IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/124870.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

A critique of building a developmental state in the EPRDF's Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Kelecha, Mebratu

Abstract

This article explores the main features of Ethiopia's ‘developmental state’ and takes a critical look at how the model is applied in practice, capturing parallels and contradictions through comparative evidence with that of the East Asia model. Accordingly, it notes that the East Asian model has a strong ideological influence on the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) regime, allowing it to formulate a strong vision of development, but this, although it contributed to economic growth, failed to ensure democracy and stability in the country. It argues that land grabbing and political instability are the biggest threats to Ethiopia's development prospects.

Suggested Citation

  • Kelecha, Mebratu, 2022. "A critique of building a developmental state in the EPRDF's Ethiopia," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124870, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:124870
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/124870/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mkandawire, Thandika, 2001. "Thinking about Developmental States in Africa," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 25(3), pages 289-313, May.
    2. Admasu Shiferaw, 2017. "Productive Capacity and Economic Growth in Ethiopia," CDP Background Papers 034, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    3. Fana Gebresenbet, 2014. "Securitisation of development in Ethiopia: the discourse and politics of developmentalism," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(sup1), pages 64-74, October.
    4. W. G. Huff, 2001. "Discussion: Building the Developmental State: Achieving Economic Growth Through Co-operative Solutions: A Comment on Bringing Politics Back I," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 147-151.
    5. Marco Nunzio, 2015. "What is the Alternative? Youth, Entrepreneurship and the Developmental State in Urban Ethiopia," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 46(5), pages 1179-1200, September.
    6. Jewellord Nem Singh & Jesse Salah Ovadia, 2018. "The theory and practice of building developmental states in the Global South," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(6), pages 1033-1055, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. repec:ehl:lserod:115567 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Naseemullah, Adnan, 2023. "The political economy of national development: A research agenda after neoliberal reform?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    3. Daniela Gabor & Ndongo Samba Sylla, 2023. "Derisking Developmentalism: A Tale of Green Hydrogen," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 54(5), pages 1169-1196, September.
    4. Isaac Khambule, 2021. "Capturing South Africa's developmental state: State‐society relations and responses to state capture," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(4), pages 169-179, October.
    5. Jana M. Kleibert & Laura Mann, 2020. "Capturing Value amidst Constant Global Restructuring? Information-Technology-Enabled Services in India, the Philippines and Kenya," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(4), pages 1057-1079, September.
    6. Jerven , Morten & Austin , Gareth & Green, Erik & Uche , Chibuike & Frankema , Ewout & Fourie , Johan & Inikori , Joseph & Moradi , Alexander & Hillbom , Ellen, 2012. "Moving Forward in African Economic History: Bridging the Gap Between Methods and Sources," African Economic History Working Paper 1/2012, African Economic History Network.
    7. Dereje Alemayehu, 2022. "Challenges to The Assumption That Economic Success Could Enhance State Legitimacy in Africa, Ten Years Later," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 65(2), pages 161-177, December.
    8. Richard Mbunda, 2016. "The Developmental State and Food Sovereignty in Tanzania," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 5(2-3), pages 265-291, August.
    9. DeMartino, George & Grabel, Ilene & Scoones, Ian, 2024. "Economics for an uncertain world," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    10. Servaas Storm, 2008. "Forum 2008," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 39(6), pages 1203-1221, November.
    11. Rajat M. Nag, 2012. "Transforming Asia: Realizing the Asian Century through Good Governance," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 1(1), pages 1-9, January.
    12. Bryceson, Deborah & Sarkar, Prabirjit & Fennell, Shailaja & Singh, Ajit, 2010. "Globalization, structural adjustment and african agriculture: analysis and evidence," MPRA Paper 39045, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Geoffrey McNicoll, 2009. "Legacy, Policy, and Circumstance in Fertility Transition," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 35(4), pages 777-795, December.
    14. Daniela Gabor, 2021. "The Wall Street Consensus," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 52(3), pages 429-459, May.
    15. Mann, Laura & Kleibert, Jana Maria, 2020. "Capturing value amidst constant global restructuring? Information technology enabled services in India, the Philippines and Kenya," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103356, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    16. Bolesta, Andrzej, 2014. "The East Asian industrial policy: a critical analysis of the developmental state," Studia z Polityki Publicznej / Public Policy Studies, Warsaw School of Economics, vol. 1(2), pages 1-23, June.
    17. Handley, Antoinette, 2014. "Varieties of capitalists? The middle class, private sector and economic outcomes in Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 101, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    18. Michael Odijie, 2024. "Nigeria's Sugar Master Plan: Ignoring losers from industrial policy can be costly," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 42(2), March.
    19. Isaac Khambule, 2018. "The role of Local Economic Development Agencies in South Africa’s developmental state ambitions," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 33(3), pages 287-306, May.
    20. Isaac Abotebuno Akolgo, 2023. "Ghana's Debt Crisis and the Political Economy of Financial Dependence in Africa: History Repeating Itself?," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 54(5), pages 1264-1295, September.
    21. Laura Camfield & Jen Leavy & Senait Endale & Tilahun Tefera, 2020. "People Who Once Had 40 Cattle Are Left Only with Fences: Coping with Persistent Drought in Awash, Ethiopia," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(4), pages 889-905, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Addis Ababa Master Plan; Developmental state; EPRDF/Ethiopia; Oromo protests; land grabbing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General

    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:ehl:lserod:124870. 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: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    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.