The Human Factor in Economic Development

Abstract

The discussions in the previous chapters suggest that the process of economic development is both multidimensional and highly nonlinear. It entails dynamic change not only in production patterns and technology but also in social, political and economic institutions, as well as in patterns of human development. Furthermore, history is an important explanatory variable in economic growth equations. Stated differently, histories of nations or groups of nations exert strong influence on both the tangible and intangible conditions for successful long-run development. This implies that an understanding of a country’s prior history of interaction patterns between civil society and the government, the bureaucracy and the military, is important in understanding the economic development challenges and opportunities in SSA countries. All these considerations have crystalized into what is now dubbed as a new economic growth theory.