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The curious case of domestic capitalists in Africa: towards a political economy of diversified business groups.
- Source :
-
Journal of Contemporary African Studies . Jan2022, Vol. 40 Issue 1, p1-17. 17p. 1 Diagram. - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Existing models of capitalist transformation have nearly always prioritised an analysis of domestic capital in shaping economic trajectories. Yet, even as industrial policy has been re-imagined in Africa, the potential contribution of domestic capital has remained marginal in academic analysis and policy discussions. The prevailing assumptions are that African capital is either non-existent or too weak to influence the policies of African governments. However, there is evidence within nascent literature that large African-owned businesses continue to influence the trajectory of capitalist transformation within their countries. This paper examines why the study of African capitalists – popular in the 1980s and 1990s – has remained dormant. This paper makes the case for analysing the politics driving the activity of large African-owned firms through researching the politics of diversified business groups (DBGs). Arguing that DBGs are the predominant form that large-scale domestic investment takes on the continent, the paper introduces an inductively-informed typology of African DBGs. The framework shows how domestic political economy (and the politics of state-business relations, in particular) shapes the form and trajectories of diversification of domestic business groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 02589001
- Volume :
- 40
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Contemporary African Studies
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 154225542
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/02589001.2021.1899144