1. The New Institutionalism and Africa
- Author:
- Robert H. Bates, Steven Block, Ghada Fayad, and Anke Hoeffler
- Publication Date:
- 10-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- After briefly reviewing the new institutionalism, this article uses the history of political reform in Africa to test its key tenet: that power, if properly organized, is a productive resource. It does so by exploring the relationship between changes in political institutions and changes in economic performance, both at the macro- and the micro- level. The evidence indicates that political reform (Granger) causes increases in GDP per capita in the African subset of panels of global data. And, at the mIcro-level, it demonstrates that changes in national political institutions in Africa strongly relate to changes in total factor productivity in agriculture.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, Economics, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Africa