Toxic Aid: Economic Collapse and Recovery in Tanzania

by Sebastian Edwards

For many years Tanzania was the darling of international aid agencies. During the 1970s it received more assistance per capita than any other nation in the world. And yet, the economy performed growth was negative, exports collapsed, and poverty increased massively. In the mid-1980s, however, the international community changed tack and developed an approach based on conditionality and "program ownership". Since 1996 the country has grown steadily, and social conditions have improved significantly. This book provides an economic history of Tanzania since independence in 1961. It covers the policies of African Socialism and the Arusha Declaration, the collapse of the early 1980s, the rocky relationships with the IMF, and the reforms of the 1990s and 2000s. This book shows that the relationship between foreign aid economic is highly complex, and that the effect of foreign assistance on poor countries performance depends on historical circumstances, ownership of programs,
and the involvement of the local communities.

Genres: Economics

316 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history of Tanzania's macroeconomic policies and the individuals and broader context that influenced them.

[Abdallah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is great showing specifically the relationship that the country has been having with foreign aid agencies following the Tanganyika independence. Additionally, got to understand the requirements that needed to be agreed between the country and foreign aid agencies which with their advantages and disadvantages. All in all believe Africans need to unite and have the so called patriotic Technopols that can be trusted in using our resources to be self sufficient.

[Constantine Manda · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Tanzanian who grew up in the 1980's and 1990's and into the 2000's this book was a wonderful telling of the things I saw growing up.

It presents the facts of how the socialist policies of Tanzania's first president, Mwalimu Nyerere and then his reluctance to reform until the 3rd president Mkapa's reform agenda that led to a revitalization of Tanzania's economy.

Sadly, it ends with presenting counterfactual scenarios of what would have happened in the absence of these socialist policies, using what I think are very conservative counterfactual rates of growth that show, unfortunately for my country, that we are nowhere near recapturing the lost growth.

A wonderfully comprehensive telling of Tanzania's political and economic history from 1961 to 2011ish with wonderful personal insights from those who were influential throughout those times and wonderful anecdotes from Mwalimu and other key actors.

A must-read for anyone interested in Tanzania, Africa, development, and how aid affects development.