We investigate the question of whether firms in Africa's manufacturing sector are credit constrained. The fact that few firms obtain credit is not sufficient to prove constraints, since certain firms may not have a demand for credit while others may be refused credit as part of profit maximising...

The coffee boom of 1976-9 was an archetypal temporary external shock. Using counterfactuals, we find that much of the windfall was saved, due to the private sector. However, the control regime constrained private responses, leading to an inefficient use of the windfall. Rather than Dutch Disease...

This paper considers why economic policies may need to be distinctive if a country is post-conflict relative to others which are equally poor but peaceful. Objectives should probably be distinctive because the risk of conflict is typically much higher. I argue that appropriate responses are job...

Modern theories of political economy analyze the sources of political power and their uses for economic ends. The key instruments are taxation and regulation. Although international political economy treats states as its unit of analysis, the number of states is endogenous. This is highly...

We build a data set on financial and human capital flight for 48 countries for the period 1970--98 and analyse capital flight as a portfolio choice. Financial capital flight is measured as the stock of capital flight relative to domestically held private net wealth and human capital flight as...

Over the past 40 years Africa has stagnated while other developing countries have grasped growth opportunities. This process of divergence has turned Africa into the poorest region. Africa needs a big push to escape from four development traps: the conflict trap, the corruption trap, the primary...

The paper reviews two roles of the state: the provision of security and the regulation of economic activity. I show that in both respects until recently African governments provided a poor environment, and that this discouraged private investment. Recently, in parts of Africa the objective...