Eastern and Western Ideas for African Growth : Diversity and Complementarity in Development Aid

This book, compiled jointly by Japanese and British researchers, contrasts the East and the West in their approaches to economic development in Africa from historical, theoretical, empirical and operational angles. It argues that the two should cooperate more precisely because they are so different. Though the main focus is on Japanese and British aid, the idea of promoting diversity and complementarity in aid should be applicable to all donors, institutions, NGOs and business enterprises engaged in development cooperation. The book is pragmatic rather than academic. Besides researchers, development practitioners with extensive experience in Malaysia, Zambia, Tunisia and Uganda are invited to contribute. One African country has launched a kaizen (quality and productivity improvement) movement with Japanese assistance after its prime minister read this book.

The West and the East approach economic development differently. The Europeans and Americans stress free and fair business climate, promoting private activities generally without picking winners, and improving governance. East Asia is interested in achieving concrete results and projects rather than formal correctness, prioritizing a few sectors for industrialization, and eventual graduation from aid. The West mostly shapes shifting strategies of the international donor community while the East has in reality made remarkable progress in industrial catch-up. The two approaches cannot be merged easily but they can be used in proper combination to realize growth and economic transformation.

This book proposes more dialogue and complementarity between the two in the development effort of Africa and other regions. In this collected volume, contributed by experts and practitioners from both East and West, the need to introduce Eastern ideas to the global development strategy is emphasized. Analysis of British and other Western donor policies is given while Japanese, Korean, and other Asian approaches are also explained with concrete examples. The concept of governance for growth is presented and the impact of rising China on development studies is contemplated. The practices of industrial policy dialogues and actions assisted by East Asian experts are reported from Tunisia, Zambia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and others.

The book should be applicable to all donors, institutions, NGOs and business enterprises engaged in development cooperation.