An Introduction to the African Economy

Abstract

I should like to thank the Delhi School of Economics for inviting me to deliver a series of four lectures which were to serve as An Introduction to the African Economy. Delhi University's decision to place this series of lectures at the disposal of a wider public gave rise to the publication of this book which I hope will stimulate further the growing interest in the African economy. The approach throughout this book has been mainly historical and descriptive since a comprehensive general background knowledge of Africa does not constitute the normal working equipment of the average reader. At the risk of over-simplification, I have covered familiar grounds, re-stated basic economic' trends in general terms and cited some of my examples from outside the African continent. I hope this book will add something, however small, to the current literature on the African economy.