Prosperity and Violence: The Political Economy of Development

January Publications Robert H. Bates is Eaton Professor of the Science of Government and fellow of the Center for International Development at Harvard University. In Prosperity and Violence: The Political Economy of Development, a thoughtful and instructive book, he examines how underdeveloped societies progress from agrarian to industrial states by examining how governments foster investment and per capita growth and how they manage their political power and use of force. Drawing on the history of highly developed countries, such as those in Europe, Bates compares them with developing countries in Latin America and Africa. For example, he finds in Kenya a government and an economic organization working collaboratively toward prosperity, which he contrasts with the militaristic, economically destructive situation in Uganda.