La montée de la « Chindiafrique » et le pionnier du développement A. O. Hirschman

In this article, the rise of China and India is analyzed over a long period under the Hirschman approach of economic development. His categories of passions and interest, of linkages effects, of private happiness and public action, of imbalances, and especially of non-linearity of development appear very fruitful for understanding the trajectory of « Chindia » since the 1950s. They can therefore be used to analyze the pending issue of the African takeoff and to highlight in particular the coming structural changes as a result of a demographic and political transition already seen in China and India. Nevertheless, the main teaching of Hirschman remains valid: the development processes are far too complex to be forecast and require a lot of modesty in any prospective.