The Political Economy of Poverty, Equity, and Growth: Nigeria and Indonesia

This book analyzes economic developments of Indonesia and Nigeria during the period 1950-85. It addresses why Indonesia was so much more successful than Nigeria during this period. The book consists of three parts. Part I focuses on Nigeria and part II on Indonesia. The first chapters in each part provide a narrative of the political economy, focusing on the various phases since 1950. This is followed by a chapter summarizing the effects on economic growth and poverty. The large divergences in outcome must be attributed to differences in economic policies. It first considers policies in the factor and product markets that mediated between factor endowments and the growth and distributional outcomes. Then it turns to the broader array of economic policies. Finally, it attempts to relate policies to the underlying political processes and interest groups that generated them. Each part concludes by explaining the salient economic outcomes as a result of both policy and the underlying politics. Part III features a concluding comparison by using economic histories to compare the two countries. First it examines the outcomes, then the policies. Finally it contrasts the political processes and interest groups that it suggests account for these important policy differences.