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ISBN 92-808-1082-1
2003, 440 pages
US$37.95, paper
Reforming Africa’s Institutions: Ownership, Incentives, and Capabilities
Edited by Steve Kayizzi-Mugerwa

There is not a single African country that did not attempt public sector reforms in the 1990s. Governments no longer see themselves as sole suppliers of social services, frequently opting for partnerships with the private sector. Efficiency and choice have entered the language of the planning and implementation units of Africa’s line ministries, while privatization is no longer the controversial subject it was a decade ago. There have also been moves towards more open and democratic governments.

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Reforming Africa’s Institutions looks at the extent to which reforms undertaken in Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years have enhanced institutional capacities across the breadth of government. To what extent have reforms been internalized and defended by governments? The authors also look specifically at the impact of public sector reforms on these economies and pose the question whether ‘ownership

  • can be attained when countries continue to be heavily dependent on external support.

    The volume is presented in three parts. The first focuses on the issue of reform ownership; on the issues of governance, the political economy of reform ownership, and the contradictions inherent in using aid as an instrument for enhancing domestic reform ownership. Part two examines the nature of incentives in the African civil service and the reforms undertaken in recent years to raise public sector efficiency in Africa. The third part discusses issues related to institutional capabilities in Africa and how they have been affected by the reforms undertaken in the 1990s, including privatization and movement towards political pluralism.

    Steve Kayizzi-Mugerwa has undertaken research on many African countries and published widely on issues related to growth, economic adjustment, and poverty reduction. Formerly an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, he is now attached to the IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office in Washington, DC. During 2000-1, he directed the project on Institutional Capabilities, Reform Ownership and Development in sub-Saharan Africa at the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) in Helsinki.

    Table of Contents:

  • Introduction
  • Part I: The Political Economy of Reform Ownership
  • Governance and policy in Africa
  • Owning Economic Reforms: A comparative study of Ghana and Tanzania
  • Do donors matter for institutional reform in Africa
  • Zambian policy making and the donor community in the 1990's
  • Part II: Incentive structures and incentives in the public sector
  • Economic and institutional reforms in French speaking West Africa: Impact on efficiency and growth
  • Reform of the Malawian public sector: Incentives, governance and accountability
  • Incentive structure and efficiency in the Kenyan civil service
  • Incentive structure, civil service efficiency and the hidden economy in Nigeria
  • The Mozambican civil service: Incentives, reforms and performance
  • Part III: Developing Institutional Capabilities
  • Privatization in sub-Saharan Africa: On factors affecting implementation
  • Decentralization, local bureaucracies and service delivery in Uganda
  • Institutional development in Africa: The case of insolvency law
  • Non-formal institutions, informal economies, and the politics of inclusion
  • Relevance of the Nordic model for African development

    List of Contributors:

  • Tony Addison
  • Arne Bigsten
  • Anders Danielson
  • Dick Durevall
  • Moses L. Golola
  • Abdalla Hamdok
  • Steve Kayizzi-Mugerwa Damiano Kulundu Manda
  • Mohammed Salisu
  • Jos
  • A. Sulemane
  • Aili Mari Tripp
  • Yvonne M. Tsikata
  • Hendrik van der Heijden
  • Clas Wihlborg

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