scholarly journals Educational aid, symbolic power and policy reform: The World Bank in Ethiopia

Author(s):  
Tebeje Molla

The World Bank uses a combination of financial and non-financial aid to influence educational reform in aid-recipient countries. Drawing on an interpretive policy analysis methodology and using Pierre Bourdieu's concept of symbolic power as a 'thinking tool', this article aims to shed light on the Bank's non-financial pathways of policy influence in the Ethiopian higher education policy space. Specifically, it identifies knowledge-based policy regulatory instruments of the Bank, including sector reviews, advisory activities, analytical reports and learning events. The key argument is that in order to understand the full extent of donor power in national education policy fields in sub-Saharan Africa, it is imperative to problematize less visible discursive means of policy imposition.

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sydney Chikalipah

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of financial inclusion (FI) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Design/methodology/approach The paper uses the World Bank country-level data from 20 SSA countries for the year 2014. Findings The empirical findings in this study indicate that illiteracy is the major hindrance to FI in SSA. The findings provide useful information to government agencies and international development organisations. Also, the findings can help accelerate and strengthen FI strategies among SSA countries. Research limitations/implications Some countries were excluded from the final analysis due to lack of data. Practical implications In the last two decades, there has been renewed interest in fighting financial exclusion in Africa. Therefore, this study provide evidence which clearly shows that enhancing literacy levels in a country can immensely contribute towards building the financially inclusive societies in the SSA region. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to empirically test the determinants of FI in SSA using the World Bank FI data set. Furthermore, this is the first attempt to estimate the determinants of FI with a combined data of SSA countries.


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