McNair Scholar 2023 - Sarah Haile
Sarah Haile is a rising student at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, where she is pursuing a double major in Political Science & African and African American Studies and a minor in Applied Economics. Her professional interests revolve around social entrepreneurship initiatives contributing to Africa's growth.
Quote from Sarah Haile
"My dream is to support African startups addressing economic, cultural, and political needs. I aim to become a social entrepreneur and venture capitalist through higher education in international relations or an MBA path."
Research project
Exploring the Link between Tribalism and Economic Development in Africa
Abstract: This literature review is an economic history analysis of the relationship between tribalism and African development post-colonial rule. Ekeh (1990) defines Tribalism as structured social formations that exude loyalty within individuals through associated ties. Pre-Colonial rule, African societies congregated as tribes governed through indigenous systems. However, following Africa's "Great Scramble" in the early twentieth century, European colonialists destroyed these indigenous structures by subsuming them under an exploitative form of eurocentric rule. In other words, they created systems designed to extract natural resources and exploit Africans while maintaining power over them. A characteristic of the pernicious governance structures was tribal favoritism, in which one tribe is frequently favored over others (Gluckman 1960). Tribalism can impede economic progress by generating social and economic divisions that limit group cooperation and collaboration. This can lead to a breakdown in social cohesion, making establishing institutions that promote economic growth and development more challenging.
Faculty mentor
Tade Okediji is a tenured professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He holds joint positions in the Department of Applied Economics in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) and the Department of African American & African Studies in the College of Liberal Arts (CLA). Professor Okediji’s internationally recognized research and scholarship focus on comparative institutional economic development with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. His work examines the effects of ethnic diversity on long-term economic performance in sub-Saharan Africa and the relationship between race, ethnicity, and economic development in Brazil.