Introduction

The group of countries collectively known as ‘under-developed’, or ‘developing’ or ‘the third world’ have several problems and attitudes in common. A natural desire for generality in the analysis of their problems, however, sometimes hinders useful discussion by too great an emphasis on their similarities and too little attention to their differences. Economists who have worked in one region soon find they have to discard several preconceptions when they begin work in another. The issues in India and Togo are not identical. Even within a region, problems and priorities vary considerably. One of the aims of the comparative studies in this book is to provide material whereby similarities and differences within Africa can be assessed.