Why Africa is Poor

Image Credit: Erin Conway-Smith/ The Globe and Mail

Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson have engaged for decades in a search for
answers on why some countries are prosperous, and others are not. Their 2012 book,
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (1), situates the answer with the type of institutions that nations adopt.

Prosperous nations adopt inclusive institutions that encourage mass participation in
economic activities. The laggards adopt extractive institutions that exclude the majority of the population from economic processes while enabling the political elite to amass the resources and opportunities that should be shared by the larger society. Their 2019 book, The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty (2), posits that development depends on the level of liberty in a society. It argues that liberty is assured through the constant contestation between the state and society to entrench inclusive institutions that guarantee socio-economic growth.

Their 2010 essay, “Why Is Africa Poor?”(3), was written in the early days as the authors
crystallised the ideas that have since appeared in the two books mentioned above. The essay still makes interesting and relevant reading for African policymakers. As with the books, Acemoglu and Robinson situate the poverty problem in Africa with the nature of institutions adopted across the continent. They debunk many of the other theories that seek to explain Africa’s development, such as geography, disease burden, cultural issues, slavery, colonialism, and many others.

Their core thesis is that institutional processes in Africa act as a disincentive for the
people to invest in their future, and also for the government to invest in public goods.
“Property rights are insecure and very inefficiently organised, markets do not function
well, states are weak and political systems do not provide public goods.”(4) The essay
uses various examples from across Africa to explain how these “extractive institutions”
have evolved and become inimical to economic growth.

Centralised polities are critical for economic growth and development of societies.
They emerged much later in Africa than in other parts of the world. When
centralisation finally happened, it took on an absolutist form that prevented the
evolution of inclusive institutions. Even today, many presidents and governors are
absolutist in their disposition. They see themselves (and are often venerated) as
ordained by God, and their positions cannot be subjected to rigorous debates by mere
mortals. Centralised polities must march in tandem with the removal of absolutist
postures for a nation to achieve sustained growth.

Africa can overcome this challenge if it can strengthen the process through which it
selects its rulers. Africa needs civic-minded and competent leaders for elective public
office. The electoral process should be such that it is imbued with integrity and the requisite controls to ensure the results are representative of the will of the people. That is a place to start to rebuild the system.

References

1. Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J.A., 2012. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Currency. Available at: https://www.pdfdrive.com/why-nations-fail-the-origins-of-power-prosperity-andpoverty-e157892932.html
2. Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J.A., 2020. The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty. Penguin Books.
3. Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J.A., 2010. Why is Africa Poor?. Economic history of developing regions, 25(1), pp.21-50. Available at: https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/jrobinson/files/jr_africanpoverty.pdf
4. ibid