Economic Development under Crises: An Econometric Analysis

The current socio-economic situation in Africa as a continent is precarious. The continent faces multiple crises that include those of religion, politics, and economics. Each crisis is significant in its own right and together they are mutually reinforcing. One begins to wonder if the leaders have the will and/or the means to put the continent on a growth trajectory and once and for all address the wide spectrum of inextricably linked development issues. While the significance of politics on religion, or vice versa is recognized, what is more crucial is the impact of politics on economy, and vice versa. This book examines the direction of causality and finds that political instability perpetuates underdevelopment among other things. It is also interesting to discover that the deleterious effect of political instability is different across sectors. The reader will also observe that a few countries may have benefited from some degree of instability.