Africa’s Turn by Edward Miguel
In Africa’s Turn? Miguel tracks a decade of comparably hopeful economic trends throughout sub-Saharan Africa and suggests that we may be seeing a turnaround. He bases his hopes on a range of recent changes: democracy is finally taking root in many countries; China's successes have fueled large-scale investment in Africa; and rising commodity prices have helped as well. Miguel warns, though, that the growth is fragile. Violence and climate change could derail it quickly, and he argues for specific international assistance when drought and civil strife loom.
Responding to Miguel, nine experts gauge his optimism. Some question the progress of democracy in Africa or are more skeptical about China's constructive impact. But most agree that something new is happening, and that policy innovations in health, education, agriculture, and government accountability are the key to Africa's future.
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Photo by William Mercer McLeod
Edward Miguel is professor of economics and director of the Center of Evaluation for Global Action at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 2000.
Born in New York City and raised in New Jersey, he earned S.B. degrees in both Economics and Mathematics from MIT, and received a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University, where he was a National Science Foundation Fellow.
Ted's main research focus is African economic development, including work on the economic causes and consequences of violence; the impact of ethnic divisions on local collective action; and interactions between health, education, and productivity for the poor. He has conducted field work in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and India. Ted is a Faculty Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, Associate Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Development Economics and Review of Economics and Statistics, recipient of the 2005 Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and winner of the 2005 Kenneth J. Arrow Prize awarded annually by the International Health Economics Association for the Best Paper in Health Economics.
Miguel is author with Ray Fisman of Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence and the Poverty of Nations (Princeton University Press 2008), and Africa's Turn? (MIT Press 2009).
Bringing Science to Global Development.
The Center of Evaluation for Global Action (CEGA) is a multi-disciplinary research center at the University of California, Berkeley advancing global health and development through impact evaluation and economic analysis. The Center is premised on the principle that knowledge gained from randomized trials—and other forms of impact evaluation—is a valuable public good that can improve policy and outcomes around the world.
Economic Gangsters by Raymond Fisman and Edward Miguel
In Economic Gangsters, Raymond Fisman and Edward Miguel take readers into the secretive, chaotic, and brutal worlds inhabited by these lawless and violent thugs. Join these two sleuthing economists as they follow the foreign aid money trail into the grasping hands of corrupt governments and shady underworld characters. Spend time with ingenious black marketeers as they game the international system. Follow the steep rise and fall of stock prices of companies with unseemly connections to Indonesia’s former dictator. See for yourself what rainfall has to do with witch killings in Tanzania—and more.
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