This article studies the role of political distortions in driving economic growth and development in Africa. We first discuss how existing theories based on long-run structural factors (e.g., pre-colonial and colonial institutions, or ethnic diversity) may not capture new data patterns in the region, including changes to political regimes, growth patterns, and their variation across regions with similar historical experiences. We then argue that a framework focused on political distortions (i.e., how political incentives impact resource allocation and economic outcomes) may have multiple benefits: it encapsulates many distortions observed in practice, including patronage, variations in contract enforcement and the role of political connections in firm outcomes; it unifies results in Africa and elsewhere; and it leaves a wide scope for policy analysis. We conclude by overviewing reforms that may curb such distortions, including changes to campaign financing rules, bureaucratic reform, free trade agreements, and technology.

中文翻译：

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非洲的政治扭曲、国家攫取和经济发展

本文研究了政治扭曲在推动非洲经济增长和发展中的作用。我们首先讨论基于长期结构因素（例如，前殖民和殖民制度，或种族多样性）的现有理论如何可能无法捕捉该地区的新数据模式，包括政治制度的变化、增长模式及其在不同地区的变化具有相似历史经历的地区。然后，我们认为一个专注于政治扭曲（即政治激励如何影响资源分配和经济结果）的框架可能具有多重好处：它包含了实践中观察到的许多扭曲，包括赞助、合同执行的变化以及政治联系在确定的结果；它统一了非洲和其他地方的结果；它为政策分析留下了广阔的空间。最后，我们概述了可能遏制此类扭曲的改革，包括竞选融资规则、官僚改革、自由贸易协定和技术的变化。