Emerging Africa: How 17 countries are leading the way

Emerging Africa is a short glossy book written primarily to influence policy makers by showcasing the impressive accomplishments of 17 African countries over the past decade. Its author, Steven Radelet, is ideally placed to write this book, with an academic pedigree and experience in senior economic advisory positions in the US Treasury Department and the Office of the President of Liberia. He is currently senior adviser on development in the office of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Radelet knows his audience (which typically favours the two-page briefing note format), and he demonstrates this with a simple and clear argument supported by striking graphs and compelling anecdotes. The book is the latest in a series of policy-oriented publications on economic development by Radelet, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development from 2002 to 2010. It appears on the heels of other recent publications that are bullish on Africa's economic prospects. The set of reports on Africa published by McKinsey and Co. (a leading global consulting firm) in June 2010, and a similarly upbeat though less rigorous research note by the Boston Consulting Group, reinforce the optimism of Emerging Africa. The tone of the book also echoes that of the draft World Bank Africa Strategy, released for online consultation in November 2010.