Providing a Foundation for Wealth Creation and Development in Africa

Download or read book Providing a Foundation for Wealth Creation and Development in Africa written by John Mukum Mbaku and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines the struggle in Africa to alleviate and eventually eradicate poverty. It is argued that the most effective way for African countries to deal with poverty is to create wealth. Unfortunately, these countries have not been able to create the wealth that they need to confront poverty. This is due primarily to the fact that since independence, many African countries have not been able to undertake democratic institutional reforms to create and adopt institutional arrangements that guarantee and sustain the rule of law. Within legal systems in which the rule of law is accepted and respected, civil servants and political elites are adequately constrained and hence, cannot easily engage in growth-inhibiting behaviors such as corruption and rent seeking. In addition, these types of institutions enhance peaceful coexistence and provide an enabling environment for wealth creation. So they can effectively deal with poverty and improve the people's living conditions, African countries must engage in reforms to provide themselves with institutional arrangements that guarantee the rule of law.