Policy and Institutional Dynamics of Sustained Development in Botswana
Botswana represents one of the few development success stories in Sub-Saharan Africa. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth averaged almost 9 percent between 1960 and 2005, far above the Sub-Saharan Africa average. Real GDP per capita grew even...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/364701468330906042/Policy-and-institutional-dynamics-of-sustained-development-in-Botswana http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28032 |
| Summary: | Botswana represents one of the few
development success stories in Sub-Saharan Africa. Real
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth averaged almost 9
percent between 1960 and 2005, far above the Sub-Saharan
Africa average. Real GDP per capita grew even faster,
averaging more than 10 percent a year -- the most rapid
economic growth of any country in the world. The crucial
question is: Why has Botswana grown the way it has done, and
what lessons does it offer? This evidence-based story is an
account of policy and institutional dynamics of sustained
growth and development in Botswana -- illuminating the role of
leadership. It shows how a secure political elite has
pursued growth-promoting policies and developed, modified,
and maintained viable inherited traditional and modern
institutions of political, economic, and legal restraint.
These institutions have remained robust in the face of
initial large aid inflows and spectacular mineral rents,
producing a growth pattern that has been both rapid and
cautious. The nature of the Botswana developmental state is
illustrated by the way in which the state mobilized
development resources-especially savings, investment, and
human resources, widely known as the primary drivers of
economic growth, and prudently managed the economy without
becoming excessively involved in the nuts. It demonstrates
that through intentional policy choices and countercyclical
instruments, countries can shift from aid-dependent to
trade-led natural resource development (though probably with
narrow-based growth), to a broader development strategy as
long as the state is capable and operates within effective
institutional design. Botswana's story is sterling
example of how the critical issue in development is not so
much access to resources but how resources are managed. |
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