First published 2013
African economic development faces a critical obstacle that undermines every policy decision and aid allocation. Statistical capacity across sub-Saharan Africa has collapsed, producing numbers that bear little resemblance to reality. Morten Jerven reveals how governments, international financial institutions, and aid organizations make crucial decisions based on fundamentally flawed data about economic growth rates and per-capita income. The World Bank and rich countries distribute billions in development resources using these unreliable figures. The consequences extend far beyond technical errors. Misallocated resources fail to reach those who need them most. Development programs miss their targets. Policymakers cannot assess whether their interventions actually help citizens. Donors operate blind to the real impact of their aid. Jerven demonstrates that sophisticated econometric methods cannot compensate for data that is partial and unreliable from the start. This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of how African economic statistics are produced and used, showing why the development community's emphasis on evidence-based policy remains hollow without trustworthy evidence.
Genres: political-science, economics, non-fiction, africa, academic
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism
Setting: Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa
Period: 21st-century
208 pages · Paperback · Cornell University Press