Re-thinking African Economies for Development is delivered in the
particularly historic context of the fiftieth independence anniversary
of most African countries. This moment, therefore, calls for an
assessment and suggestions for new alternatives. African countries have
been searching for models of development since attaining political
independence. Taking cognizance of the fact that African economies are
today stuck in an impasse, many innovative ideas are proffered by the
contributors to this book for new development strategies. These ideas
are essentially hinged upon the successful experience of countries in
Asia and Latin America, and the need to reform the State and bring about
development. African intellectuals are called upon in this book to rise
up to their responsibility for the production of innovative knowledge
that can be used by public and private sector decision makers to raise
their communities out of poverty. In this publication, issues of
industrialization and diversification of African economies are raised
again to decry their limited specialization which exacerbates their
vulnerability toward crises. This, to a large extent, is at the root of
Africa's marginal status in global trade. Special attention ought to be
given to those thousands of micro-economy stakeholders who are actually
the backbone of African economies. Regional integration is more and more
seen as an imperative for economic development in the context of
Africaís small sized countries that often fall prey to a great deal of
political instability. The issue of financing of development is
re-visited, and new ideas are put forth to better channel foreign direct
investment and public revenue towards building a more viable monetary
and financial system.
