"September, 2011."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-157).

Contents: Introduction: Colonial history, Geography; Social organization and culture: Colonial history; "a legacy of plunder, oppression division " -- Geography: "natural and man-made perils -- Social organisation and culture: ethnicity, traditions, customs -- conclusion -- International political economy: Representation and voice in the International economic and financial system -- The Political economy of production and trade -- Global division of production: comparative "(dis) adavantage" -- The Trade liberalization "charade" -- African economic "(dis) integration" The Political economy of aid and debt relief -- Conclusion Economic policy: The Early post- independence period: futile search for "economic independence" Enter the BWIs, "neoliberalism" and the Washington consensus " -- Learning from south east Asia Ghana versus Malaysia: " A tale of two countries with a common history but uncommon economies" Conclusion -- Capital and technology: Capital -- Physical capital: the "hardware" of production -- Financial capital: "the working capital" of production -- Human capital "quality that trumps quantity -- Technology: the "software" of production -- Conclusion -- Politics, leadership and institutions: Politics: the perils of "the winner takes all" syndrome -- Political instability -- Authoritarianism -- Lack of checks and balances -- Politics of exclusion/ alienation -- Leadership: the "mother of all factors" -- Corruption -- Autocracy -- Nepotism/ Cronyism -- Incompetence/ Lack of vision Institutions: "the rules of the games" -- Conculsion.