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Interest group politics and the implementation of adjustment policies in sub‐Saharan Africa
Author(s) -
Toye John
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/jid.3380040207
Subject(s) - plea , politics , leverage (statistics) , authoritarianism , liberalization , structural adjustment , development economics , economics , interest group , economic liberalization , developing country , political science , economic growth , democracy , market economy , law , machine learning , computer science
The political assumptions underlying the structural adjustment programmes of the 1980s were initially derived from the theory of urban bias. This paper questions the validity of those assumptions, by reference to case studies of the implementation of adjustment policies in three sub‐Saharan African countries–Ghana, Malawi and Kenya. Attention is focused on the agricultural interests of the political elites in Kenya and Malawi as an impediment to implementation. A critique is then offered of the plea for authoritarian regimes as protagonists of economic liberalization. In conclusion, the prospects of using aid as leverage for political liberalization are discussed.