The links between economic policy and research : three examples from Ghana and some general thoughts

The author gives examples of research recently published in professional journals that directly helped, or could help, in formulating policy advice (and perhaps even policymaking). An article by Younger (1992) was helpful in analyzing a problem in Ghana, where aid flows to government crowded out the private sector (especially private investment), which competed for scarce domestic resources. Younger suggested that tighter fiscal policy combined with looser monetary policy would promote more investment. Younger's analysis helped frame thinking in an area where muddleheadedness is common, and provided the author with analytical ammunition when he supported budgetary restraint. In another example, research based on the Ghana Living Standards Survey helped identify the poverty consequences of alternative revenue instruments. The link between economic policy and research can be made, says the author, but that does not mean it will be made. Usually such a link relies on the change placing of a researcher in the policymaking and advising trenches. One problem is that policymakers face highly specific, timebound problems and are interested only in answers to particular questions. But what matters to researchers is the generality of results or the methodological innovations in analysis. Journals turn down papers that answer very specific policy questions. The appropriate dissemination of research results requires that researchers speak the language of policymakers. The author proposes the following. Professional researchers should do highly country-specific and policy-specific studies that use the best-practice methodological tools plus a detailed institutional knowledge of the country. There should be a continuous attempt at synthesizing the findings of professional research for the benefit of the policy community, as is done in the World Bank Research Observer."We need single-page or double-page flysheets summarizing research results,"says the author, particularly those that are country-specific and policy-specific. Research should be presented in short, pithy summaries that policymakers and their top advisors can understand, setting out the policy question addressed and the answer provided (the latter are not so common, especially for Africa)."A basic rule of thumb I have developed is that anything longer than two pages is unlikely to be read by the most senior policymakers, the limit for the next most senior is four pages, then eight pages, and 16 pages. If it is longer than 16 pages, do not bother to send it to the policy fraternity (unless it is prefaced by a two-page summary)."