Botswana is widely held in the literature as an African growing miracle, and while the “ miracle ” can and has been explained ( Acemoglu et al. 2001, Hillbom 2008, Leith 2000, Jerven 2010 ) , it is no uncertainty an accurate description. Botswana ‘s per capita GDP in 1998 ( in buying power para footings ) was about 8.5 times larger than that of its northern neighbour Zambia and larger than Zambia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana and Zaire ‘s per capita GDP put together. Furthermore, its mean growing rate of GDP per capita during the period 1965-1998 was 7.7 % while that of South Korea, one of the celebrated Asiatic Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelams, was merely 6.6 % . Politically it has one of the longest running democracies in Sub-Saharan Africa, its first election being won by the Botswana Democratic Party in 1965. Botswana has besides been near incorrupt compared to other African provinces, elect corruptness being rare until the 1990 ‘s ( Hillbom 2008:202 ) . All these considerable accomplishments have been made in malice of the fact that Botswana is a largely semi-arid, landlocked state and had really hapless initial conditions with regard to substructure and other assets. At independency there were merely two secondary schools in the state and merely 80 Batswana in the concluding twelvemonth ( Acemoglu et al. 2001:17 ) . However it is of import to observe that Botswana besides had positive implicit in initial conditions. For illustration Botswana had pre-colonial establishments that allowed for the general public to take part in political discourse which placed limitations on political power therefore restricting development by the political elite, an establishment that remained after independency ( Acemoglu et al. 2001 ) . Furthermore Botswana has a really low degree of ethno-linguistic atomization, high degrees of ethno-linguistic atomization being a barrier to societal interaction and a cause of low degrees of societal capital ( Collier et al. 1999:67 ) .
This essay attempts to reply the inquiry of what other African states can larn from this outstanding growing public presentation. The first subdivision trades with the job of what signifier this inquiry should take. This measure is necessary because what can be learnt from states alone growing way in a historical context is, possibly surprisingly, limited. Why this is so is discussed and a point of going is formulated from which the remainder of the essay follows. The 2nd subdivision efforts to propose what policies a state could follow when it is turning good to guarantee development ends are promoted during the growing procedure. To this terminal the evident failures of the Botswana economic system to cover with development issues such as unemployment, inequality and HIV/AIDS infection rate are explored. It is briefly argued that Botswana has experienced pre-modern growing without development. The last subdivision concludes.
What can other African states learn from Botswana ‘s growing public presentation?
Due to certain factors I would reason that the reply is, in many instances, much less than we would wish.
First we consider the initial conditions that have promoted Botswana ‘s success – what could be considered as deterministic factors taking to growing ( Burger 2003 ) . These include the pre-colonial establishments that have constrained political power, discussed in the debut, and the fact that colonialism was at best a limited phenomenon in Botswana. Botswana was amalgamated into the British Empire largely because of its strategic place ( to make a way into the African inside and to buffer Boer and German enlargement ) , non because the district was considered attractive in itself ( Acemoglu et al. 2001 ) . As a consequence colonialism did non destruct bing establishments and was less extractive than in other African provinces. That colonialism was a factor doing hapless economic growing elsewhere in Africa is discussed in the literature e.g. Collier et Al. 1999. The job here with respect to what we can larn is that these historical facts are non informative in footings of what we can use in other African states today.
Second, we consider what is considered the chief determiner of Botswana ‘s success in the literature, that Botswana has systematically implemented good policies ( Acemoglu et al. 2001, Leith 2000 ) – behavioral factors taking to growing ( Burger 2003 ) .
Of major importance are policies with respect to Botswana ‘s huge natural resource gift. Diamonds in peculiar drama a cardinal function as they have accounted for between a 3rd to half of GDP since the 1980 ‘s ( Poteete 2007:549 ) . From the start ( 1965 ) the Batswana authorities has been wise in its natural resource scheme and policies.
To get down mining companies where invited to research the state – taking to the find of Ni, Cu and diamonds. Once the size of the diamond sedimentations where realised, the authorities entered into a trade with the De Beers mining company to get 50 % equity at no cost ( Acemoglu et al. 2001:17 ) . Botswana subsequently besides capitalised on its big universe market portion of diamonds by come ining into a scheme with De Beers whereby they would jointly work their market power, capturing a portion of the ample rents originating so ( Leith 2000:10 ) .
Another facet of good policy with respect to big natural resource gifts is Botswana ‘s turning away of the natural resource expletive. The resource expletive suggests that natural resource abundant states are prone to slower growing than that of resource scarce states. The assorted grounds that stop states transforming natural resources into growing include the Dutch disease ; the Dutch disease is the grasp of the currency due to resource roars ensuing in less competitory export industries. This decreased fight leads to underdevelopment of the export industries. It can besides ensue in authorities going dependant on rents from resource roars, which leads to the underdevelopment of the establishments of broad-based revenue enhancement. This causes gross deficits when slacks occur, locking states into a flight associated with the resource expletive ( Poteete 2007:547 ) . Dutch disease is hence an of import mechanism associating resource roars to hapless developmental results ( Poteete 2007:546 ) . In this respect Botswana has managed to construct up big foreign exchange militias during resource roars and keep a stable existent exchange rate. This scheme was implemented with the deliberate purpose of avoiding Dutch disease by leting outgo smoothing during slacks in the monetary value of diamonds and protecting the more labour intensive export industries ( Leith 2000:15, Poteete 2007:552 ) . Although the consequences have been assorted it is by and large accepted that Botswana avoided typical Dutch disease syndrome. Demonstrated by a balanced growing of non-traded sectors and non-mineral traded sectors, an import screen in 2006 of 26 months ( Limi 2003:670, Poteete 2007:552 ) and an efficient direction of rents accrued, for illustration, investing in societal development plans ( such as instruction ) . These policies are more straight applicable to other African states wishing to avoid the resource expletive.
Other successful facets of policy expand on exchange rate and trade policy. After the creative activity of an independent currency in 1976 Botswana faced the challenges of exchange controls, the exchange rate and the direction of foreign exchange militias ( Leith 2001:15 ) . Botswana maintained a stable existent exchange rate with the South African Rand ( its major trading spouse ) due to regular little accommodations until the late 1990 ‘s ( Poteete 2007:550 ) . Strong grasp of the Pula against the Rand and depreciation of the US dollar in the 1990 ‘s resulted in Botswana deriving both fight in export markets and increased buying power in its chief import market ( Poteete 2007:550 ) . In 2005 a creeping nog was introduced to turn to current and the likeliness of future overestimate of the currency. In footings of trade policy Botswana has long been portion of a imposts brotherhood ( SACU ) consisting Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho, South Africa and Botswana. Shortly after independency Botswana renegotiated the footings of the imposts brotherhood ensuing in an increased portion of the grosss for the smaller members ( Leith 2000:10 ) . Botswana ‘s chief export after diamonds is that of beef ; a batch of resources have been expended developing this sector, which has chiefly been in the involvement of the political elite – every bit many as 2/3 of the members of the National Assembly were big or average size cowss proprietors at independency ( Acemoglu et al. 2001:18 ) . A successful policy move by authorities with respect to gripe exports was the sign language of the Lome convention in 1975 which provides particular commissariats so that beef exports obtain a 90 % discount of the EU import levy, which about equates the monetary value of Batswana beef to the internal European monetary value ( Leith 2001:11 ) . An outwardness of being portion of SACU is that Botswana is non free to put its ain import duties, therefore forestalling authorities from prosecuting harmful policies of import permutation ( Leith 2001:11 ) . To sum up Botswana has managed to keep a stable exchange rate by active direction and develop sectors non associating to natural resources through intelligent trade policy – motivated in big portion by the involvements of the political elite.
There are basically two related jobs in the application of the lessons of these policies in other African states. The first is that of leading, in peculiar, the leading of Botswana ‘s first democratically elected president, Seretse Khama, and the deficiency of persons like him in the remainder of Africa – historically and soon. Although being a traditional head himself Khama consistently undermined the power of traditional leaders during his presidential term, reassigning this power to the freshly formed authorities. In 1967 a jurisprudence was passed that gave all sub-soil mineral rights to authorities, these rights antecedently accrued to the chiefdom that controlled the land in inquiry. This jurisprudence was passed even though it was known ( to De Beers and Khama ‘s authorities ) that the majority of diamond sedimentations where located on the land under the control of Khama ‘s folk ( Acemoglu et al. 2001:17 ) . This centralization of power pre-emptively stopped any power battles and in-fighting that may hold occurred otherwise. Other illustrations of leading by Khama include the retaining of exile accomplishments in the civil service and the development of a successful multi-party democracy. This relates to the 2nd job, that good economic sciences is frequently non compatible with good political relations in many African provinces. In Botswana this was fortuitously non the instance, good policies and the establishments it created were politically executable, in many respects due to the foresight of outstanding leading as explained above. To clarify my point I quote Acemoglu et Al. page 21 “ aˆ¦we foremost have to observe that establishments are finally the endogenous creative activities of persons. Institution edifice, therefore, has to be analysed within the context of the involvement of the histrions and the restraints confronting them. ” Therefore small of what has been achieved in Botswana is straight applicable to other African provinces. Possibly more informative is to look at Botswana ‘s ( development ) failures therefore supplying a mention of what to avoid when an ( African ) state is turning good.
Development failure – looking in from the other side. 740
Failures: AIDS Unemployment Inequality
300
MEG phenomenon
200
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decision
200