Botswana is an upper middle-income country with a population of 2.25 million and a GNI per capita of $6,610
(World Bank, 2016a). A number of published sources cite Botswana as a case study in successful development,
despite adverse initial conditions, including an arid climate, minimal investment in infrastructure during the
colonial period, and high levels of poverty and inequality at independence (Fosu, 2013; Acemoglu & Robinson,
2012; Lewin, 2011; Acemoglu, Johnson, & Robinson, 2002). Since achieving independence in 1966, Botswana
has transitioned from one of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa—with an agricultural economy and a
GDP per capita of $84 (World Bank, 2016a; World Bank, 2016b)—to one of the richest, with an average GDP
growth rate of five percent per annum over the past ten years (Myers, 2016; World Bank, 2016c).