Explaining Why Natural Resource Development Fails to Lift People Out of Poverty: A Case of Africa

Explaining Why Natural Resource Development Fails to Lift People Out of Poverty: A Case of Africa

Author: Nilani L. De Silva
ISBN-10: 0773445366
ISBN-13: 9780773445369
Release: March 15, 2013
Hardcover: 428 pages
List Price
Book Description
This book shows how Africa can have responsible resource development that does not only serve to make elites wealthier, but actually benefits all people living in the continent. It offers a cogent critique of neo-liberal capitalism. Are resources being distributed only to make wealthy elites wealthier? How do the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization foster a neo-liberal capitalist agenda that promotes wealth accumulation among these elites? The book looks at how this process can be stopped. It argues that resource distribution must benefit the people in a fair and even manner. The previous studies on this issue, mainly from the West, construct discourses and produce languages of poverty, or tribalism, arguing that these are the major factors contributing to civil conflict and underdevelopment. This book tries to look at how these factors can be overcome through responsible resource development.