Bribes, tribes and markets that fail: Rethinking the economics of underdevelopment

Abstract

Conventional economic approaches to ‘underdevelopment’ tend to overlook some pernicious problems. Among them are corruption, ethnic discrimination and conflict, and markets that may work well enough for the privileged but not well enough for the poor. Fortunately, new work in economics promises practical insights into how to deal with these problems. It also suggests a rethinking of the causes of underdevelopment

Notes

This article is based on the author's inaugural lecture, delivered in November 1992.

Professor of Economics, University of Natal, Durban.