Conclusion

Abstract

In their concluding chapter Hillbom and Bolt return to the relevance of studying Botswana as a case of natural resource-driven growth. They highlight the exceptional growth trajectory as well as the remaining challenges. They give a brief recap of the storyline in the book and then turn to presenting the most important lessons learned from the study. The takeaways are organized around the three cross-cutting approaches, that is, decompressing of history, multicausal interaction between geography/factor endowments and institutions, and the role of the state in the development process; and three themes, that is, the two growth periods, differentiation between growth and development, and long-term trends in inequality. They end the chapter with reflection on their main contribution towards writing African economic history broadly and understanding Botswana specifically.