------------ EH.NET BOOK REVIEW --------------
Published by EH.NET (October 2006)
Jonathan Krieckhaus, _Dictating Development: How Europe Shaped the
Global Periphery_. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2006.
x + 251 pp. $28 (paperback), ISBN: 0-8229-5914-3.
Reviewed for EH.NET by Sylvain H. Boko, Department of Economics, Wake
Forest University.
This book's stated objective is to provide an answer to the
"fundamental" question: "why do some countries achieve substantial
and sustained economic growth while others do not?" According to
Jonathan Krieckhaus, the conventional-wisdom answer includes the
prescription that countries should adopt "market-friendly economic
policies ... [and] invest in education and health." However, the book
attempts to distinguish itself by adopting an approach focusing on
how international events affect domestic economic growth. This
approach is not in and of itself new. However, the book's central
thesis is that the key determinants of growth in developing countries
are heavily influenced by their colonial legacy. Krieckhaus contends
that Europe played a determinant role in shaping the institutions in
its former colonies. Further, he argues that the structure and
outcome of growth in former colonies have been dictated externally,
for example, through wars, foreign aid, and the vagaries of
international markets.
In a manner reminiscent of the Dependency Theory, Krieckhaus claims
that "by far, the most effective route to economic success over the
last forty years" is avoidance of European colonialism. The author
gives the examples of Japan, Thailand, China, South Korea, and
Taiwan, as cases of countries that have shown rapid growth since
1960, while managing to avoid European colonization. Krieckhaus
states further that among the countries that were colonized by
Europe, those that became colonies after 1885 suffered worse because,
after that date, colonialism became more exploitative. Indeed, many
readers might be shocked by the book's conclusion that Europeans "did
not attempt to build state capacity or invest in human capital;
rather, they imposed states that inhibited property rights." The
suggestion is that European colonization worsened the initial
conditions of underdeveloped countries, thereby largely negating
their chances at rapid economic growth.
Krieckhaus conducts a three-level analysis showing that countries
with high levels of European settlement, such as United States,
Canada, and Australia, have also traditionally experienced high
levels of growth. This is because when they settle in a territory,
Europeans, who have "mastered the art of sustained increase in per
capita GDP," tend to establish a capitalist system based on respect
for property rights, a liberal state, and investment in human
capacity. Countries partially settled by Europeans, such as South
Africa, Brazil, and Algeria, show a better growth performance than
countries that were extractive colonies, although the benefits tend
to be confined an elite minority. Finally, the worst performing
countries tend to be those in Africa and Asia, where Europeans'
interests were to "conquer, plunder, and proselytize."
To illustrate his points, the author focuses on three case studies:
Mozambique, where the Portuguese excluded the Africans from acquiring
skills conducive to modernization; South Korea, which had its
1,300-year history as a unified state to draw upon as it experienced
modernization under Japanese colonial rule; and Brazil. Brazil's
particularity is that it was partially settled by Europeans, the
result of which is the establishment of a dynamic capitalistic
economy that encompasses a portion of the society, but which has been
influenced by various international shocks all the same.
The author proposes a "reconceptualization" of the growth literature
to account for the fact the "international system dictated" the
pattern of development throughout the world through major shocks such
as wars, market shocks and foreign aid. For example, empirical
results in Table 4.8 augment the standard growth model by analyzing
the effect of war and aggression on economic growth. The results are
mixed, depending on whether wars are defined as "economically
relevant" or are of external or internal sources.
Overall, the book tackles the very important, but complex, issue of
the impact of European colonization on the development outcomes of
countries today. I come away from reading the book with more
questions than answers, however. It is not clear to me if the author
is suggesting a neo-dependency theoretical approach to growth
analysis or if this is just an augmented form of the standard growth
theory approach. The use of the standard (and over-utilized)
econometric growth model to illustrate the suggestion of a different
paradigmatic understanding of the various patterns of growth around
the world presents an analytical challenge not resolved in the book.
The author's call for a "holistic empiricism," which involves the
consideration of country-level specificity and history in growth
analysis also presents methodological challenges for empirical work.
In addition, it is not clear whether the insights obtained from this
historical approach to understanding growth and development present
any policy choices for policymakers in the countries involved. For
example, should periphery countries sever their ties with Europe and
the rest of the "international system" in order to optimize their
chances of growth? And, despite the havoc wrought on countries'
resource bases by Europe's brutal resource-extractive colonial
policies, why have vast numbers of populations in Africa continued to
wallow in poverty forty years after independence? Does European
colonization sufficiently explain the types of growth-suffocating
policies being implemented by countries around the world or the
endemic corruption present in some countries?
These shortcomings notwithstanding, the book's attempt to deconstruct
suggestions that colonization was a "civilizing" enterprise for
Europe is to be applauded.
Sylvain Boko is the author of _Decentralization and Reform in Africa_
(Kluwer, 2002).
Copyright (c) 2006 by EH.Net. All rights reserved. This work may be
copied for non-profit educational uses if proper credit is given to
the author and the list. For other permission, please contact the
EH.Net Administrator ([log in to unmask]; Telephone: 513-529-2229).
Published by EH.Net (October 2006). All EH.Net reviews are archived
at http://www.eh.net/BookReview.
-------------- FOOTER TO EH.NET BOOK REVIEW --------------
EH.Net-Review mailing list
[log in to unmask]
http://eh.net/mailman/listinfo/eh.net-review
|