Introduction

Abstract

Interviews. The research for this book was carried out primarily through interviews with 95 policymakers, government officials, local and international businessmen, investment managers, stockbrokers and traders, academic analysts, and officials at the international financial institutions. Interviews took place primarily in London between September 1997 and August 2000 and during research trips to Ghana (Accra in February/March 1998 and Accra, Kumasi, and Tema in January/ February 1999), Zimbabwe (Harare in June 1999), Ethiopia (Addis Ababa in February 2000), the United States (Washington DC in March 1999), and Portugal (Lisbon in February 2000). In addition, several interviews took place over the telephone or by email, allowing follow-up to previous conversations and access to otherwise unreachable sources, such as those in Botswana, Namibia, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, and Mozambique. To encourage openness, most of these interviews took place in strict confidence.