Development and the State in the 21st Century by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Developing & Emerging Countries
ISBN: 9781350311633
Google: D_tGEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2015-10-26T05:22:14+00:00

Conclusion

The experience of colonialism put many developing states at a serious disadvantage upon independence. Existing societal fabrics were destroyed, cultural groups were split and pitted against one another and economic structures were for the most part erected for exploitation to benefit the empires rather than furthering the welfare of their subjects. Making matters worse, many (though not all) of the states that were colonized happened to be located in the tropics, a region of the world that creates additional challenges for states in terms of agricultural production, disease and water access, to name a few hurdles.

States that were once colonized and/or that happen to be located in the tropics are in many ways victims of bad luck. The colonial experience and bad geography in a number of instances hurt the development of state institutions that are conducive to growth. Such states, through no fault of their own, were confronted with an uphill development challenge after their independence.

Bad luck is undeniably part of the story in explaining why some states have weak state institutions (and as a consequence are poor) and others are not.

Yet, the goal of this chapter is not to attribute low-quality state institutions and continued poverty across the world exclusively to bad luck. Rather, it is simply to point out that it has not been a level playing field. Bad luck does not preclude states from development. As Dani Rodrik et al. write, ‘geography is not destiny’ (2002, 21). This is because the state is not powerless in all of this. States can and have made choices that redirect their institutional structures in positive ways.

Questions

• In what ways did colonial policies undermine future development of colonized states?

• How did colonial strategies of control undermine nation and state building in Africa?

• According to Sachs and Bloom, why is geography more important than history in explaining Africa’s underdevelopment?

• What are endowments and why are they important for explaining variations in development?

• Why was Panama able to manage the Panama Canal more effectively than the United States?

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