Conflict and Growth in Africa : The Sahel Volume 1

This is a book about conflict. In that, it is certainly not alone, but it approaches the problem in four Sahelian countries from the standpoint of economic analysis. The authors have not ignored social, ethnic and historical factors which led to conflict, but have identified economic realities which exacerbate the frictions created by the other factors. These realities include disparities in rural-urban income levels and in health, education and employment, and a system of clientilism which benefits a small group of civil servants to the detriment of the rest of the population. Having identified aggravating economic factors in conflict, the authors proceed to an appreciation of its economic cost, then propose economic policy changes which would tend towards reducing the potential for conflict. One of a series of three volumes, this book concentrates on Chad, Burkina-Faso, Mali and Niger.