Nigeria and Indonesia /

This book is one in a series produced by the World Bank on the political economy of poverty, equity, and growth (e.g., Angus Maddison's Brazil and Mexico, CH, Mar'93, and Frederic Pryor's Malawi and Madagascar, CH, Jul'91). These volumes, which compare the experiences of two countries with similar circumstances, are carefully prepared and clearly present their data. This new study covering 1950 to 1985 examines Indonesia and Nigeria, both large, populous countries whose agricultural economies were transformed by oil discoveries. During those years, Nigeria experienced an absolute decline in income while Indonesia's rose substantially. Indonesia also had a more equitable distribution of income than Nigeria by 1985. The policies followed by both countries--especially in the areas of government expenditures, international trade and foreign exchange, and labor markets--are examined in detail to identify the causes of the different outcomes in the two countries. Although there is some discussion of events and policies outside the study's dates, the authors make no attempt to be current. This valuable work will be most useful to those studying development, and more specifically, those interested in the impact of a windfall gain on an economy. Chapter notes and references. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections. J. E. Weaver; Drake University