Policy In sub-Saharan Africa Research Articles

Political Influence on Fiscal and Monetary Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa

This article examines the extent to which political variables affect budget deficits, money growth and inflation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using the Arellano–Bond dynamic panel data analysis on 36 SSA countries from 1980 to 2010, we first characterise the impact of presidential elections on two policy variables: government budget deficits and money growth. We then examine the impact of government budget deficits and money growth on inflation, while taking account of any direct political pressure via presidential elections. Importantly, we show that country groups, based on the level of income, are important in teasing out the varying effects of budget deficits and elections, finding evidence of political budget cycles and political monetary cycles in the middle-income countries. We also characterise whether a country is part of a fixed-exchange rate regime, showing that this limits electoral pressure on the monetary policy variable. We examine the competitiveness of elections by whether they are multiparty or single-party elections and by whether there is an incumbent candidate running for re-election. When we examine the feed-on effects on inflation, there is little indication that the election pressures on either fiscal or monetary variables become inflationary. There is evidence, however, of money growth and budget deficits being directly inflationary, particularly in the low-income countries.

Responding to Changes in HIV Policy: Updating and Enhancing the Families Matter! Curriculum.

The past decade has seen changes in US HIV policy in sub-Saharan Africa in response to a new Administration and far-reaching technical, scientific and programmatic developments. These include: dramatically increased access to life-saving ART and related services; the roll-out of voluntary medical male circumcision; and growing sensitivity to gender-based violence, including child sexual abuse, and to its role in increasing vulnerability to HIV. The Families Matter! Program (FMP) is an intervention for parents and caregivers of 9-12 year-olds that promotes effective parent-child communication about sexuality and sexual risk reduction. FMP was adapted from a US evidence-based intervention in 2003-4 and is now implemented in eight African countries. In 2012-13, the FMP curriculum was updated and enhanced to respond to new US Government priorities. Enhancements to the curriculum drew on the results of Violence Against Children surveys, on a review of existing literature, on feedback from the field on the existing curriculum, and on stories written by young people across Africa for scriptwriting competitions. We updated FMP with scientific content and stronger linkages to services. We also intensified our focus on structural determinants of risk. This contextualisation of sexual risk-taking within structural constraints led us to place greater emphasis on gendered vulnerability and the diverse pressures children face, and to intensify our situation-based pedagogical approach, drawing on the authentic youth-authored narratives. We describe these changes as an illustration of and source of insight into much-needed programmatic adaptation in response to evolving HIV policy.

Translanguaging as a vehicle for epistemic access: cases for reading comprehension and multilingual interactions

African multilingualism has always been construed from a monoglossic (i.e., one language at a time) lens despite the pretensions of plural language policies in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study reported in this paper explored the efficacy of alternating languages of input and output in the same lessons in order to offset linguistic fixity that is often experienced in monolingual classrooms. I present two case studies of translanguaging practices, one at an institution of higher learning and another in the intermediate phase (primary school). The results from these cases show that the use of more than one language by multilingual learners in classroom settings provides cognitive and social advantages for them. Using what I refer to as the ubuntu translanguaging model, I make a case that fuzziness and blurring of boundaries between languages in the translanguaging classes are (i) necessary and relevant features of the 21st century to enhance epistemic access for speakers in complex multilingual spaces, and that they are (ii) indexical to the pre-colonial African value system of ubuntu. Useful recommendations for classroom applications and further research are considered at the end of the paper.

School Fees and Access to Primary Education: Assessing Four Decades of Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa

In this article, we examine the relationship between primary school fees and education quality and access over the past forty years in seven sub-Saharan African countries. School fees were introduced as a means for revenue-constrained governments to fund the improvement and expansion of primary education. Recently there has been a move towards their abolition. We find that the introduction of fees decreased primary school enrolment, without achieving significant quality improvements. We also discuss the impact on quality of the major increases in enrolment following the abolition of school fees and identify the government funding shortfall amplified by this policy change.

Fertility Decline and Child Schooling in Urban Settings of Burkina Faso

As evidenced in Western rich countries, Asia, and Latin America, lower fertility allows couples to invest more in each of their children's schooling. This postulate is the key rationale of family planning policies in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, most studies on Africa have found no correlation or even a positive relationship between the number of children in a family and their educational attainment. These mixed results are usually explained by African family solidarity and resource transfers that might reduce pressures on household resources occasioned by many births as well as methodological problems that have afflicted much research on the region. Our study aims to assess the impact of family size on children's schooling in Ouagadougou (capital of Burkina Faso), using a better measure of household budget constraints and taking into account the simultaneity of fertility and schooling decisions. In contrast to most prior studies on sub-Saharan Africa, we find a net negative effect of sibship size on the level of schooling achieved by children--one that grows stronger as they progress through the educational system.

Great apes and biodiversity offset projects in Africa: the case for national offset strategies.

The development and private sectors are increasingly considering “biodiversity offsets” as a strategy to compensate for their negative impacts on biodiversity, including impacts on great apes and their habitats in Africa. In the absence of national offset policies in sub-Saharan Africa, offset design and implementation are guided by company internal standards, lending bank standards or international best practice principles. We examine four projects in Africa that are seeking to compensate for their negative impacts on great ape populations. Our assessment of these projects reveals that not all apply or implement best practices, and that there is little standardization in the methods used to measure losses and gains in species numbers. Even if they were to follow currently accepted best-practice principles, we find that these actions may still fail to contribute to conservation objectives over the long term. We advocate for an alternative approach in which biodiversity offset and compensation projects are designed and implemented as part of a National Offset Strategy that (1) takes into account the cumulative impacts of development in individual countries, (2) identifies priority offset sites, (3) promotes aggregated offsets, and (4) integrates biodiversity offset and compensation projects with national biodiversity conservation objectives. We also propose supplementary principles necessary for biodiversity offsets to contribute to great ape conservation in Africa. Caution should still be exercised, however, with regard to offsets until further field-based evidence of their effectiveness is available.

Population Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case of Both Normative and Coercive Ties to the World Polity

During the 1980s and 1990s, two-thirds of sub-Saharan African countries adopted national population policies to reduce population growth. Based on multivariate statistical analysis, I show that countries with more ties to the world polity were more likely to adopt population policies. In order to refine world polity theory, however, I distinguish between normative and coercive ties to the world polity. I show that ties to the world polity via international nongovernmental organizations became predictive of population policy adoption only after the 1994 United Nations International Conference on Population and Development institutionalized reproductive health as a global norm to which countries could show adherence through population policies. Ties to the World Bank in the form of indebtedness, presumed to be coercive, were associated with population policy adoption throughout the time period observed. Gross domestic product per capita, democracy, and religion also all predicted population policy adoption. The case of population policy adoption in sub-Saharan Africa thus demonstrates that ties to organizations likely to exert normative pressure are most influential when something about international norms is at stake, while ties to organizations with coercive capacity matter regardless of time, but may be easier for wealthier countries to resist.

‘It means there is doubt in the house’: perceptions and experiences of HIV testing in rural Malawi

Research on HIV testing decision-making overlooks a complex array of interpersonal factors that go beyond HIV risk and extend into the realms of intimacy, love and marriage. The current study draws upon two sets of qualitative data, semi-structured interviews and focus-group discussions, to investigate how romantic relationships shape HIV testing perceptions and experiences in rural Malawi. It invokes the classical works of symbolic interactionism to frame how people create meaning around the act of HIV testing that fits with their everyday lives. Pre-marital HIV testing was considered an acceptable method to confirm a partner's trustworthiness and commitment to the relationship. However, during marriage, a spontaneous discussion of HIV testing signified a breach of fidelity or that a partner could not be trusted. This belief was transposed such that an HIV test could also be used to confirm a person's moral character in the face of infidelity accusations and gossip. Thus, HIV testing during marriage was labelled as an unusual event, one reserved for special or problematic circumstances, rather than for regular screening of disease. A discussion of how these findings can inform HIV testing programmes and policy in sub-Saharan Africa is provided.

In the name of human rights: the problematics of EU ethical foreign policy in Africa and elsewhere

This doctoral research project explores avenues to research ethically defined foreign policy differently, i.e. in ways that more systematically account for its counterproductive elements. Building on the specific case of the European Union’s foreign policy in sub-Saharan Africa, embodied by the 2000 Cotonou Agreement and the 2007 Joint Africa-EU Strategy, through four papers and one books review, the study firstly develops the Ethical Intervener Europe analytical framework to account for the embedded problematics in the EU’s ethical foreign policy. Secondly, through an eclectic theoretical approach, the study seeks to theoretically pin-point some alternatives to think about ethical foreign policy and finally, looks to concretize it through its application on the case of relative autonomous peace- and state-building in Somaliland. This research report briefly introduces the different findings and addresses the need for further research in view of a decolonial approach to the study of ethical foreign policy in a context of structural inequality.

In the name of human rights: the problematics of EU ethical foreign policy in Africa and elsewhere

This doctoral research project explores avenues to research ethically defined foreign policy differently, i.e. in ways that more systematically account for its counterproductive elements. Building on the specific case of the European Union’s foreign policy in sub-Saharan Africa, embodied by the 2000 Cotonou Agreement and the 2007 Joint Africa-EU Strategy, through four papers and one books review, the study firstly develops the Ethical Intervener Europe analytical framework to account for the embedded problematics in the EU’s ethical foreign policy. Secondly, through an eclectic theoretical approach, the study seeks to theoretically pin-point some alternatives to think about ethical foreign policy and finally, looks to concretize it through its application on the case of relative autonomous peace- and state-building in Somaliland. This research report briefly introduces the different findings and addresses the need for further research in view of a decolonial approach to the study of ethical foreign policy in a context of structural inequality. Key words: ethical foreign policy, (humanitarian) interventions, EU, sub-Saharan Africa, Somaliland, decoloniality, democratization, state-building

Pro-poor trade policy in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines the presence of a pro-poor bias in the existing structure of protection of six Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, and Madagascar. We build on a simple agricultural household production model and we propose an extension to include adjustments in labor income. Our approach, which can be implemented without repeated cross-sections of household level data, suits well the data constraints in SSA. It also allows us to capture the heterogeneity in trade protection at the tariff line level. The pro-poor bias indicators suggest that SSA's trade policies tend to be biased in favor of poor households, as these policies redistribute income from rich to poor households. This is because protection increases the agricultural prices of goods that are sold by African households and this effect dominates both the impacts of higher consumption prices and the strong Stolper–Samuelson effects that benefit skilled over unskilled workers.

What Can Climate‐Adaptation Policy in Sub‐Saharan Africa Learn from Research on Governance and Politics?

There has been relatively little thinking about the political context of climate‐adaptation policy in sub‐Saharan Africa, what this means for the quality of governance, and the capacity to plan and deliver what are often quite complex policies and programmes. This is all the more surprising given the quantity and depth of what is already known about politics and governance in Africa. This article asks what can be learned from this body of knowledge and experience that is relevant for climate‐adaptation policy.

Cardiometabolic Risk in a Rural Ugandan Population

Although many studies have examined metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the Framingham Risk Score (FRS), few studies have been carried out in African populations. This limited information on MetS and FRS leaves us with an incomplete understanding of the prevalence and distribution of risk of cardiometabolic disease in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It also prevents us from critically evaluating how each of the varying definitions of MetS compares in African populations. A clearer understanding of MetS and FRS in African populations may provide the basis for better identifying the impact of these definitions and tools on disease risk and, furthermore, help to evaluate the usefulness of such tools for research and for informing public health care and prevention policy in SSA.

Early Childhood Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract In recent years, increasing priority has been placed on the development of national intersectoral early childhood development (ECD) policies in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper reviews the role of national ECD policies to promote young children’s access to key early childhood services. We discuss the proliferation of national ECD policies in Sub-Saharan Africa in the last decade and argue that for most countries, these documents can be useful, but are not sufficient without proper implementation and enforcement. We look specifically at the different ECD policies and institutional arrangements in four countries in East Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and draw out some cross-country lessons for moving from policy development to implementation.

Mind the (yield) gap(s)

This paper explores the origin of the notion of “yield gap” and its use as a framing device for agricultural policy in sub-Saharan Africa. The argument is that while the yield gap of policy discourse provides a simple and powerful framing device, it is most often used without the discipline or caveats associated with the best examples of its use in crop production ecology and microeconomics. This argument is developed by examining how yield gap is used in a selection of recent and influential agricultural policy documents. The message for policy makers and others is clear: “mind the (yield) gap(s)”, for they are seldom what they appear.

Ettien Koffi: Paradigm Shift in Language Planning and Policy: Game-Theoretic Solutions

Koffi’s ambitious volume suggests that Game Theory can explain decisions that the colonials enacted regarding education language policies in Sub-Saharan Africa and that this theory can predict the best outcome in his case study of policy for Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Also, such predictions would hold for policies in those African urban ‘‘megacities’’ that show an ethnolinguistic equilibrium (i.e., no single indigenous LWC (language of wider communication)). I admire him for his ambition in trying to provide language policy researchers with a set of theoretical propositions and for his ingenuity in proposing Game Theory as relevant to explaining policy decisions affecting education. Yes, some aspects of Game Theory seem applicable to informing policy choices in Africa. As in games, education policy planners pick a strategy (make a decision) that produces a clear outcome. But Game Theory generally involves a very limited number of players who must make quick and clear cut decisions that are based on what they know about the other players and their decisions, as in the famous Prisoner’s Dilemma that involves only two players. In Africa, the players are not so few; in fact, Koffi comes up with 42 players in most nations, from missionaries to colonial administrators to rural, uneducated Africans. Further, how much the different players know may vary considerably in the African setting. Still, as in Game Theory, they are presented with choices that not just depend on what they know, but more on their level of commitment to the positions they hold. But unlike players in Game Theory, few of the African players in the past—and even today—have participated in making decisions in ‘‘the language game’’ (or have been allowed to do so). Further, it is an open question whether objectively-based information about the knowledge and opinions of past or current players in Africa exists. Yet Kofi assigns numbers indicating players’ commitments to their positions and how they stand in comparison with other players. In this way, he arrives at

She Came, She Saw, She Sowed: Re-negotiating Gender-Responsive Priorities for Effective Development of Agricultural Biotechnology in Sub-Saharan Africa

In this paper, we argue for the importance of incorporating a gendered perspective for the effective development of sustainable agricultural biotechnology systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Priority setting for agricultural policy and project development requires attention to gender issues specific to the demands of agricultural biotechnology. This is essential for successfully addressing food security and poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). There has been a great deal of debate and literature on the implications of gender in agricultural development and policy. However, the implications of gender in agricultural biotechnology and have received relatively less attention, especially in SSA. Based on interviews with key stakeholders in agricultural biotechnology across SSA, review of pertinent literature and field observations, we have found that incorporating a gendered perspective is critical for the sustainable development of agricultural biotechnology and requires attention in five areas: the inclusion of women, particularly women farmers, in decision-making around biotech/genetically modified (GM) crop and trait selection; equal representation of women as men in education for agricultural science and in agricultural biotechnology research and development professions; greater involvement of women in extension services and farmers’ associations for successful delivery of information about biotech crops equality between men and women in access to resources for biotech/GM crop cultivation; and increased control for women farmers over biotech/GM crop management and income generation. We explain the consequences of failing to include such gender-responsive considerations into priority setting for agricultural biotechnology development and policy in SSA and provide recommendations for how policy makers and project partners of development initiatives can avoid such oversights.

The challenges of industrialisation in Sub-Saharan Africa and lessons from East Asia

In the past few decades, several developing economies, particularly in East Asia and parts of Latin America, have successfully transformed their economies and acknowledged as newly industrialised economies. The new industrialisers have also emerged as key players in the global economy breaking into lucrative foreign markets in industrialised economies. However, Sub-Saharan Africa has been marginalised by contemporary industrialisation. The unenviable trend has been blamed for the escalation of endemic poverty and inequality in the sub-region, presenting policy makers with considerable challenges. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are to examine the state of industrialisation in Sub-Saharan Africa. It employs empirical data to analyse industrial outputs in the sub-region from 1965 to 2005 and affirms the stagnating trend in the sub-region’s industrial output for several countries. The study therefore presents a comprehensive framework aimed at scaling-up industrial policies in Sub-Saharan Africa, modelled after the newly industrialised economies in East Asia.

Public opinion and support for government AIDS policies in sub-Saharan Africa

Based on data from Afrobarometer’s 2008–2009 public opinion surveys in 20 sub-Saharan African states, this article examines the extent of support for government AIDS policies. While many international and nongovernmental organizations have criticized African governments for failing to implement comprehensive HIV/AIDS policies, survey data shows that citizens have generally positive assessments of their governments’ responses. The findings demonstrate that support for a government’s AIDS policies arises less from demographic characteristics and more from experiences with and perceptions of the government’s capabilities. In particular, those in better economic circumstances and those who approve of the president’s job performance show particularly strong support for their government’s AIDS policies. This may suggest that leaders are exhibiting the political will necessary to implement holistic AIDS policies and receiving support for them, but it may also suggest respondents are not differentiating between support for the government as a whole and support for particular policy areas.

Post-crisis Monetary Policy Frameworks in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract: Most of the monetary policy frameworks which use a domestic anchor for monetary policy in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) employ quantitative money targets. Although these frameworks proved useful in reducing inflation in SSA, they are not well suited to the discretionary fine tuning of monetary policy. Monetary policy frameworks should be reformed in the post-crisis period, especially in the ‘frontier markets’ of SSA, where the need for activist demand management will grow in line with economic development and the integration of domestic financial sectors into global markets. Reforms should include adopting a broader set of policy objectives in addition to inflation, replacing broad money as the intermediate target with a more sophisticated set of indicators and forecasts and reform of the operating target. In essence, central banks should introduce a form of inflation targeting lite. This should be complemented by measures to strengthen the transmission mechanism of monetary policy.