Humphreys, MacartanBates, Robert2010-02-252005Humphreys, Macartan, and Robert Bates. 2005. Political institutions and economic policies: Lessons from Africa. British Journal of Political Science 35, no. 3: 403-428.1469-21120007-1234http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:3707094Many assert that the economic problems of Africa possess political origins. In particular, they point to a lack of political accountability and argue that economic reform and the renewal of growth depend upon political reform and in particular upon the promotion of competitive electoral politics. Summarizing these arguments, this article formalizes and tests them, using both an African and global sample of data. While it finds support for the view that within Africa – and globally – competitive institutions are associated with less extractive policies, it finds no evidence that these institutions have facilitated the implementation of Washington consensus policies.en-US2010-02-2510.1017/S0007123405000232