Issues in development management in sub‐saharan Africa. By Ladipo Adamolekun. EDI Policy Seminar Report No. 19, World Bank, Washington D.C., 1989
| Date | 01 May 1993 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.4230130213 |
| Published date | 01 May 1993 |
| Author | David Hulme |
Book
Reviews
179
continuation of a political and constitutional tradition diluted the technocratic
capacities of the state to define an independent development strategy (p. 168).
Finally, in chapter
6,
Banuri-Amadeo give
a
highly readable description of labour market
institutions in the three groups of countries.
It
is the polarized nature of labour institutions
in Latin America against the decentralized one in East Asia and the pluralist in South Asia
that given adequate clue to the differential nature both of capita1:labour and state:labour
relationships, as well as by implication, the capacity of the state to put through regulatory
mechanisms. It clearly emerges that the repressive labour laws militate against political stability
and industrial peace, especially in Latin American countries which have
a
long history of
a ‘well-nursed’ network of trade unions and labour institutions. The underlying stress is on
negotiated consensus rather than confrontation, shared participation rather than indifference
and neglect. The chapter has a very useful appendix giving diverse elements of labour laws
and institutions in individual countries.
The book is of immense value not only to the academic community worldwide but also
governments and policy analysts in the Third World. The theories and expectations under
which the neoclassical blanket recipe of economic liberalization has been doled out to indivi-
dual countries seeking aid clearly need to be qualified. The expected benefits
of
liberalization
must be seen within the confines of specific sociopolitical and historical institutions.
For
every policy prescription, implementation needs to be tailored to the specificities of such
institutions.
Perhaps in passing, it needs to be mentioned that the writers pay much less attention to
domestic economic management in the developing world, especially in the Asian economies
included in the volume. Surely, depending on the internal circumstances
of
each developing
country, the need for tightening fiscal management should be stressed heavily. Budget deficits
are a common phenomenon; unproductive subsidies are rampant; inefficiency in public sector
enterprises (e.g. in China and India) is a routine feature; demand groups representing sectional,
sectoral and regional interests are gaining more and more political clout as well as fighting
(or
negotiating!) capabilities.
For
a country like India, the resource implications of the above are indeed very serious.
Undoubtedly, domestic resource constraints also pose serious problems. In addition, if dom-
estic resource crunch is resolved through external borrowings, as was the wont of some Latin
American economies, deeper troubles are not far away. More rational and prudent domestic
resource management, therefore, commends itself to every developing economy. Looking at
the examples given above, some ‘unproductive’ and ‘socially non-pressing’ expenditures must
be avoided. Any such advice coming under the ‘liberalization package’ or otherwise is welcome.
G.
K.
CHADHA
School
of
Social Sciences
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi, India
ISSUES
IN
DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
IN
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
By
Ladipo
Adamolekun
ED1 Policy Seminar Report No.
19,
World Bank, Washington D.C., 1989.
This report presents a summary of the main conclusions drawn at a 1988 seminar on develop-
ment management in Africa mounted by the World Bank’s training wing-the Economic
Development Institute.
It is short and focuses on four main topics4ivil service improvement, capacity-building
for policy analysis, coordination and implementation of national development policies and
training. What prescriptions there are appear logical enough, but they derive largely from
normative models of what should happen in an idealized bureaucracy, rather than being
grounded in the actual processes of governance in contemporary Africa. As the report’s post-
script notes, the seminars had very little to say about the ‘implementation gap’ in African
development management, and the thought that cultural factors might have significance, in
terms of processes and performance, does not appear to have been recognized.
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