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  • January 2019 (Revised December 2020)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Angola Starts Now

By: Jeremy Friedman and Sophus A. Reinert
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:28
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Abstract

After five centuries of colonialism, four decades of civil war, an extended experiment with Marxism-Leninism, and nearly four decades of rule by a single man, José Eduardo Dos Santos, Angola finally has a chance to realize its enormous economic potential. A country blessed with enormous resources of oil, gold, and diamonds, it also has some of the most fertile remaining untilled land in Africa. However, since the end of fighting in 2002, Angola’s vast wealth has been squandered by a small elite tied to the single party that has ruled the country since independence, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). In a country with a per capita GDP of over $4,000, the vast majority of the population subsists on less than $2 per day, and little investment has been made in infrastructure, education, and healthcare. Can the country’s—and the MPLA’s—new president, João Lourenço, implement the necessary reforms to unlock Angola’s economic potential, or will the existing power structure prevent the sort of change that is required if Angola’s people are to finally see the benefits of independence?

Keywords

Development Economics; Government and Politics; History; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Social Issues; Angola

Citation

Friedman, Jeremy, and Sophus A. Reinert. "Angola Starts Now." Harvard Business School Case 719-007, January 2019. (Revised December 2020.)
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About The Authors

Jeremy S. Friedman

Business, Government and the International Economy
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Sophus A. Reinert

Business, Government and the International Economy
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Related Work

    • February 2019
    • Faculty Research

    Angola Starts Now

    By: Jeremy Friedman and Sophus A. Reinert
    • January 2019 (Revised December 2020)
    • Faculty Research

    Angola Starts Now

    By: Jeremy Friedman and Sophus A. Reinert
Related Work
  • Angola Starts Now By: Jeremy Friedman and Sophus A. Reinert
  • Angola Starts Now By: Jeremy Friedman and Sophus A. Reinert
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