Minnesota State University, Mankato Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato All Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects Projects 2015 Botswana and Mauritius: A Comparative Analysis of an Economic and Political Success Story in the Most Unlikely Region Richard Armah Minnesota State University - Mankato Follow this and additional works at: http://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds Part of the African Studies Commons, Political Science Commons, and the Public Administration Commons Recommended Citation Armah, Richard, "Botswana and Mauritius: A Comparative Analysis of an Economic and Political Success Story in the Most Unlikely Region" (2015). All Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects. Paper 416. This APP is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects at Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. Botswana and Mauritius: A Comparative Analysis of Political and Economic Success Story in the Most Unlikely Region. By Richard Armah An Alternate Plan Paper in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Master’s Degree In Public Administration Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota May 2015 Botswana and Mauritius: A Comparative Analysis of an Economic and Political Success Story in the Most Unlikely Region. This Alternate Plan Paper by Richard Armah has been approved by the committee members below who recommend that it be accepted by the faculty of Minnesota State University at Mankato in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of MASTER OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Graduate Committee: ________________________________________________ Eiji Kawabata, Ph.D. Advisor/Chair ________________________________________________ Jackie Vieceli, Ph.D. ________________________________________________ Date Acknowledgments My sincerest gratitude to God Almighty for His guidance and knowledge in completing this work. This research would also not have been possible without the tireless assistance of some wonderful individuals. Special appreciations to my advisor on this project, Professor Eiji Kawabata for working with me the past two semesters to make this possible. I am most grateful for the countless times he took to discuss this work, critiquing the drafts and his invaluable inputs throughout this project. I would also like to express my gratitude to the second graduate committee member and academic advisor, Professor Jacqueline Vieceli for taking the time out to read this work, her inputs and tireless academic direction over the years. Words are never enough in expressing my appreciation to this wonderful human being. Thank you, Jackie. I’d also like to take the time out to thank Miss Colette Corrica for helping me gather data for this research and proof reading the whole work. Last but not least, my sincerest appreciation to the Department of Government and the wonderful professors in the department who have helped shaped me academically and other diverse ways and every other individual within the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Minnesota State University, Mankato for their contributions during my time here in this great institution. Thank you. Abstract The African continent is the last place to consider seeking case studies for political and economic success. In the midst of this gloomy picture, Botswana and Mauritius have emerged as two of the most stable democracies with the most politically and economically advanced economies in the world. In conducting a careful and critical analysis of the reasons for their success, there is often the temptation of labeling the achievements of these two nations as political and economic “miracles”. This study seeks not to single out these two countries as unique cases, but as models of growth for the rest of the African continent, from which, other countries in the African sub-region can learn in order to build upon the modest gains made by these two countries and subsequently fuel their own political and economic development. The examples of Botswana and Mauritius reveal that with workable political institutions and pragmatic economic policies, a country is bound to succeed irrespective of its location and geographical inclinations and predictions. Institutions, political or economic, ought not necessarily to be democratic, but ones oriented and suited to meet African political and economic conditions. There is a realization that pragmatic political institutions and workable economic policies are essential to Africa’s overall political and economic development. Acronyms and Abbreviations ACTSA Action for Southern Africa ADB African Development Bank AGOA African Growth and Opportunity Act ARDP Accelerated Rural Development Program BCNS Botswana Comparative National Systems CIA Central Intelligence Agency COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa DR Congo Democratic Republic of Congo EBA Enterprise Bargaining Agreement ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States EEC European Economic Community EU European Union EPZ Export Processing Zone GDP Gross Domestic Product IMF International Monitory Fund MFA Multi Fiber Agreement SACU Southern African Customs Union US United States WB World Bank WTO World Trade Organization Table of Contents Chapter I.............................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter II ............................................................................................................................ 5 Literature Review ......................................................................................................................... 5 Political Assessment of Botswana ............................................................................................ 5 Economic Development of Botswana..................................................................................... 10 Political Assessment of Mauritius .......................................................................................... 19 Economic Development of Mauritius..................................................................................... 24 Existing Comparative Framework.............................................................................................. 31 Chapter III......................................................................................................................... 35 Political and Economic Development Challenges: Not a Unique Case After all....................... 35 Developmental challenges in Botswana ................................................................................. 35 Developmental challenges in Mauritius.................................................................................. 38 Comparative Analysis: A Pragmatic outlook for Continued Growth ........................................ 40 Chapter IV......................................................................................................................... 44 Economic Growth Statistics and Interpretations ........................................................................ 44 Chapter V.......................................................................................................................... 50 Conclusions and Recommendations........................................................................................... 50 Appendix........................................................................................................................... 56 Table 1: Comparison of GDP growth of Mauritius and Botswana over 33 years...................... 56 Table 2: Comparison of GDP of 6 Sub-Saharan African countries ........................................... 57 Table 3: Comparison of GDP per capita for 9 sub-Saharan African countries over 23 years.... 58 Table 4: Top African Countries by Economic Freedom for 2011.............................................. 59 Table 5: Overall Economic Freedom Index of Sub-Saharan African countries over 10 years .. 59 Table 6: External Debt of Mauritius and Botswana from 2000-2012 ........................................ 61 Table 7: External Debt over 12 years for 12 Sub-Saharan countries. ........................................ 61 References......................................................................................................................... 62 1 Chapter I Introduction The African continent is not a particularly interesting case study in terms of political and economic analysis. At most, it is the least recognized of cases when considering instances of political and economic success for academic research or independent analysis in areas of political stability and sustained economic growth. The continent is most famous for its long history of political unrest and economic mismanagement. In short, the African continent is a hotbed as far as discussions on politics and economic development are concerned. The situation is so volatile that Acemoglu et al (2001) assess that there is a universal