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Rethinking the politics of development in Africa? How the 'political settlement' shapes resource allocation in Ghana

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  • Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai
  • Sam Hickey

Abstract

Debates over whether democratic or neopatrimonial forms of politics are driving the politics of development in Africa have increasingly given way to more nuanced readings which seek to capture the dynamic interplay of these forms of politics. However, most current analyses fail to identify the specific causal mechanisms through which this politics shapes the actual distribution of resources. A political settlements approach which emphasises the distribution of 'holding power' within ruling coalitions and how this shapes institutional functioning can bring greater clarity to these debates. Our analysis shows that patterns of resource allocation within Ghana's education sector during 1993-2008 were closely shaped by the incentives and norms generated by Ghana's competitive 'clientelistic political settlement', which overrode rhetorical concerns with national unity and inclusive development. This had particularly negative implications for the poorest Northern regions, which have lacked holding power within successive ruling coalitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai & Sam Hickey, 2014. "Rethinking the politics of development in Africa? How the 'political settlement' shapes resource allocation in Ghana," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-038-14, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    • Handle: RePEc:bwp:bwppap:esid-038-14
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    1. Pierre Andre & Sandrine Mesplé-Somps, 2010. "Politics and the geographic allocation of public funds in a semi-democracy. The case of Ghana, 1996 - 2004," Working Papers halshs-00962698, HAL.
    2. Kosack, Stephen, 2012. "The Education of Nations: How the Political Organization of the Poor, Not Democracy, Led Governments to Invest in Mass Education," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199841677.
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    5. Arnim Langer, 2009. "Living with diversity: The peaceful management of horizontal inequalities in Ghana," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(4), pages 534-546.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Giles Mohan & Kojo Pumpuni Asante, 2015. "Transnational capital and the political settlement of Ghana’s oil economy," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-049-15, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    3. Pablo Yanguas, 2016. "The role and responsibility of foreign aid in recipient political settlements," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-056-16, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    4. Frédéric Gaspart & Pierre Pecher, 2019. "Ethnic Inclusiveness of the Central State Government and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 28(2), pages 176-201.
    5. Kashwan, Prakash & MacLean, Lauren M. & García-López, Gustavo A., 2019. "Rethinking power and institutions in the shadows of neoliberalism," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 133-146.
    6. Amanda Lenhardt & Ella Page & Moizza Binat Sarwar & Andrew Shepherd, 2017. "Anti-discrimination measures in education: A comparative policy analysis," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-78, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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