The subject of this lecture is economic development in Africa. So, let's begin by outlining the historical context. In the 1960s, many African countries gained independence and had great hopes for a prosperous future. They realized that they couldn't just rely on their wealth of raw materials but would have to foment the process of industrialization within their own countries. Basically—instead of exporting cheap raw materials to more developed countries which, in turn, would process these materials thus making them more profitable, they would process their own raw materials and generate more wealth for their own countries. State-led strategies encouraged local industries to produce manufactured goods, but how successful was the initiative? Well, many of these companies were not very efficient, but they did create a different type of employment and they did begin to manufacture goods—so, some degree of success was achieved.
In the 1980s, however, many African governments adopted policies advocated by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, which translated into structural readjustments. They reduced the role of the state and sold off many public enterprises—some of which were responsible for industrial production—and often to companies from abroad. African-owned businesses started to struggle, and most countries returned to a dependency on primary products. As a result, African exports that are not oil are now half what they were in the 1980s.