advantage to speak of, namely cocoa farming (this was pre-oil). The economy in 1985 was in a pitiful state: average annual income was $100; four fifths relied on subsistence agriculture; life expectancy was 45 years old and 90% of population contract malaria every year. A sorry state of affairs.
The story charts the trials and tribulations Klitgaard encountered in his 2 year stint; his dealings with some inspirational government officials desperate to improve the lot of their countrymen as well as the corrupt, inept and dangerously incompetent. The World Bank and the IMF have a perhaps justified reputation for forcing developing countries to undertake ‘shock therapy’ aka traumatic economic structural adjustment (meaning less government, freer trade, more private enterprise and devaluation of a country’s currency) in a short space of time to restore rapid economic growth. They are expected to do this if they want the cash and since so many countries are bankrupt and up to their eyes in debt, they must do what the IMF/WB say. Trying to create an economy that works in such a way after having only been freed from its colonial shackles 20 years previous is a vast challenge; as the minister of finance put it “you have had centuries to get to where you are, we have only just begun.” This is a fascinating piece of non-fiction especially for anyone interested in the real day to day challenges faced by Africans, their leaders, aid donors and other expatriate officials all trying to help. We can learn from text books and some of us have been lucky enough to go to such places and experience these challenges in the flesh, but as always the next best thing is immersing yourself in a great book, expand your understanding and powers of empathy and maybe just maybe it may help you write a decent economics essay ;)