The Relationship between Political and Economic Reform in Africa

Abstract

More than thirty African countries are now attempting simultaneously to liberalize their political systems and reinvigorate their economies with stabilization and structural adjustment programs. The classic question of the ability of democratic forms of government to sustain economic reform has therefore taken on new urgency in sub-Saharan Africa. However, analyses of the relationship between regime type and economic management have not been very illuminating. In particular, many have tried to understand the relationship between democracy and economic growth across a very broad range of countries instead of focusing on the specific problems faced by African countries that are trying to democratize. In this paper we identify the salient features of African political systems and economies that are relevant in understanding the relationship between regime type and economic performance. By examining a set of countries that have much in common (poverty, recent independence, few institutionalized democratic practices), we hope to make more useful generalizations about the interaction between economic and political reform.' We conclude that the simultaneous pursuit of economic and political reform in Africa will be even more difficult than in most other regions of the world. Indeed, many of the factors that normally might promote the viability of simultaneous change are missing in Africa.