Our Continent, Our Future: African Perspectives on Structural Adjustment [Paperback]

Thandika Mkandawire (Author), Charles C. Soludo (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 086543705X | ISBN-13: 978-0865437050 | Publication Date: February 1, 2001

For decades now, many African countries have implemented the structural adjustment programs of the Bretton Woods Institutions. The results, however, have been less than sterling. Extreme poverty and underdevelopment continue to plague what is becoming the world's "forgotten continent," and it is now generally agreed that a new approach is urgently required. Our Continent, Our Future presents the emerging African perspective on this complex issue. The authors use as background their own extensive experience and a collection of 30 individual studies, 25 of which were from African economists, to summarize this African perspective and articulate a path for the future. They underscore the need to be sensitive to each country's unique history and current condition. They argue for a broader policy agenda and for a much more active role for the state within what is largely a market economy. Our Continent, Our Future is the very first publication to present the African perspective on the Bretton Woods approach to structural adjustment, and it does so with the input and support of top economists and scholars from every corner of Africa. This important book should be read by all people concerned with the future of Africa and issues of sustainable and equitable development.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

For decades now, many African countries have implemented the structural adjustment programs of the Bretton Woods Institutions. The results, however, have been less than sterling. Extreme poverty and underdevelopment continue to plague what is becoming the world's "forgotten continent," and it is now generally agreed that a new approach is urgently required.

Our Continent, Our Future presents the emerging African perspective on this complex issue. The authors use as background their own extensive experience and a collection of 30 individual studies, 25 of which were from African economists, to summarize this African perspective and articulate a path for the future. They underscore the need to be sensitive to each country's unique history and current condition. They argue for a broader policy agenda and for a much more active role for the state within what is largely a market economy.

Our Continent, Our Future is the very first publication to present the African perspective on the Bretton Woods approach to structural adjustment, and it does so with the input and support of top economists and scholars from every corner of Africa. This important book should be read by all people concerned with the future of Africa and issues of sustainable and equitable development.

About the Author

Thandika Mkandawire served as Executive Secretary of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) in Dakar, Senegal, from 1986 until 1996. He is currently the Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Charles C. Soludo is a senior lecturer in the department of Economics at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, Nigeria. Dr. Soludo is an Elected Member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Economic Society.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Africa World Press (February 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 086543705X
• ISBN-13: 978-0865437050
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,364,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best written books on economics., April 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Continent, Our Future: African Perspectives on Structural Adjustment (Paperback)

A key to understanding the condition of African economics rather than accepting the prescribed solutions the west imposes on the continent. Through their own experiences and scientific studies on the continent the authors have come up with prescriptions and diagnosis very different from the imposed structural adjustments theories that have proven to be failures. A very refreshing reading indeed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must reading for anyone concerned with African development, March 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Continent, Our Future: African Perspectives on Structural Adjustment (Paperback)

Must reading for anyone concerned to understand African development strategies. Particularly recommended for those involved in the debate about trade and new U.S. policies towards Africa. Written as a synthesis of work by leading African social scientists, this book is concise, clear, non-rhetorical and solidly based on empirical work. It not only provides a devastating critique of standard "structural adjustment" models, but also lays out an alternative strategy for African-directed growth and development. -- William Minter, Senior Research Fellow, Africa Policy Information Center

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A few problems theoretically, September 29, 2006

By 

Third World (Bronx, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Continent, Our Future: African Perspectives on Structural Adjustment (Paperback)

Soludo and Mkandiwire are two excellent Economist and have compiled a number of astute observations on African Developmental strategies. I do think that there are a few oversights and understatements however. Their prescriptions for Africa to be able to compete in a Capitalist society dominated by Western Nations is a little myopic. Africa is a repository of minerals and goods for these Western Nations, this in mind, one can conclude that those very same Nations will do every and anything under the Sun to ensure that Africa remains in the state it's been in for the last 500 years. Africa must continue to search for alternative and imaginative economic models in order to survive. Although the authors explication of External Market Shocks' disruption of the African economy, they failed to grasp what the Pan Africanist have been exhorting for over a century and that is a market for Africa already exist. It's Black Americans, Black South Americans and West Indians. One reason for the lack of organizational producer / consumer relationship necessary between the Continent and the Diaspora is psychological but that's another book. I would posit that if Africans were to develop an internal market, not only would we be able to cushion ourselves against the above mentioned External Market Shocks but trade relations with other developing and 'Leftist Countries' would be instrumental in not only our growth but the subsequent dismantling of a maleficent Global Capitalist system. It is a good book, I just have a few philosophical differences.