Open AccessPolitics, Academics, and Africa
Author(s) -
Robert H. Bates
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
annual review of political science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.231
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1545-1577
pISSN - 1094-2939
DOI - 10.1146/annurev-polisci-030716-095605
Subject(s) - politics , clarity , government (linguistics) , political economy , economic interventionism , modernization theory , productivity , intervention (counseling) , field (mathematics) , welfare , political science , economics , sociology , development economics , economic growth , law , psychology , biochemistry , chemistry , linguistics , philosophy , mathematics , psychiatry , pure mathematics
The roots of my fascination with politics and Africa run deep; so too does my need for clarity. The combination drove me into the professoriate. My research in Africa convinced me that modernization theory was wrong: The people I came to know in the field were sophisticated in their politics. Additional research convinced me that market-oriented approaches to political economy were wrong and that government intervention could lead to increases in productivity and welfare. Because neoclassical approaches are flexible, I continue to think in terms of strategy and choice and to apply them to the study of development.