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Political instability and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Further evidence

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The Review of Black Political Economy

Abstract

After more than three decades of independence, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have not yet developed stable political systems. Since the 1960s, when African countries began to achieve independence, many of them have encountered significant levels of institutional instability. In recent years, political violence has emerged as the most common method of governmental change. In this study, the effects of political violence on economic and human development in Sub-Saharan Africa are examined. It is seen that political instability is a significant constraint to the improvement of the human condition in the region.

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Notes

  1. See, for example, Zaki Ergas, “In Search of Development: Some Directions for Further Investigation,”Journal of Modern African Studies, Volume 24 (1986), pp. 303–333; John M. Mbaku, “Patterns and Levels of Life in Sahel West Africa since the 1960s,”African Insight, Volume 19 (1989), pp. 38-47; S. Y. Wilson, “NEA Presidential Address, 1990: Africa, the Development Challenge,”The Review of Black Political Economy, Volume 19 (1990), pp. 5-16. Also see United Nations Development Program,Human Development Report, 1990 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990).

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  2. World Bank,World Development Report, 1990 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 255. Also see, G. W. Scully, “The Institutional Framework and Economic Development,”Journal of Political Economy, Volume 96 (1988), pp. 652-662.

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  3. See, for example, Ergas (1986); Mbaku (1989).

  4. Ergas (1986).

  5. See, for example, ld BankAccelerated Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Agenda for Action (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1981); Organization for African Unity,The Lagos Plan of Action for the Economic Development of Africa 1980-2000 (Geneva: International Institute for Labour Studies, 1981); John M. Mbaku, “Political Instability and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Some Recent Evidence,”The Review of Black Political Economy, Volume 17 (1988), pp. 89-112; John Mbaku and Chris Paul, “Political Instability in Africa: A RentSeeking Approach,:Public Choice, Volume 63 (1989), pp. 63-72.

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  6. Mbaku (1988). Mbaku and Paul (1989). J. C. Jenkins, and A. J. Kposowa, “Explaining Military Coups d’’Etat: Black Africa, 1957-1984,”American Sociological Review, Volume 55 (1990), pp. 861-875.

  7. See Donald G. Morrison and Hugh Stevenson, “Political Instability in Independent Black Africa: More Dimensions of Conflict Resolution Within Nations,”Journal of Conflict Resolution, Volume 15 (1971), pp. 347–368; and David Sanders,Patterns of Political Instability (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1981).

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  8. Morrison and Stevenson (1971), p. 348.

  9. Ibid., p. 349.

  10. Mbaku (1988), p. 90.

  11. Morrison and Stevenson (1971), p. 349. Mbaku (1988). Also see Patrick McGowan, “Predicting Political Instability in Tropical Africa,” in Michael K. O’Leary and William D. Coplin,Quantitative Techniques in Foreign Policy Analysis and Forecasting (New York: Praeger, 1975), pp. 35-78.

  12. Mbaku (1988), p. 92.

  13. See McGowan (1975), and Mbaku (1988). Also see J. M. Mbaku, “Does Fiscal Expansion Contribute to Political Instability in Africa? Some Empirical Evidence,”Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice, Volume 3 (1989), pp. 157-171.

  14. See Mbaku (1988).

  15. See Mbaku (1988), p. 93; Morrison and Stevenson (1971), pp. 349-354. Also see Douglas A. Hibbs, Jr.,Mass Political Violence: A Cross-National Analysis (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1973), p. 7.

  16. Morrison and Stevenson (1971), p. 354.

  17. Mbaku (1988), p. 95.

  18. Morrison and Stevenson, p. 367. Also see, McGowan (1975), p. 55.

  19. Mbaku (1988), p. 89.

  20. Mbaku (1988), p. 108.

  21. See, for example, McGowan (1975). Also see Patrick McGowan and Thomas Johnson, “Military Coups d’’Etat and Underdevelopment: A Quantitative Historical Analysis,“Journal of Modern African Studies, Volume 22 (1984), pp. 633-666, and Mbaku (1988). The data for the events used in determining the elite instability index were obtained from Patrick J. McGowan,Intervention Event File (Tempe, AZ: Department of Political Science, Arizona State University, 1986); andAfrica Research Bulletin (Political Series), 1985/1986; 1986; 1987; 1988; 1989.

  22. See, for example, Norman Hicks and Paul Streeten, “Indicators of Development: The Search for a Basic Needs Yardstick,”World Development, Volume 7 (1979), pp. 567–580; Morris D. Morris,Measuring the Condition of the World’s Poor: The Physical Quality of Life Index (New York: Pergamon Press, 1979).

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  23. See Morris (1979).

  24. United Nations Development Program,Human Development Report, 1990 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990).

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  25. Kurt F. Flexner, “New Criteria for Economic Performance,”American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Volume 50, Number 1 (1991), pp. 15–16.

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  26. Human Development Report, p. 13 and 109.

  27. Ibid., p. 10.

  28. Ibid.

  29. Data on the HDI are obtained from UNDP,Human Development Report, 1990, and that for the PQLI are obtained from E. Wayne Nafziger,The Economics of Developing Countries (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1990). Data for growth in GNP per capita and income per capita are obtained from World Bank,World Development Report, 1991 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991). The data for the variable, percent labor employed in industry, were obtained from World Bank,World Development Report, 1988 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), and World Bank,Social Indicators of Development, 1990 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990).

  30. Data on urbanization and growth in population were obtained from World Bank,Social Indicators of Development, 1990 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990);World Bank, World Tables, 1991 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991); and World Bank,World Development Report, 1990 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990). Data for military expenditures were obtained from U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency,World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers, 1989 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, 1990).

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  31. Mbaku (1988), p. 107.

  32. Ibid.

  33. Human Development Report, pp. 34–35.

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  1. John Mukum Mbaku
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Mbaku, J.M. Political instability and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Further evidence. The Review of Black Political Economy 20, 39–53 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02696979

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