Protea Book House, Pretoria, 2004, 131 pages
ISBN: 1 869 19027 0
Hugon's short but detailed review of Africa's economy is a valuable discussion of the economic literature assessing the macro-economic and micro-economic dynamics of sub-Saharan Africa. Hugon's francophile perspective should be of interest to South Africans, who tend to be biased towards a Southern African perspective on African economies. This publication is useful for any reader interested in investigating the applicability of economic analysis in understanding the economic crises of the continent. Nonetheless, it is a heavy read for non-economists and so may lack popular appeal.
Hugon splits the book into three parts, detailing Africa's macro-economic crisis, theories surrounding micro-economic rationality as well as socio-political contexts, and lastly economic policies and prospects. The first section sketches macro-economic crises from the mercantilist era to the present day and considers pertinent features of current economies, such as financial malfunctioning and sectoral imbalances, in addition to external marginalisation. The second part of the publication reviews micro-economic behaviour, redistributive logic and demographic dynamics in Africa. The third section considers the impact of liberalisation and the varying prospects for African economies.
This schematic division is premised on Hugon's supposition that ‘the economy functions at two levels: formal structures that have some external legitimacy, and real structures, which reflect socio-political compromises and the accumulation of relational or social capital’ (p 114).
The author's discussions, while concise, are thorough; they are balanced, but biased towards a strongly academic perspective on the debates over Africa's economy. Although academic shorthand, such as the concept of economic rent, is generally explained, the descriptions tend to be brief. Given that complex economic concepts are central to many of the book's themes, the publication is therefore likely to be of greatest value to economics graduates.
With this caveat in mind, the book's depth in its review of current literature is impressive, given its mere 116 pages. It will be of value for any reader wanting an overview of seminal thinking on the reasons for Africa's economic crises, and especially useful to students. The brevity of the book does, however, have its drawbacks. A longer work could have given more details on specific countries and more extensive case studies (brief profiles of the economies of franc-zone countries; Mauritius, Nigeria and South Africa are sketched). These case studies would be useful to give texture to the arguments in the light of Hugon's introductory comment on the difficulty of generalising about Africa's economy. Moreover, some interesting boxes – for instance on tontines, or what are known as stokvels in South Africa – could have been expanded, and useful data and indicators detailed in tables could have enjoyed a more extensive graphical presentation in a longer publication.
Nonetheless, Hugon manages to differentiate contexts; by providing a useful categorisation of Africa's various economies, for instance a war economy, a ‘stationary’ economy, a mining and oil economy, an agricultural exporting economy and an open, industrial economy. Similarly, he distinguishes between the causes of different economic crises, which may result from collapsing trade, managed or community economies. The author's clarity of analysis suggests a sound and long-standing familiarity with the continent of Africa and with the literature on its development, both French and international.
It is interesting that Hugo should note that ‘[t]he theoretical economist who writes about Africa from afar tends to emphasize the loss of competitiveness, stalled growth and low investment. The practising economist present on the ground is struck by the creativity, by the initiative of people in an urban setting, and by the emergence if new organizations and an entrepreneurial spirit that escape accounting records’ (p 115). It is regrettable, therefore, that the anecdotal evidence that the author has gathered of initiative and entrepreneurship has not been expanded beyond this comment.
Hugon is ideologically relatively neutral in presenting different theoretical perspectives: ‘[h]istory shows that there are many routes to development’ (p 115). Yet the book's most significant drawback is arguably the absence of a critique of some of Africa's most topical debates. Importantly, these include the impact of HIV/AIDS on economies (aside from the demographic and health implications, which are mentioned) and the value of coalitions pressing for the reform of multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organisation and the World Bank, as well as donor relations. Also, although there is some reference to the New Partnership for Africa's Development, a critique of the potential value of the Partnership in reducing the continent's risk profile and proactively addressing its crises is significantly absent.
Hugon considers the impact of external forces in influencing the development of Africa's economy, particularly in relation to colonial relations. But current international political relations are important areas that should also have been drawn into debates on economic perspectives, even if they are only unfolding and primarily political in nature. Hugon argues in his concluding paragraph (p 116): ‘One needs to reverse the [asymmetrical international] process in order to allow a levelling out, to encourage learning or to accept different rules of the game or to take account of handicaps when the race is against doped and slow runners’. While referring to the importance of such transformation, the author does not adequately consider how this might be achieved – possibly the most important issue facing Africa's prospects.
Despite its limitations, The Economy of Africa is likely to become a valuable text for future research processes, especially as a starting point, given its rigour and careful consideration in this much-needed area of often heavily contested political debates.
Karen Heese
Independent Economist