ABSTRACT
Inequality influences economic growth, which in turn influences inequality. The key message is that societies change slowly and unpredictably because of the path dependency of economic, political, and social institutions. Prevalent inequalities between different groups rooted in history may help to explain why change does not take place. This has implications for the results that can be expected from development interventions and for the evaluation community that is commissioned to assess them. A review of institutional theory is followed by a historical case study of Senegal. The chapter focuses on developments in society at large in the long run. A study of Senegal provides an interesting example of the factors that contribute to shaping inequality, how inequality persists, and how it impacts of social and economic performance. When Senegal became independent from French dominance in 1960, it had a gross domestic product that was roughly on par with Malaysia.
