Célestin Monga

Cameroon's suboptimal economic experience since independence (1960) sheds light on broader issues of Africa's development narrative, and provides valuable economic and policy knowledge. While Cameroon's large informal economy is diverse and resilient and rooted in old business traditions, its formal economy has exhibited low productivity and employment growth for over 60 years. This has brought anger, disappointment, and violent conflict in several regions of the country. The Oxford Handbook of the Economy of Cameroon examines the reasons of Cameroon's unsatisfactory economic performance and draws lessons from successful development experience to help tackle these issues. The Handbook provides a critical assessment of the history, patterns, and strategies of economic development in Cameroon, and outlines new approaches to economic enquiry for prosperity and social change. Through Cameroon's governance story, the handbook analyzes the evolving conceptions of economic policy, takes stock of intellectual progress, documents the challenges of implementation, and outlines the intellectual and policy agenda ahead. For a developing country increases in per capita income arise from advances in technology arise from closing the knowledge and technology gap with those at the frontier. And within any country (especially one like Cameroon), there is enormous scope for productivity improvement simply by closing the gap between best practices and average practices. Standards of living can therefore be improved through the implementation of pertinent learning strategies. In this Oxford Handbook of the Economy of Cameroon, an international team of leading development economists and researchers address the wide range of issues facing Cameroon and provide guiding principles on how best the country (and other developing nations) could move human, capital, and financial resources from low- to high-productivity sectors in a constantly changing global economy.

The Oxford Handbook of the Economy of Cameroon

Justin Yifu Lin

This powerful book shows how poor countries can ignite growth without waitingfor global action or the creation of ideal local conditions.

Jump-Starting Developing Countries

Beating the Odds

The Oxford Handbook of Structural Transformation addresses the economics of structural transformation around the world. It deals with major themes, which include history and context, critical issues and concepts, methodological foundations, main theoretical approaches, policy issues, some illuminating country experiences of structural transformation, and important debates on the respective roles of the market and the state in that process. The historical record provides a challenge for economists to understand the success of the rising economic powers (some of them initially considered unlikely candidates for prosperity) and the stagnation or decline of others. Five major questions emerge: DT Why has so much divergence occurred among nations of the world since the Industrial Revolution, and particularly during the 20th century? DT Why has the pattern changed recently with the emergence of a few developing economies (e.g. the multi-polar world), and can it be sustained? DT What are the key drivers, strategies, and policies, to foster structural transformation in various different country contexts and in a constantly evolving global economy? DT How could low- and middle-income countries avoid development traps and learn from past experiences whilst exploiting the new opportunities offered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution? DT What is the role of various development stakeholders and other important players in facilitating sustained economic convergence among nations? This book addresses these questions, bringing the rigor, usefulness, and multi-disciplinary scope of the Oxford Handbook series to a critical topic in economics. The Oxford Handbook of Structural Transformation is an essential reference work and a stimulus to new research and creativity across all branches of the social sciences.

The Oxford Handbook of Structural Transformation

The Oxford Handbook of Structural Transformation addresses the economics of structural transformation around the world. It deals with major themes, which include history and context, critical issues and concepts, methodological foundations, main theoretical approaches, policy issues, some illuminating country experiences of structural transformation, and important debates on the respective roles of the market and the state in that process. The historical record provides a challenge for economists to understand the success of the rising economic powers (some of them initially considered unlikely candidates for prosperity) and the stagnation or decline of others. Five major questions emerge: · Why has so much divergence occurred among nations of the world since the Industrial Revolution, and particularly during the 20th century? · Why has the pattern changed recently with the emergence of a few developing economies (e.g. the multi-polar world), and can it be sustained? · What are the key drivers, strategies, and policies, to foster structural transformation in various different country contexts and in a constantly evolving global economy? · How could low- and middle-income countries avoid development traps and learn from past experiences whilst exploiting the new opportunities offered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution? · What is the role of various development stakeholders and other important players in facilitating sustained economic convergence among nations? This book addresses these questions, bringing the rigor, usefulness, and multi-disciplinary scope of the Oxford Handbook series to a critical topic in economics. The Oxford Handbook of Structural Transformation is an essential reference work and a stimulus to new research and creativity across all branches of the social sciences.

Identifies the central themes, issues, questions, and methods of analysis of economics, and discusses how they have been approached in the African context over time. Reviews and document how the study of African societies has contributed to and shaped major fields of the discipline of economics.

Context and Concepts

The Oxford Handbook of Africa and Economics

In a searching meditation on ways of living in modern Africa, Célestin Monga dispels the stereotypes that cloud how outsiders view the continent, and how Africans sometimes view themselves. He shows how dance, music, bodily experience, faith, and mourning reflect a nihilism that finds meaning and joy in a life that would otherwise seem absurd.

Nihilism and Negritude

La première partie de cet essai fut publié il y a une vingtaine d'années, il est repris augmenté d'une deuxième partie relatant sur le mode humoristique et désabusé, son expérience dans les couloirs feutrés de la Banque mondiale à Washington. A-t-il réellement "trahi" la cause de ses origines ainsi que l'accusent un peu vite certains journalistes ? Ou bien à sa manière essaie-t-il de conserver et transmettre ce pourquoi il travaille dans ces milieux financiers ? " Ce que je valorise dans mon séjour américain, c'est l'opportunité de m'être réconcilié avec moi-même, d'apprendre à mieux aimer cette Arfique qui m'exaspérait lorsque j'avais 27 ans. Sur un plan plus superficiel, la vie sereine et aseptisée de Washington m'a révélé comme un miroir grossissant tout ce qui me manque... Il y a le sentiment de culpabilité qui habite tous les Africains en exil qui croient pouvoir contribuer plus efficacement aux nombreux combats en cours sur le terrain..."

Célestin Monga

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