Publisher's Synopsis
In the early years after its independence, Zimbabwe seemed poised to be an African success story, with its vast wealth of minerals and rich farmland, and its continued investment in education and health care. However, after the government seized wealthy commercial farmland in 2000, Zimbabwe quickly went from a place of hope to one of the grimmest places on Earth, with foreign investors fleeing, life expectancies dropping and hyperinflation looming. Despite the agricultural sector only commanding fifteen percent of the economy, this book argues that the perceived and actual lack of secure property rights caused a series of cascading and harmful economic effects throughout Zimbabwe. Using primary data from official Zimbabwe government sources, The IMF, The World Bank and Zimbabwe's Commercial Farmers' Union, this book explains the mechanics of the collapse of one institution after another, including the central bank, foreign exchange markets, and the health and education sectors. It also dispels the widely held belief that a drought in 2001 led to collapsed agricultural yields, using data from Zimbabwe's meteorological authorities to make the case.;Lastly, the book uses the case study of Nicaragua, which underwent a similar collapse in the late 1980s, as a blueprint for how a country can once again prosper after paying attention to the importance of property rights. In its conclusion, the book suggests concrete policy proposals that can put Zimbabwe back on track.
