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Sub programme 1
Towards an integrated understanding of (African) development theories
Researchers: Marleen Dekker, Jan Kees van Donge, André Leliveld, Marcel
Rutten, John Sender
Quite apart from more detailed studies on specific markets and resources
(see the other sub programmes), the ambition in this research domain is to
develop a bird’s eye view of social and economic development in Africa and
the operation and dynamics of markets in Africa in particular, and how these
are related to national and international policies and developments. Thus,
the detailed studies need to be embedded in and contribute to a more precise
view on (market) development and integration in Africa. To arrive at such a
precise view a good historical record of developments in selected countries
is needed. The aim is to explain how systems of economic, political, and
social relationships shape (market) development and integration, the range
of processes affecting (market) development and integration, and the factors
which may cause changes within them. An analysis of the historical role of
the state is indispensable in this respect as well as attention for
innovative public-private initiatives on market development and integration
in Africa, and for the role of multilateral and bilateral donors.
To attain the above objectives EEE researchers will participate in a five
years project, Tracking Development, which aims to contribute to an
understanding of the key factors explaining success and failure in the
creation of wealth in developing countries. The project aims to seek answers
to the question of why Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa have diverged
so sharply in development performance in the last 50 years. The
developmental records of a number of case study countries will be compared
in detail, establishing the main trends, processes, and junctures of
decision-making. The project also aims to give decision-makers in the study
countries including influential figures in business and civil society as
well as politicians and administrators the opportunity to explain what
strategic decisions they made, and why, during the five decades spanning
1950-2000. In these ways the Tracking Development project seeks to help
reintegrate African and Southeast Asian discourses on development in ways
that (a) have practical relevance for poverty alleviation and development
cooperation, (b) represent the views of African and Southeast Asian actors
themselves, and (c) contribute directly to research capacity building in
both regions. EEE researchers will join the international research team
composed of African, Asian and European colleagues in an effort to compare
four groups of countries (Kenya-Malaysia, Uganda-Cambodia, Tanzania-Vietnam,
Nigeria-Indonesia) in their development trajectories.
In this research domain there will also be attention for the development of
the African private sector, which according to many should become the main
engine for growth. To promote economic growth and revitalize the private
sector in Africa, new public-private initiatives are promoted, which are
generally referred to as ‘Spatial Development Initiatives’, ‘Development
Corridors’ or ‘Source-Market Chains’. These initiatives are built upon ideas
that also underlie, for instance, the Euro-regions in Europe, the ‘Tex-Mex’
cross-border region in North America, and the growth triangles in Southeast
Asia. In Africa the Maputo corridor is the most famous example (see Söderbaum
& Taylor 2004). The key idea is to stimulate economic growth by creating
globally competitive spatial entities through new investment,
infrastructural development and job creation. These initiatives should crowd
in private investment in order to, so the official discourse goes, unlock
inherent economic potential in a specific spatial location. The basic task
is to use existing regional frameworks and/or construct new ones to
formulate a certain geographic space by which the existing economies can be
developed and diversified (Söderbaum & Taylor 2003). The importance of the
corridor concept is embraced by, for instance, the Economic Commission for
Africa (see ECA 2003, 2005) and the International Conference of the Great
Lakes Region, a grouping of 11 countries seeking a lasting solution for this
troubled area. In the latter case the corridor concept is not just an
economic concept but touches upon issues of good governance and long-lasting
peace as well (see ICGLR 2005). The EEE theme group is in the process of
developing a research project on development corridors in partnership with
the Dutch government and other stakeholders.
Developments in Africa cannot be analyzed without an adequate analysis of
the role of multilateral and bilateral donor countries as well. Donors are
quick to ascribe failures in (market) development to the incapacity of the
recipient state or country concerned, rather than blaming the quality of aid
policy design and implementation (see Sender 1999). A critical analysis of
the role of donors is therefore needed to understand policies regarding
social and economic development and integration. EEE researchers will join
this discussion through, for example, participation in aid evaluations or
policy relevant research projects such as Tracking Development. In addition
EEE researchers will devote time to critically assess and follow key
political and economic developments that impact on African society (e.g.,
processes of democratization, NEPAD, migration and remittances by the
African Diaspora to their home countries, debt relief, exploitation of oil,
etc).
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