOUS & Dominique DARBON & Yves-André FAURE & Éric ROUGIER, 2019. "L’essor des classes moyennes dans les pays en développement et émergents : une étude comparative des enjeux d’identification, de caractérisation et de politiques publiques," Working Paper d25da1cf-d9d8-4336-9930-b, Agence française de développement.
    10. Fourati, Maleke & Gratton, Gabriele & Grosjean, Pauline, 2019. "Render unto Caesar: Taxes, charity, and political Islam," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 114-146.
    11. repec:unu:wpaper:wp2012-98 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Johannes W. Fedderke & John M. Luiz, 2005. "Does Human Generate Social and Institutional Capital? Exploring Evidence From Time Series Data in a Middle Income Country," Working Papers 029, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    13. Lourdes ROJAS RUBIO, 2022. "Inequality, Corruption and Support for Democracy," THEMA Working Papers 2022-20, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    14. Oasis Kodila-Tedika & Simplice A. Asongu & Julio Mukendi Kayembe, 2016. "Middle Class in Africa: Determinants and Consequences," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(4), pages 527-549, October.
    15. Janina Isabel Steinert & Lucie Dale Cluver & G. J. Melendez-Torres & Sebastian Vollmer, 2018. "One Size Fits All? The Validity of a Composite Poverty Index Across Urban and Rural Households in South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 51-72, February.
    16. Simplice A Asongu & Sara Le Roux, 2019. "Understanding Sub-Saharan Africa’s Extreme Poverty Tragedy," International Journal of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(6), pages 457-467, April.
    17. María Edo & Walter Sosa Escudero & Marcela Svarc, 2021. "A multidimensional approach to measuring the middle class," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 19(1), pages 139-162, March.
    18. Samuel Bazzi & Gabriel Koehler-Derrick & Benjamin Marx, 2020. "The Institutional Foundations of Religious Politics: Evidence from Indonesia [“The Classical Islamic Law of Waqf: A Concise Introduction”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(2), pages 845-911.
    19. Alesina, Alberto & Giuliano, Paola, 2014. "Family Ties," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 4, pages 177-215, Elsevier.
    20. Pettit, Harry, 2018. "Selling hope? A review of current youth unemployment initiatives in Cairo," GLO Discussion Paper Series 235, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    21. Simplice A. Asongu & Sara le Roux, 2018. "Understanding Sub-Saharan Africa’s Extreme Poverty Tragedy," Research Africa Network Working Papers 18/012, Research Africa Network (RAN).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:32:y:2020:i:5:p:607-635. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/5102/home .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.