Africa Misunderstood

'... this is an excellent report and will make a major contribution to the debate (on adjustment issues). It will be of the same importance as the earlier ILO contribution, in a different context, of the employment missions some 15-20 years ago, in Kenya and Zambia.' Hans Singer, Emeritus Professor, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex 'Arguments in this volume often figured in important UN conferences on problems of structural adjustment in Africa. They will continue to define the parameters of the debate on the African crisis for a long time to come.' A. Adedeji, African Centre for Development and Strategic Studies, Nigeria 'This book makes an important contribution to our understanding of the economies of Africa and calls into question much of the received wisdom on the nature and causes of the economic crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. In consequence, it forces serious academics and policy makers to re-examine orthodox policy prescriptions and their distributional impact. The book provides refreshingly original insights and careful examination of available data. The policy implications of the work are vitally important for the people of Africa.' J. Loxley, Professor and Head, Department of Economics, University of Manitoba 'This is an iconoclastic book, most welcome as it brings out fresh evidence and new facts about the urbanization of policy and informalization of the urban economy in Africa. It is an important contribution to the debate on the direction of adjustment, reform and development policies in Africa, which would certainly be read with great eagerness'. S. Rasheed, Director, Public Administration, Human Resources and Social Development Division, UNECA, Addis Ababa 'Africa Misunderstood is an important book because it refutes a substantial body of incorrect, out of date and/or wrongly generalised conventional (un)wisdom. Exploration of changes over time, of the rise of urban absolute poverty, of the diversity and complexity of sSA economies and of how weak generalisations assumed in much programme design work are (both empirically and logically) occupy the main portion of this volume and constitute its major strength. Given its relatively accessible structure and style, it is to be hoped policy makers and advisers will read it as well as academic researchers, university faculty and their students.' R. H. Green, Professor, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex In the past (and sometimes even now) African economies were depicted as suffering from 'urban bias', which strangled the agricultural sector and caused eventually the 'African Crisis'. Based on ten detailed case studies this book questions that stereotype and shows the dramatic turnaround in the relative position of farmers and wage earners in the recent past. The implications for standard adjustment programmes and urban survival strategies are discussed.