In early 1961, the IFO-Institut fUr Wirtschaftsforschung (Institute for Economic Research) established an "African Studies Centre" to conduct research into the economic and political problems of developing countries, with special reference to African nations south of the Sahara. Its activities are not confined to the field of economics. The emphasis is on inter-disci plinary cooperation and synthesis. Within the framework of the East Afri can Research Programme, which is supported by the Fritz Thyssen Foun dation, agricultural, sociological and legal studies have appeared or are in progress. In the field of economics, problems of economic planning are among the subjects receiving particular attention. Two issues of "Afrika Studien" deal with institutions and instruments of planning: N. AHMAD/ E. BECHER: Entwiddungsbanken und -gesellschaften in Tropisch Afrika (Development Banks and Companies in Tropical Africa), Afrika-Studien No. 1, and: R. GUSTEN/H. HELMSCHROTT: Volkswirtschaftliche Gesamtrech nungen in Tropisch Afrika (National Accounts in Tropical Africa), Afrika Studien No. 3. It is hoped that a comprehensive review of methods and results of economic planning in East Africa will be forthcoming in this series in the course of 1967. The present study was made subsequent to investigations conducted by a research team under my guidance in 1961/62; the author of this study, ROLF GUSTEN, was a member of this team.

The purpose of this volume is to focus attention on the economic and political development of the Sudan, to describe the progress and problems encountered in this development process, and to bring into a single book a comprehensive consideration of the situation in the Sudan. In terms of land area the Sudan is the largest nation in Africa, and one of the most sparsely populated countries in Africa. The Sudan enjoys a strategic location, commanding part of the Red Sea approach to the Suez Canal, and lying in close proximity to the rapidly growing Middle Eastern markets. Complementary aspects of food supply in the Sudan and the Middle East - the Sudan with its potential surplus - the Middle East with its needs - suggest a dynamic export growth pattern in the future.

The Arab world increasingly falls into two divisions, the capital-poor and the capital-rich countries (where capital means, in essence, oil). In the capital-rich countries shortage of labour is the chief constraint on growth. In the capital-poor countries analysis of the labour market is equally central, as shortage of labour compounds the already existing problem of shortage of capital. This book surveys the labour markets of the Arab world state by state, evaluating them by demand and supply analysis, and analysing the different elements in trends of employment. It forecasts the areas of stress in the next decade and suggests ways of minimising them. The book, based on much previously unpublished information and on extensive on-the-spot research in the respective Arab countries, sets out the economic and social conditions which underly the impending crisis of development in the Arab region. First published in 1980.