The Real Economy of Zaire: The Contribution of Smuggling and Other Unofficial Activities to National Wealth - Softcover

A recent book The Real Economy of Zaire by Janet MacGaffey, estimates that including the second economy in calculations boosts the size of Zaire's economy threefold ... Western economists are tempted to tinker with the parallel economy, to gradually bring it within the bounds of the official one. This could be a sadly misguided effort, garroting one of the few things that really works in Africa. - Howard Schisel in INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
... compelling descriptive analysis ... clearly central to the study of African economies ... an intriguing insight into the complex relationships between the moribund official economy and the dynamic real economy which typifies much of the continent. - Christopher Adam in JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ECONOMIES
...satisfies one's underfed curiosity about Zaire, treats a subject worthy of a great deal more attention and is rich in anecdote ... readable and informative. - Gregroy Kronsten in DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW
Dirige par l'un des meilleurs specialistes du Zaire ...Par sa rigueur methodologique, il s'impose comme terme des etudes de reference sur le sujet. REVUE FRANCAISE DE SCIENCE POLITIQUE

How do people survive in an African country where the economy is a disaster? MacGaffey takes the case of Zaire where the centre is increasingly held by the 'second' or informal economy and proposes that all economies should be assessed to include the activities of the second economy such as smuggling which occur on a large scale throughout the continent.

North America: University of Pennsylvania Press