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Varieties of Capitalists?: The Middle Class, Private Sector and Economic Outcomes in Africa

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  • Antoinette Handley

Abstract

Political scientists have generally seen two key features of African political economies—a relatively small or absent middle class, and a middle class that is unusually embedded in the state—as key explanations of the troubled political and economic trajectories of many African societies. This paper considers the nature and implications of recent momentous changes for Africa's political economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Antoinette Handley, 2014. "Varieties of Capitalists?: The Middle Class, Private Sector and Economic Outcomes in Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-101, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2014-101
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/wp2014-101.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Henning Melber, 2017. "The African middle class(es) – in the middle of what?," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(151), pages 142-154, January.

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