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Competitive clientelism and the politics of core public sector reform in Ghana

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  • Daniel Appiah
  • Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai

Abstract

Although Ghana has implemented several donor-sponsored public sector reforms (PSRs) in an attempt to improve core areas of state functionality, the impact of such reforms remains generally disappointing. In this paper, we show that the nature of the political settlement in Ghana, described as one of ‘competitive clientelism’, is central to understanding the country’s limited success in improving the effectiveness of public institutions. Faced with a credible threat of losing power to excluded factions in competitive elections, reform initiatives tend to be driven largely by the logic of the maintenance of ruling governments, rather than by their potential to enhance the effectiveness of state institutions. This has often resulted in decisions that undermine reform efforts, ranging from needless and costly institutional duplications to the politicisation of the bureaucracy through patronage-based appointments, and the wholesale removal of public servants perceived to be associated with previous regimes. In this political environment, policy discontinuities across ruling coalitions are a norm, undermining the impact of reform initiatives that require a longer time-horizon to bear fruit.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Appiah & Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai, 2017. "Competitive clientelism and the politics of core public sector reform in Ghana," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-082-17, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    • Handle: RePEc:bwp:bwppap:esid-082-17
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    Cited by:

    1. Pablo Yanguas, 2017. "Varieties of state-building in Africa: Elites, ideas and the politics of public sector reform," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-089-17, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    2. Asan Vernyuy Wirba, 2022. "Transforming Cameroon into Knowledge-Based Economy (KBE): The Role of Education, Especially Higher Education," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 1542-1572, June.
    3. Michael Ehis Odijie & Mohammed Zayan Imoro, 2021. "Ghana’s Competitive Clientelism and Space for Long-Term Stable Policies," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, July.
    4. Arhin, Gerald Emmanuel, 2024. "Investigating the differential politics of competitive bidding in Ghana’s hydrocarbon and mining industries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    5. Asante, Kofi Takyi, 2023. "The politics of policy failure in Ghana: The case of oil palm," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    6. Palash Kamruzzaman & Emmanuel Kumi, 2023. "Why national development experts are not included in development policy‐making and practice: The case of Ghana," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 41(2), March.

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