Academic Analysis and U.S. Economic Assistance Policy on Africa

1990 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-37
Author(s):  
Michael Bratton

Of all the policy issue areas that concern the U.S. government in its relations with Africa, economic assistance policy has attracted the deepest and widest involvement from U.S. university scholars. University-based analysts have enjoyed numerous avenues of access to officials who define, design, implement and evaluate U.S. foreign aid programs for sub-Saharan Africa. U.S. universities have stronger institutional linkages with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) than with any other Washington institution discussed in this ISSUE, including the U.S. Congress and agencies within the the national security bureaucracy.

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
◽  

Community-based distribution (CBD) is the use of nonprofessional local distributors or agents to provide family planning (FP) methods—typically condoms, pills, and spermicides—and referral for other services. FP programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have implemented CBD programs for the past 30 years. There is a large body of evidence on the effectiveness, cost, and sustainability of CBD models. Most evidence supports using CBD where appropriate conditions exist. However, major changes have taken place in the context in which programs operate, including the onset of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, enhanced access to FP services, and increased demand for related reproductive health care. These changes call for a review of CBD’s relevance—particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This seminar was organized by the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program, Family Health International, and Advance Africa and attended by participants of the U.S. Agency for International Development and collaborating agencies. Key issues reviewed are detailed in this document.


2019 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Gori ◽  
Piero Manfredi ◽  
Mauro Sodini

A central policy issue in the battle against HIV in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is whether and when high-prevalence countries might become autonomous in designing and implementing their own intervention policies against the disease. The aim of this research is twofold. First, it develops a framework for explaining economic development in a general equilibrium growth model with endogenous fertility and endogenous mortality forced by the threat of a persistent, deadly infectious disease, such as HIV/AIDS in SSA. Second, it aims to shed light on the interplay between foreign aid and endogenous domestic public policies in SSA countries severely afflicted by HIV. Consequently, it investigates the demographic and macroeconomic implications of an intervention against HIV/AIDS whose total amount is the sum of an exogenous component representing foreign aid and an endogenous public expenditure. On the assumption that these policies allow the same degree of HIV control, we show the emergence of quite different responses in terms of key demo-economic variables. These effects mainly pass through the fertility response to the evolving epidemic conditions.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 578-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Byars ◽  
B. Antizar-Ladislao

In 1973 the economist E.F Schumacher wrote ‘Small is Beautiful’. In this he created the vision of a concept known as ‘intermediate technology’. Directly from this grew the popular ‘appropriate technology’ movement. An appropriate technology, in the ideal sense, is designed with special consideration of the environmental, ethical, cultural, social, political, and economical aspects of the community it is intended for. The term ‘appropriate technology’ is continually used when referring to water supply and treatment technologies in international development. The widespread provision of hand-pumps in Africa by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) fully characterises the approach and remains the most prominent display of technologies, transferred on a charitable basis, between the developed and developing countries. However, after years of NGOs working with hand-pumps in Africa the first signs are showing that there are widespread problems with the current approach. In many cases the nature of ‘appropriateness’ is determined from the perspective of an external technical expert and not by the communities themselves. The lack of appropriateness is leading to severely unsustainable projects. This paper explores the linkage that has not been clearly mapped in technology transfer, i.e., the use of scientific and technical education. The focus of the transfer is on developing the knowledge and skills necessary to evaluate ‘appropriateness’ from the perspective of the end user. It explores the concept of ‘Intermediate Education’ – a method of using experimental learning to address a systemic weakness in safe water provision in development.


1985 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda Painter Cole ◽  
David Malcolm Potts ◽  
Cecilio Aranda ◽  
Branko Behlilovic ◽  
El-Sayed Etman ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Mongongo Pacifique Dosa ◽  
Tezanos Sergio Vázquez ◽  
Nadia Molenaers

Author(s):  
David E. Bloom ◽  
David Canning ◽  
Kevin Chan ◽  
Dara Lee Luca

Enrollment rates for higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa are by far the lowest in the world at 6%. Yet because of conventional beliefs that tertiary education is less important for poverty reduction, the international development community has encouraged African governments’ relative neglect of higher education. This article challenges beliefs that tertiary education has little role in promoting economic growth and alleviating poverty. First, we review recent evidence that higher education can produce significant public and private benefits. Next, we analyze the relationship between tertiary education and economic growth. We find evidence that tertiary education improves technological catch-up and, in doing so, may help to maximize Africa’s potential to achieve more rapid economic growth given current constraints. Investing in tertiary education in Africa may accelerate technological diffusion, which would in turn decrease knowledge gaps and help reduce poverty in the region. We also review new developments and trends in the higher education scene in Africa. Le taux d’inscription dans l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique sub-saharienne est de loin le plus faible du monde, atteignant seulement 6%. Pourtant, parce que l’enseignement supérieur est perçu comme moins important que les enseignements primaire et secondaire pour lutter contre la pauvreté, la communauté internationale a encouragé les gouvernements africains à moins y prêter attention. Cet article conteste l’idée que l’enseignement supérieur joue un rôle peu important dans le développement économique et la lutte contre la pauvreté. Tout d’abord, nous nous intéressons à de récents résultats qui montrent que l’enseignement supérieur crée des bénéfices publics et privés. Ensuite, nous analysons la relation entre l’enseignement supérieur et la croissance économique. Nous montrons que l’enseignement supérieur permet de rattraper le retard technologique et, ce faisant, pourrait aider l’Afrique à maximiser sa capacité à accélérer sa croissance économique dans les conditions actuelles. Investir dans l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique pourrait permettre une diffusion plus rapide des avancées technologiques, qui pourrait à son tour réduire la disparité de savoir et participer à la réduction de la pauvreté dans la région. Nous passons aussi en revue les nouveautés et tendances dans l’enseignement supérieur africain.


2004 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah A. Bräutigam ◽  
Stephen Knack

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