This volume analyses and compares economic growth in Nigeria and Indonesia during the period from 1950 to 1985, addressing questions as to why one country was so much more successful than the other. In providing some surprising answers for those who believed that the divergence would be found in deeply rooted, long term trends, the authors also offer insight into what has become a reversal of fortune in the late 1990's, as Indonesia has experienced decline, and the Nigerian economy had stabilized.