Accounting for Choices and Consequences: Examining the Political Economy of Social Policy in Africa

Abstract

The chapter examines the influences of social policy choices at national level.Policy choices reflect both economic and political values embodied and inherent in states. Further, social policy preferences reflect normative and principled values espoused by nation states. In this respect, national social policy choices emanate from political and social processes, and the country’s economic stance. Policy preferences are however subject to external processes with global processes impacting upon the contents of country policies. The result is that policy choices and preferences derive from not only national but global processes too. Globalization reflected in labor mobility, ease of communication and travel has increased interconnectedness and inter-relationships which, at times, transcend national policy priorities. Global policy agendas can be in conflict or in tandem with national priorities reflecting internal political, social and economic tensions. National states are continually in a process of exposure with pressure from globalized forces to adopt certain policies. It is therefore inevitable that conflict may arise, with disconnect between policy prescriptions and outcomes thereof. This is the focus of investigation in this chapter.