This paper investigates the outcome of the efforts to economically catch up during the so-called development era in French-speaking West Africa. An attempt is made to measure and discuss key elements of social capability over the period 1930–1980 in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal following Moses Abramovitz’ interpretation of social capability. The paper distinguishes between four elements of social capability: degree of structural transformation, social and economic inclusion, the state’s autonomy, and its accountability. We find that there was significant but uneven progress in social capability in both countries during the development era. Despite their differences in economic performance, both countries confronted fundamental shared challenges. Most notably, our analysis highlights how persistent lack of broad-based access to economic opportunities played a significant role in disrupting sustained economic and social progress in the two countries. This gives an opportunity to reflect on similarities and differences between the development era and the recent African growth phase.

中文翻译：

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超越奇迹和不适。1930-1980 年发展时期科特迪瓦和塞内加尔的社会能力

本文调查了西非法语区在所谓的发展时代为实现经济赶超所做的努力的结果。根据摩西·阿布拉莫维茨对社会能力的解释，试图衡量和讨论 1930 年至 1980 年期间科特迪瓦和塞内加尔社会能力的关键要素。该论文区分了社会能力的四个要素：结构转型程度、社会和经济包容性、国家自治及其问责制。我们发现，在发展时代，两国的社会能力进步显着，但并不均衡。尽管经济表现存在差异，但两国都面临着根本的共同挑战。最为显着地，我们的分析强调，持续缺乏广泛的经济机会是如何在破坏两国持续经济和社会进步方面发挥重要作用的。这为反思发展时代与最近非洲增长阶段之间的异同提供了机会。