Democratisation and the Political Economy of Agricultural Policy in Africa

Theories of policy neglect of, or discrimination against, agriculture in Africa include urban bias (Lipton 1977; Bates 1981) and the narrow self-interest of autonomous elites (van de Walle 2001). Whilst structural adjustment removed much of the previous tax burden on African agriculture (Anderson and Masters 2009), the sector also saw declining investment from international development partners and through national budgets (Fan et al. 2009). Whilst there has been some recovery in public investment in agriculture over the past decade, signalled by the 2003 Maputo Declaration (Assembly of the African Union 2003), investment in the infrastructural and institutional public goods needed to support smallholder-led agricultural growth remains disappointing. As a result, the contribution of the agricultural sector to growth and poverty reduction objectives in Africa is widely believed to have been below potentialDfI

INSTITUTIONAL DIMENSIONS OF TRADE LIBERALISATION AND POVERTY

Trade policy liberalisation requires institutional change, in the sense of a change in the rules of the game. The question is whether these changes produce "superior institutions" judged in terms of a reduction of transactions costs; improved coordination; stronger strategic commitment to investing in needed specific assets; and allocative efficiency. In conventional approaches to the analysis of liberalisation, changed institutional arrangements are studied, but they tend to be considered in the category of "practical details": important but not especially intellectually interesting. In contrast, this paper argues for a parallel approach to the study of the effects of liberalisation on the rural poor, in which institutional matters are central. A broad range of institutional issues is considered, informed by a theoretical framework provided by the various strands within institutional economics. The framework set out and discussed leads to the contention that smallholder agriculture in poor countries needs coordinated market economy (CME) type institutions if it is to develop, at least at the earlier stages. Ideally, these would be based on deliberative institutions, working horizontally inside a sector, and also vertically along the supply chain. It is argued that the way forward is likely to involve a rethinking of the role of the state (at sub-national, national and international - aid donor - levels) and of the roles of producer organisations and other stakeholder (including trader) associations. The aim must be to find a way in which the state and other powerful actors can initiate deliberative processes and take a lead in encouraging appropriate asset specific investments, while at the same time planning to fade into the background as initial success is achieved. These conclusions challenge conventional analysis of trade policy liberalisation in poor countries and also challenge institutional specialists to provide insights, ideally quantifiable, into the consequences of those liberalisation policies which drive changes in such features as "non-standard institutional arrangements"; non-market coordination; and the roles of government.Food Security and Poverty, International Relations/Trade,

Market and Coordination Failures in Poor Rural Economies: Policy Implications for Agricultural and Rural Development

This paper argues that the disappointing outcomes of adjustment policies in poor rural economies, principally in sub-Saharan Africa, can be partly attributed to weaknesses in the neo-classical theory which underlies these polices and from associated failures to recognise structural changes (or transitions) in growing agricultural economies. After a brief description of agricultural policy changes in sub Saharan Africa, the mixed achievements of market liberalisation policies are explained using new institutional economic arguments regarding inherent difficulties in economic coordination in poor economies, difficulties which markets themselves cannot overcome. A novel framework is put forward for understanding coordination failure and integrating it with other causes of under-development notably low levels of technical and institutional development and poor governance. The paper concludes by considering the implications of these arguments for development policies in different sub-Saharan economies.development, coordination, markets, institutions, Marketing, O12, O17, Q12,

The Many Paths of Cotton Sector Reform in Eastern and Southern Africa: Lessons from a Decade of Experience

Crop Production/Industries,