cameroon's economic performance over the past 20 years, unlike that of most developing countries, has been remarkably good. to help determine the reasons for this success, this paper examines the effects of public policies on private sector development in cameroon initial sections describe cameroon's demography and its history and review political and economic development since the country gained independence in 1961. next, the principles underlying cameroon's public policies - national unity, political and social order, a mixed degree of government control of the economy, and a slow and cautious approach to economic development - are outlined. specific government policies and their economic effects are then detailed. external policies are described as being nonrestrictive in regard to international payments and currency exchange, but overly restrictive in regard to commerce, especially exports. internal economic policies regarding agriculture, finance, and industry are shown to combine direct intervention with a laissez-faire approach. a review of the role of u.s. and other donor assistance to the private sector shows foreign aid to be an important source of import capacity, although increasingly overshadowed by oil revenues. a detailed case study of one of cameroon's parastatals, the corporation for the development of cotton, is then presented, and the corporation's success in providing economic opportunities to small farmers without destroying their economic incentives noted. the study concludes that, while the effects of public policies on private development in cameroo