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In the 1930s, precarious conditions in the Congolese countryside prompted the colonial authorities to adopt an innovative agricultural development scheme, known under the name of "indigenous peasantries". The longer-term... more
In the 1930s, precarious conditions in the Congolese countryside prompted the colonial authorities to adopt an innovative agricultural development scheme, known under the name of "indigenous peasantries". The longer-term goals of the scheme were to end compulsory cultivation (practised on a large scale since World War I) and replace traditional subsistence farming with modern, commercial farming practised by individual smallholders working their own plot of land. After a long gestation and experimentation phase, the scheme was introduced on a significant scale across the Congo from the late 1940s onwards. This contribution retraces its implementation in the Equateur district of the Belgian Congo. Although it was conceived as a voluntary scheme, soon the authorities resorted to compulsory methods to ensure its success. The implementation on the ground soon brought a host of problems to light, particularly with regard to land tenure rights, transmission of agricultural knowledge, poor infrastructures, flight and imperfect markets - some of which still hamper agricultural development in the Congo to this day.
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The 1970s were a turbulent period in postwar monetary history. This paper focuses on how central bankers at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), especially Alexandre Lamfalussy, the BIS’s Economic Adviser, responded to the Great... more
The 1970s were a turbulent period in postwar monetary history. This paper focuses on how central bankers at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), especially Alexandre Lamfalussy, the BIS’s Economic Adviser, responded to the Great Inflation. The breakdown of Bretton Woods forced central bankers to look for new monetary policy strategies as the exchange rate lost its central role. Lamfalussy, in his early years a Keynesian in favour of discretionary policies, moved to a "conservative Keynesian" position, acknowledging that a medium term orientation and the credibility of monetary policy were important to break inflationary expectations. However, Lamfalussy never moved to “monetarist” positions. Lamfalussy certainly acknowledged that monetary targets could reinforce the credibility and independence of monetary policy. However, he rejected mechanical rules. In essence he aimed for a middle position: rules applied with a pragmatic sense of discretion. In the early 1980s...
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In 1928, the Belgian King Albert I paid a state visit to the Belgian Congo. On the surface this was a triumphant trip, highlighting the loyalty of the colony to the mother country and its unity in the face of potential expansionist... more
In 1928, the Belgian King Albert I paid a state visit to the Belgian Congo. On the surface this was a triumphant trip, highlighting the loyalty of the colony to the mother country and its unity in the face of potential expansionist pretensions of other colonial powers. The King also saw the other side of the story: the often ruthless economic exploitation of the colony for the benefit of the colonizer and, all to often, to the detriment of the colonised. In his private travel diary he commented lucidly and critically on the real situation in the Belgian colony at the end of the 1920s.
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In the wake of the recent financial crisis, the term "macroprudential" has become a true buzzword. A core element of international efforts to strengthen the financial system is to enhance the macroprudential orientation of... more
In the wake of the recent financial crisis, the term "macroprudential" has become a true buzzword. A core element of international efforts to strengthen the financial system is to enhance the macroprudential orientation of regulatory and supervisory frameworks. Yet the term was little used before the crisis, and its meaning remains obscure. This special feature traces the term's origins to the late 1970s, in the context of work on international bank lending carried out under the aegis of the Euro-currency Standing Committee at the BIS. It then describes its changing fortunes until its recent rise to prominence.
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In the 1930s, precarious conditions in the Congolese countryside prompted the colonial authorities to adopt an innovative agricultural development scheme, known under the name of "indigenous peasantries". The longer-term goals of the... more
In the 1930s, precarious conditions in the Congolese countryside prompted the colonial authorities to adopt an innovative agricultural development scheme, known under the name of "indigenous peasantries". The longer-term goals of the scheme were to end compulsory cultivation (practised on a large scale since World War I) and replace traditional subsistence farming with modern, commercial farming practised by individual smallholders working their own plot of land. After a long gestation and experimentation phase, the scheme was introduced on a significant scale across the Congo from the late 1940s onwards. This contribution retraces its implementation in the Equateur district of the Belgian Congo. Although it was conceived as a voluntary scheme, soon the authorities resorted to compulsory methods to ensure its success. The implementation on the ground soon brought a host of problems to light, particularly with regard to land tenure rights, transmission of agricultural knowledge, poor infrastructures, flight and imperfect markets - some of which still hamper agricultural development in the Congo to this day.
Research Interests:
Reviews the imposition and development of a dual land tenure system in the Belgian Congo. While colonial legislation in theory upheld traditional (indigenous) land tenure rights, in reality it allowed for the expropriation of so-called... more
Reviews the imposition and development of a dual land tenure system in the Belgian Congo. While colonial legislation in theory upheld traditional (indigenous) land tenure rights, in reality it allowed for the expropriation of so-called vacant land on a massive scale to the benefit of the colonizer. Not surprisingly the land tenure question developed into a politically contentious issue towards the end of the colonial period.