THE AFRICAN CRISIS:THE FUTURE OF THE DEVELOPMENTAL STATE
PIA 2574
Public Sector Reform and SARs
Author of the Week- Robert Bates
Markets and States in Tropical Africa
Important influence on rational choice theory
THESIS-Need to consider markets and how they
can be distorted by state decisions in terms of producers and prices, consumer goods and factors of production
Robert H. Bates is Eaton Professor of the Science of Government in the Departments of Government and African and African American Studies, Harvard University
Born: c. 1942
A Major Influence
on Public Policy
Reforms
Robert Bates Government policy subsidizes urban dwellers
Agricultural production used (or misused) to fund urban capital accumulation and/or capital flight
The state, in effect taxes farmers for state sponsored “crony capitalism” and excessive access “rents”
Nigerian Cartoon, 2007
Robert Bates The result is the depression of prices for cash crops
The key to understanding the economic system in Africa is in historical patterns of prices depression that goes back to the colonial period.
Monsopsonies- use of state agencies (often called marketing boards) to control marketing and sales of agricultural products.
Robert Bates The state distorts agricultural marketing
structures to divert gains to be had from commercial agriculture to other interest groups (the organizational bourgeoisie) employed in the state and in state controlled industries.
Result: the “Exit Option” for rural dwellers
Result- Structural Adjustment
Colonial Marketing Boards
Structural Adjustment: The Response to Bates The problem of debt
Stabilization vs. Conditionality
Public Sector Reform- Policy Reform
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC)
Debt as a problem- Issues:
The concepts of market and productivity
International systemic hegemony
International competition within markets
Complementarities and non-flexible prices
Policy Reduction and Growth Facility/ Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
Technical Assistance Bias to international trade
Back to the future- get the LDC economy back to the 1950s
Dependent development- is it dependent and is it development
An African Viewpoint of Poverty Assistance
The Current State of Financial Management
1. IMF Stabilization- key: currency reform, auctions and trade liberalization
2. World Bank and UNDP "Management"- Opposing views to SAPs
3. Absence of recurrent budgets
Stabilization Currency Auctions
Food prices meet market conditions
Trade Liberalization
Currency deregulation-auction
Bridging Loans
The Current State of Financial Management
4. Activity (economy) driven by technical assistance projects - the only game in town
5. Loans and grants- major source of international involvement
6. Conditionality-
Structural Adjustment Loans and Grantsa. Bridging Loans
b. Sectoral Loans and Grants
c. Project Grants
d. International Requirements vs. domestic political response
The International Regime IMF vs. World Bank vs. Bilateral Donors vs. UNDP
Terms:
a. Neo-Orthodoxyb. heterodoxyc. Stabilization and the IMF d. Conditionality- World Banke. The Use of social funds
Conditionality: The Big Threea. privatization
b. Civil Service reform
c. Reduction in the size of government
South African Cartoon Attacking PSRs
Privatization of the economya. divestiture
b. contracting out
c. liquidation
d. sell off public private partnership shares
"Privatization fights laziness, privatization fights poverty, privatization fights smuggling, and privatization fights unemployment.“ Kigali, Rwanda
Problem: Privatization of the bureaucracy
a. Individuals work with investments and the service/commercial sector
b. Departments sell their services- eg. statistics in Zaire/DRC
c. Sub-economic salaries- offices
and telephones- buying soap and
selling chickens and eggs
Solution: Privatization of the bureaucracy
d. International conditions for "good" bureaucrats, eg. World Bank in Uganda- special salaries for those on contract with the project
e. Overall Goal: Return to the recurrent budgeting process of the 1950s. End debt and deficits
IGEMBE KENYA
Discussion
What are the Major Issues Effecting African Development?
Is This Fair?
Books for the Week Michela Wrong, In The Footsteps of Mr.
Kurtz (New York: Harper Collins, 2002).
Books of the Week Mark Bowden, Blackhawk Down (New
York: Penguin, 2000).
Books of The Week Gillian Slovo, Every Secret Thing (London:
Virago, 2009)
“Ag Pleez Daddy” (1961) Gillian Slovo uses this song to demonstrate the
distance between her childhood and her parents’ fight against apartheid. She, along with Robyn Slovo and Shawn Slovo would sing the song incessently driving with their parents Ruth First and Joe Slovo around Johannesburg.
“Censored version”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hr75pqA8bo
http://multimedia.timeslive.co.za/audio/2009/03/joe-slovo-on-chris-hani-from-the-archives/
Questions What argument does each of our authors
make about the nature of the African crisis? Critique our authors.
What picture of northern influence over African states does the reading give us? Critique our authors.
What picture of African influence over structural adjustment does the reading give us? Critique each of our authors.
More Questions
Defend the Western Style multi-party system of government. Critique military regimes.
Defend military intervention in politics. Critique one party regimes.
Assess the positive and negative impact of what Picard calls "the administrative State."
And More What argument does each of our authors make about the
nature of the African crisis? Critique our authors.
What picture does northern infuluence over African states does the reading give us?
What picture of African infuence over structural adjustment does the reading give us?
What is the best model of development for Africa? Which comes first? Economic Development or Political Development?
And Finally? What argument does each of our authors make about the
nature of colonialism? What picture of European influence over Africa does the reading give us? What major similarities and differences do you see between and among our authors.
What picture of African resistance and strength does the reading give us? Critique each of our authors our authors. Are there regional differences in Africa with regard to colonialism?
How much of "traditional" Africa survived in terms of social, economic and political patterns? Critique our readings on this issue.
Final Exam Questions
See Picard Website