 | Institutions and Collective Choice in Developing Countries: Applications of the Theory of Public Choice Subjects: Economics Finance Business & Industry; Politics & International Relations; Comparative Politics; Economics; Public Administration & Management; Macroeconomics; Public Policy; First published in 1999, this volume is written by seasoned public choice scholars and is intended to make a significant contribution to the debate on peaceful coexistence and sustainable development in developing countries. The book contains a rich mixture of analytical ideas and views on collective choice and macroeconomic performance in developing countries. This book breaks new ground in that it is the first comprehensive application of the theory of public choice to collective decision making in developing societies. It provides both students of Third World studies and policy makers in developing societies an in-depth analysis for institutions for collective choice. For countries undergoing major reform of their political and economic institutions, public choice theory can provide significant and useful insights, and help these societies design and adopt institutional arrangements that enhance peaceful coexistence of groups, the creation of wealth and sustainable development. Specifically, the book successfully shows that: (1) the application of economic theory to the study of public policy in the developing countries can provide important insights into collective decision-making; (2) the application of public choice theory to the study of developing societies can significantly improve the efficiency of bureaucratic and governmental systems, and consequently, promote economic, political and social development; and (3) public choice can help developing societies design and sustain effective laws and institutions for peaceful coexistence of groups and achieve sustainable development. MWANGI S. KIMENYI has been an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Connecticut since 1991. Between 1987-1991, he was Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Mississippi. He was born in Kenya and received his B.ED in chemistry from the University of Nairobi, MA in International Affairs and MA in Economics from Ohio University, and the Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University. He is Vice President and Chief Financial Controller of the African Educational Foundation for Public Policy and Market Process, Inc., and Managing Director of the African Institute for Public Policy and Market Process, Kenya. He is the author of Economics of Poverty, Discrimination and Public Policy (South-Western, 1995), Ethnic Diversity, Liberty and the State: The African Dilemma (Edward Elgar, 1998), He is the author of over 60 scholarly articles. His current research focuses on public choice and institutional reforms in developing countries. JOHN MUKUM MBAKU is Professor of Economics at Weber State University, Ogden, Utah and Associate Editor (Africa), Journal of Third World Studies. He is also President of the African Educational Foundation for Public Policy and Market Process, Inc. He was born in Cameroon and received the Ph.D. degree in economics from the University of Georgia in 1985. He has previously taught at the University of Georgia and Kennesaw State University. His present research interests are in public choice, constitutional political economy, trade integration, intergroup relations, and institutional reforms in Africa. During 1994-1995, he served as the President of the Association of Third World Studies, Inc. He has traveled to several developing countries to lecture on market reforms. He is the author of Institutions and Reform in Africa: The Public Choice Perspective (Praeger, 1997); editor of Corruption and the Crisis of Institutional Reforms in Africa (The Edwin Mellen Press, 1998), and co-editor (with Julius O. Ihonvbere) of Multiparty Democracy and Political Change: Constraints to Democratization in Africa (Ash- gate, 1998). |
