In 1985, Klitgaard (currently at the RAND Corporation) was sent by
the World Bank as an economist-consultant to Equatorial Guinea, a
tiny West African nation that's one of the world's poorest. In this
engaging memoir - a mix of personal reminiscence and economic
analysis - Klitgaard tells of his two-and-a-half-year struggle to
rehabilitate the local economy. What Klitgaard discovered during
his stay was lethargy, corruption, and adventurism, occasionally
leavened with humor and good will. His analyses of the economic
problems facing Equatorial Guinea - imports outstripping exports,
lack of financial liquidity in banking institutions, scarcity of
outside investment, exploitation by the ruling caste - are cogent
and convincing; his suggested solutions - reduction of export taxes
and debt payments through renegotiation, payment of debts by
government officials, international publicity campaigns,
agricultural cooperatives - make sense. In addition to writing of
his efforts to revitalize the country's sagging cocoa industry,
Klitgaard also discusses his work to foster human rights in the
tribal-based society. In one moving segment, he tells the story of
"Saturnino," a co-worker who was arrested and tortured by the
government for unspecified crimes. Klitgaard was unswerving in his
efforts to discover the fate of his friend, despite almost
universal advice that he leave well enough atone. Eventually, after
Saturnine was released, Klitgaard confronted the nation's president
and was assured that henceforth human rights would be respected. On
a lighter note, Klitgaard writes of searching the coastline for
surfing sites, and of foiling the plans of local women bent on
marrying the rich foreigner. Both as economic treatise and travel
journal: an intriguing look at a little-known comer of the world.
(Kirkus Reviews)
Armed with his surfboard and a $10-million-dollar loan from the
World Bank, Robert Klitgaard, a Harvard-trained economist, arrived
in Equatorial Guinea, eager to rehabilitate its ruined economy.
Tropical Gangsters is his fascinating and compelling account of his
two-and-a-half-year adventure and an insightful look at why foreign
aid so often fails. Selected as one of the sx best nonfiction books
of 1990 by The New York Times Book Review.
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