Democratic Republic of the Congo

In this monograph, the Hungarian economist György Simon, Jr. investigates the political and economic development of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the former Zaire) in the post-colonial era. The study by the example of that country is focused on the question what the causes of economic backwardness and enormous income differences observable in the modern world economy are. Relying on his own model calculations that take the key role of technical progress into consideration, the author contends that there is a combination of factors determining the development of any national economy. Therefore, in order to build a successful market economy, the Congo (Kinshasa) needs to increase substantially, along with the level of education and R&D, the economic role of learning by doing. All this requires more investment in physical and human capital. The government should also attract more foreign operating capital and pay more attention to the modernisation of agriculture. The monograph is intended for a wide range of readers interested in the theory and practice of development in the Third World and particularly in the actual problems of the least developed African countries.