GGRB28H3 : Schoepf
Document Summary
Neo-classical economists, sometimes dubbed the washington consensus , attribute the region"s decline primarily to internal factors, such as misguided policies, mismanagement, and corruption of african gov"ts. Under the sway of it in early 1980s the int"l financial situations (ifis) began to impose a series of structural adjustment programs (saps) which they claimed would restore health to stagnant african countries. The movement of soldiers and migrant labourer over large land areas led to the spread of stds, which lowered fertility. While earlier western writers depicted africa as rife w/ disease from time immemorial, in fact the unhealthiest period in all african history was undoubtedly between 1890 and 1930, the era of colonialists" primary capital accumulation. Whether african gov"ts chose statism and nationalization of foreign firms or liberalism and africanization of management, independence failed to alter european economic domination. Widening disparities in wealth and failure to meet popular expectations for a better life brought political dissent and popular rebellions.
