Strategies for African Development

Strategies for African Development, edited by Robert J. Berg and Jennifer Seymour Whitaker, brings together the work of leading African and international experts to address the continent’s persistent economic and social crises. Emerging from the Committee on African Development Strategies, the volume situates Africa’s development challenges within both internal policy shortcomings and external shocks, such as fluctuating commodity prices, debt burdens, and donor dependence. Rather than offering panaceas, the contributors emphasize the difficult but essential balance between African-led reforms—particularly in agriculture, governance, and population policy—and more effective, better-coordinated international aid. With a clear-eyed examination of how political instability, weak institutions, and distorted economic incentives have stifled growth, the book underscores the urgency of linking aid to performance and channeling scarce resources into strategies that strengthen both productivity and self-reliance.

At the same time, the collection recognizes the pivotal role of external partners, especially the United States, in shaping the trade, debt, and aid environment within which African economies operate. Essays examine sectoral strategies in agriculture, industry, and education while stressing the long-term requirements for building scientific capacity, institutional accountability, and regional trade links. By framing Africa’s challenges as both a continental responsibility and a shared global concern, Strategies for African Development speaks to policymakers, scholars, and practitioners committed to fostering self-sustaining growth. It makes a compelling case that Africa’s future prosperity hinges on a compact of mutual commitment: Africans implementing reforms attuned to local realities, and donors providing sustained, higher-quality support aligned with those reforms.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1986.