Development Policy Centre Podcast

Having achieved historically unprecedented economic growth over recent years, African countries now face the challenge of structurally transforming their economies. However, the politics of how to do this remains controversial. The standard international advice on good governance and the adoption of a ‘golden thread’ of sound institutions is not supported by historical and comparative evidence. The key thing is not getting the right institutions but having a political settlement that allows economic rents to be harnessed to development purposes rather than used to cement a pragmatic bargain among ethically or otherwise divided elites. In view of the likely predominance in Africa of competitively clientelistic trajectories, attention should be focused on creative ways of mitigating their negative implications for economic transformation. These are among the headline findings of Africa Power and Politics Program (APPP) a five-year research program led by ODI with research teams in Ghana, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda,