Aid and Reform in Africa : Lessons from Ten Case Studies

By S. Devarajan, David L. Dollar, T. Holmgren. 2002

373 citations recorded by the source corpus.

This book synthesizes the findings from ten case studies that investigate whether, when, and how foreign aid affected economic policy in Africa, and reveals the range of African policy experience. Results varied enormously, for example, while Ghana and Uganda were successful reformers that grew rapidly reducing poverty, Cote d'Ivoire and Ethiopia have shown significant reform recently, but its sustainability remains to be seen, and, in other countries, policies changed little, or even worsened. Based on the World Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, the study relates foreign aid in the 1990s, to a measure of overall economic policy, a broad measure that covers macroeconomic management, as well as effectiveness of the public sector in providing essential services for growth, and poverty reduction. In assessing aid, and reform policy, the study subdivides these countries in three groups: the post-socialist reformers (Ethiopia, Mali and Tanzania); the mixed reformers (Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya and Zambia), and the non-reformers (The Democratic Republic of Congo - Zaire - and Nigeria). Although defining "good policy", and how to measure it may be controversial, research and experience established a fair knowledge: absence of high inflation, functioning foreign exchange, openness to foreign trade, effective rule of law, and delivery of key services. Conclusions stipulate that key to successful reform, is a political movement for change; that key to beneficial aid is its disbursement alongside actual policy improvements; and, that technical assistance, and policy dialogue should continue a high level of finance in productive environments.

Subfields: Development, Information Systems, Safety Research

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/af18d5737ffc11201f6bea7c08240a8a4ea4beec

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In Development

1. V. Nanda
2. D. Craig
3. Tomi Ovaska
4. D. Brautigam
5. D. Porter
6. T. Jayne
7. L. Rakner
8. F. Ellis

In Information Systems

1. D. Craig
2. Tomi Ovaska
3. D. Porter
4. T. Jayne

In Safety Research

1. V. Nanda
2. Tomi Ovaska
3. D. Brautigam
4. T. Jayne

Citations in the corpus

• The Failure of Development Aid (2003, result): “This logic is reminiscent of that by Devarajan, Dollar, and Holmgren (2001), Vásquez (1998), and Kornai (1992).”
• The “Good Governance” Concept Revisited (2006, background): “…David Dollar, the main author of the Bank report, collaborating with other Bank researchers, conducted a case study of ten Sub-Saharan African countries and reaffirmed his earlier finding that conditionalities had not succeeded in inducing policy changes (Devarajan, Dollar, and Holgren 2001).”
• False Promise or False Premise? The Experience of Food and Input Market Reform in Eastern and Southern Africa (2002, methodology): “In most cases, however and as concluded by others, the state budgetary situation and strategic political risks appear to play important roles in influencing the path of government market reform implementation (Devarajan et al., 2001).”
• Business associations and growth coalitions in Sub-Saharan Africa (2002, background): “A recent World Bank (Devarajan et al. 2001) study suggested that the Uganda Manufacturers Association was closely involved in the broad set of reforms undertaken there, while exporters represented in Kenya's Export Promotion Council (established in 1992) have new access to export policy debates (Dev”
• Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers: A New Convergence (2003, background): “In March 2000 Uganda was singled out as only one of two countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, receiving large amounts of foreign aid in the 1980s and 1990s, that had adopted and maintained 'sound policy' (World Bank, 2000b).”