By Ava Burchell, Staff Writer
On Tuesday, Professor in Development Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences Morten Jerven visited campus to deliver the 17th Annual Gondwe Lecture about his new book The Wealth and Poverty of African States.
The Gondwe Lecture is a joint effort between the Department of Africana Studies, the Department of Economics, and the Events Planning and Coordinating Committee for the lecture.
It honors the late professor Derek Gondwe, the first Black Gettysburg College professor, and the first Black professor to receive the distinguished teaching award. Members of Gondwe’s family were present in the audience. The event was also widely attended by economics and Africana studies students and professors.
After introductions from Professors Scott Hancock and Linus Nyiwul, Jerven gave students and professors a summary of his book. He argued that many researchers misunderstand the history of economic growth in African states.
He said that the lack of quantitative economic data coupled with the “compression of history” are reasons why researchers do not understand the cycles of wealth and poverty these states have gone through.
He explained that since many data sets began in the late 1900s, researchers miss many of the early developments and poverty statistics that contributed to the economies of the states today.
He said, “Growth between 1900 and 1940 is higher and indicated in previous backward projections so the ‘failed’ growth in Africa is better characterized as ‘recurring.’”
Jerven also noted that since there is such limited data on the history of African states, researchers tend to “compress history” into just the timeframe of which they are informed. This can lead to inaccurate analyses.
He said, “The lack of time series data in Africa has meant that the dominant focus has been on explaining a very important, but perhaps too reductive question of why some less developed poor countries are taxing so little in comparison with rich countries today.”
He then explained how he used wage data from unskilled laborers and sources like the Colonial archives and IMF Article IV reports to compile a more accurate history of Africa’s taxation, poverty, and equality.
His goals for The Wealth and Poverty of African States were to investigate beyond the “compression of history,” expand the quantitative boundary of investigation and better understand the circumstances in which economic development occurred in the states.
He concluded his lecture by answering questions from the students and professors attending.
