"Many people have tried to draw lessons from Botswana's apparent economic success, and

detailed historical research to tell the story of that success, and suggest that it is perhaps not

so unique after all. At the same time, they have shown how detailed case studies can contribute

to a more nuanced and complete understanding of African economic development since the

nineteenth century."

and interesting evidence demonstrating that the gap between rich and poor, so evident in

Botswana today, first began to show up in the 1940s."

- Neil Parsons, University of Botswana

sub-Saharan Africa. Due to its spectacular long-run economic performance and impressive

social development, it has been termed both an economic success story and a developmental

state. While there is uniqueness in the Botswana experience, several aspects of the country's

been both blessed and hindered by its natural resource abundance and dependency, which have

influenced growth periods, opportunities for economic diversification, strategies for sustainable

economic and social development, and the distribution of incomes and opportunities.

of an African success story.

Ellen Hillbom is an Associate Professor at the Department of Economic History, Lund

Jutta Bolt is an Associate Professor at the Department of Economic History, Lund University,

Sweden and affiliated with the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

Ellen Hillbom is an Associate Professor at the Department of Economic History, Lund University, Sweden. Her research focuses on Southern and Eastern Africa and addresses both historical and contemporary cases of agricultural and structural transformation, long-term inequality trends, natural resource dependency, property rights regimes governing agricultural resources, and smallholder production and commercialization.

Jutta Bolt is an Associate Professor at the Department of Economic History, Lund University, Sweden and affiliated with the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Her research focuses on understanding long-term comparative economic development patterns, with a special focus on Africa. Current research projects include demographic developments, long-term agricultural productivity and the historical origins of present-day income inequality. In addition she works in the Maddison Project measuring long-run global economic development.

Together with Mauritius, Botswana is often categorized as one of two growth miracles in sub-Saharan Africa. Due to its spectacular long-run economic performance and impressive social development, it has been termed both an economic success story and a developmental state. While there is uniqueness in the Botswana experience, several aspects of the country's opportunities and challenges are of a more general nature. Throughout its history, Botswana has been both blessed and hindered by its natural resource abundance and dependency, which have influenced growth periods, opportunities for economic diversification, strategies for sustainable economic and social development, and the distribution of incomes and opportunities.

Through a political economy framework, Hillbom and Bolt provide an updated understanding of an African success story, covering the period from the mid-19th century, when the Tswana groups settled, to the present day. Understanding the interaction over time between geography and factor endowments on the one hand, and the development of economic and political institutions on the other, offers principle lessons from Botswana's experience to other natural resource rich developing countries.