The Concept of a ‘Developmental State’ in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s rapid economic growth over the past decade, state intervention in the economy, and focus on industrialization are prompting characterizations of Ethiopia as a developmental state. This chapter discusses the concept of a developmental state in Ethiopia with reference to the East Asian developmental state model. It suggests that the Ethiopian state draws inspiration from the East Asian developmental state model in many ways. There is a strong ‘East Asian’ intellectual influence on prominent political figures in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian state intervenes heavily in the market, and it has a strong developmental vision to be achieved through industrialization. However, in other ways, the Ethiopian development model differs from the East Asian developmental state model. Public support for the state’s development project is somewhat fragile and fragmented, and the Ethiopian bureaucracy does not have much power or independence from the ruling party.