The Political foundations of economic development policies

The article argues that the adoption and persistence of many failed inward‐looking development strategies can be attributed to political clientelism. A political system consisting of aggregations of patron‐client networks bound together by the exchange of material benefits for political support is liable to be dominated by factionalism, politicisation, a high level of administrative corruption and a low degree of legitimacy and autonomy. In such an environment, welfare‐reducing inward‐looking development strategies result from the attempt to satisfy the demands of political supporters. The analysis suggests that political changes can be a prerequisite to a permanent transition to superior development strategies, and thus to the success of structural reform programmes.