Puzzle and Paradox: A Political Economy of Madagascar

Madagascar's long-term trajectory is unique: not only has GDP per capita been trending downward since 1960 (the puzzle), but every time the country has set out on the path of growth, it has been stopped in its tracks by a socio-political crisis that has shattered the hopes it raised (the paradox). No satisfactory explanation of this failure has been provided so far. This book elaborates a model of intelligibility of Madagascar's downfall, based on an integrated political economy approach as well as mobilizing the most recent development theories. Combining a review of historical literature with original and sometimes unique statistical surveys, it proposes a general interpretative framework for the workings of Malagasy society. Richly documented and accessible, Puzzle and Paradox allows readers to understand Madagascar's sociopolitical history while more broadly offering an opportunity to grasp the different dimensions of development in the Global South.

Author: Mireille Razafindrakoto, François Roubaud, Jean-Michel Wachsberger
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 02/06/2020
Pages: 302
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.40w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9781108488334

About the Author
Wachsberger, Jean-Michel: - Jean-Michel Wachsberger is a Lecturer of Sociology at the University of Lille. He is the co-editor of many books, including Madagascar d'une crise l'autre: ruptures et continuité (2018) and L'intégration sociale hiérarchisée: L'exemple d'une métropole en développement (2014).Razafindrakoto, Mireille: - Mireille Razafindrakoto is Senior Researcher at the French Institute of Research for Sustainable Development (IRD). She is the co-editor of many books, including Madagascar d'une crise l'autre: ruptures et continuité (2018), The Informal Economy in Developing Countries (2014) and The New International Poverty Reduction Strategies (2003).Roubaud, François: - François Roubaud is Senior Research Fellow at the French Institute of Research for Sustainable Development (IRD). He is the co-editor of many books, including Randomized Control Trials in the Field of Development: Critical Perspectives (2020), Madagascar d'une crise l'autre: ruptures et continuité (2018), and The New International Poverty Reduction Strategies (2003).