Côte d'Ivoire in the Meiji Era: A relevant analogy for industrialisation.
The “Meiji Restoration” (1868), also known as the “Meiji Revolution,” began under the reign of the young Emperor Mutsuhito. This political, economic and social upheaval transformed a feudal, isolated Japan into a global industrial and military power within a few decades. This transformation has become a textbook case, and comparisons with Côte d’Ivoire’s trajectory are often drawn. Under Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the country’s first president, Côte d’Ivoire experienced the “Ivorian miracle” (1960s–1970s), driven by a proactive policy of economic openness and the rise of export crops, with growth averaging about 7 to 8% a year and peaks above 10%. In its spirit of accelerated modernization, this model, based on agriculture and infrastructure investment, recalls certain recipes of Meiji Japan. Today, President Alassane Ouattara, a former Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, has led a remarkable economic recovery. Macroeconomic indicators are in the green: average growth of 8.1% between 201...