What to read after Malaŵi and Madagascar?

Malawi and Madagascar are poor, agricultural nations that have had very different degrees of economic success over the past quarter century. The economic ideologies of their governmental leaders have been, respectively, capitalist and socialist; and the two countries have pursued quite different strategies of economic development. This is the first book in the English language focusing on the economic systems and long-term economic policies of either country. Using the framework of the "New Political Economy," it attempts to answer three critical questions: Why have these nations chosen such different types of economic institutions and strategies of development? With what types of policies have these governments tried to realize their different goals? What has been the impact of such policies and their implementation on both economic growth and the distribution of income? The author shows clearly the linkages between agricultural policies designed to accelerate growth and the unintended widening of rural income differentials that resulted in both countries and how these relationships provided the basic mechanism underlying economic performance. The comparison of the experiences of these two nations serves not just to advance our knowledge of Africa, but also to illustrate some general forces linking poverty, equity, and growth in all developing nations.