Confronting colonial legacies—lessons from human development in Ghana and Kenya, 1880–2000
✍ Scribed by Alexander Moradi
- Book ID
- 102346949
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2008
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 369 KB
- Volume
- 20
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0954-1748
- DOI
- 10.1002/jid.1514
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
A growing body of scholarly research locates the roots of Africa's poverty in its colonial past. However, studies avoid tracing Africa's development over the full course of history. In this paper, I quantify the changes in well‐being of the African population in Ghana and Kenya, at the regional level, during the years 1880‐2000. By using body stature as a measure of nutritional status I overcome the scarcity and unreliability of historical data. The two countries had a much more diverse development under colonial times than commonly assumed, with phases of substantial progress (which was also unevenly distributed between the regions). Based on these new findings I confront the existing colonial legacy literature and point to possible lessons that can be drawn from human development over the last 120 years. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.