The Oxford Handbook of Africa and Economics: Volume 1: Context and Concepts

For a long time, economic research on Africa was not seen as a profitable venture intellectually or professionally-few researchers in top-ranked institutions around the world chose to become experts in the field. This was understandable: the reputation of Africa-centered economic research was not enhanced by the well-known limitations of economic data across the continent. Moreover, development economics itself was not always fashionable, and the broader discipline of economics has had its ups and downs, and has been undergoing a major identity crisis because it failed to predict the Great Recession. Times have changed: many leading researchers-including a few Nobel laureates-have taken the subject of Africa and economics seriously enough to devote their expertise and creativity to it. They have been amply rewarded: the richness, complexities, and subtleties of African societies, civilizations, rationalities, and ways of living, have helped renew the humanities and the social sciences-and economics in particular-to the point that the continent has become the next major intellectual frontier to researchers from around the world. In collecting some of the most authoritative statements about the science of economics and its concepts in the African context, this handbook (the first of two volumes) opens up the diverse acuity of commentary on exciting topics, and in the process challenges and stimulates the quest for knowledge. Wide-ranging in its scope, themes, language, and approaches, this volume explores, examines, and assesses economic thinking on Africa, and Africa's contribution to the discipline. The editors bring a set of powerful resources to this endeavor, most notably a team of internationally-renowned economists whose diverse viewpoints are complemented by the perspectives of philosophers, political scientists, and anthropologists. The set of analyses and reflections presented here try to endow each subject with depth and discovery. Contributors to this volume - Julius Agbor, Stellenbosch University Olu Ajakaije, African Centre for Shared Development Capacity Building Ragui Assaad, University of Minnesota Gareth Austin, The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Kathleen Beegle, World Bank and FAO Nancy Benjamin, World Bank Andrew Berg, International Monetary Fund Arne Bigsten, University of Gothenburg Fabien Eboussi Boulaga, Catholic University of Yaounde Francois Bourguignon, Paris School of Economics Laura Camfield, University of East Anglia Gero Carletto, World Bank and FAO Nadareh Chamlou, World Bank Ha-Joon Chang, University of Cambridge Paul Collier, University of Oxford Christopher Cramer, SOAS Benjamin Davis, World Bank and FAO Raj M. Desai, Georgetown University Ibrahim Elbadawi, Dubai Economic Council Juliet Elu, Morehouse University Hippolyte Fofack, World Bank Maria Emila Freire, George Washington University Alan Gelb, Center for Global Development Stephen Golub, Swarthmore College Patrick Guillaumont, FERDI Catherine Guirkinger, University of Namur Jane Guyer, Johns Hopkins University Hakim Ben Hammouda, African Development Bank Faraz Hayat, Swarthmore College Anke Hoeffler, University of Oxford Afeikhena Jerome, Nigeria Governors Forum Morten Jerven, Simon Fraser University Richard Joseph, Northwestern University Caroline Krafft, University of Minnesota Somik Lall, George Washington University Danny Leipziger, George Washington University Xubei Luo, World Bank Takaaki Masaki, Cornell University Ahmadou Aly Mbaye, University of Dakar Christopher Malikane, University of Witwatersrand Christian Meyer, Center for Global Development Nadir Mohammed, World Bank Celestin Monga, UNIDO Roger Myerson, University of Chicago Mustapha Nabli, African Development Bank Mthuli Ncube, African Development Bank Anders Olofsgard, Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics Jean-Philippe Platteau, University of Namur Gregory Price, Morehouse University Vijaya Ramachandran, Center for Global Development Felwine Sarr, University of Saint-Louis Abebe Shimeles, African Development Bank Tomonori Sudo, JICA Research Institute Olumide Taiwo, Center for the Study of the Economics of Africa Scott D. Taylor, Georgetown University Melissa Thomas, Johns Hopkins University Nicolas Van de Walle, Cornell University Warren Whatley, University of Michigan Shu-Chun S. Yang, International Monetary Fund Tarik Yousef, American University of Beirut Luis-Felipe Zanna, International Monetary Fund Alberto Zezza, World Bank and FAO