ABSTRACT
Neighbours in Southern Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe represent two cases of differential access to the world economy. Notwithstanding its lack of diversification and its reliance on a primary mineral export, Botswana has prospered; despite its once strongly-diversified, manufacturing-led economy Zimbabwe has fallen into a deep crisis. In both cases, size and vulnerability are key factors, but in very different ways. Historical and comparative evidence allows us to transcend the superficial presumption common to much policy discourse, namely, that the basis for success depends upon simple-minded adherence to the ‘Washington Consensus’. We argue instead that there are much deeper problems and possibilities that Botswana and Zimbabwe unveil, which relate largely to developmental linkages and in economic management and planning (Fine and Rustomjee 1997).
