Africa in the World Economy: Growth, Shrinking and Debt

In this episode, we meet Dr. Leigh Gardner to consider the experience of a number of former British colonies in Africa. We review the literature and Leigh's work on the cost of financing and operating former colonies and compare their debt and borrowing experiences  with other regions. We also discuss her recent work on constructing national accounts for eight African economies 1885-2008 and review their experiences over the long run.  The magnitude and frequency of economic shrinking stands out as a major brake to economic convergence in the cases considered.