Understandings of the past performance and future prospects for economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa are often shaped and confused by emotive images of tragedy and chronic crisis, by pious Western professions of faith in indigenous knowledge, local solutions and national ownership, by simplistic notions of corruption, and above all by inadequate or misleading evidence. As one observer put it, Africa suffers from "continent brand effect" so that every country apart from South Africa ends up sharing the same reputation. This book aims to help readers to form more careful assessments of the varied experiences of economic development in Africa and to develop thinking about policies for the future. Covering a broad range of topics - from land reform to the role of labour markets, the role of the state to trade and industrial policy - it attempts to disturb conventional categories of analysis, seeking not to impart a set of unquestionable commonsense truths but to prompt students to think for themselves. Exploring such questions as "Are NGOs demons or angels in Africa?" and "Do we under-estimate or over-estimate the impact of HIV/AIDS?" , the authors make full use of their more than 50 person years of experience in teaching the applied economics of Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, this is a vital textbook for all those studying or interested in African development.