State and the Imperative for Social Policy Reform in Africa
Produktdetaljer
This concise and interdisciplinary open access volume explores the imperative of social policy reform in Sub-Saharan Africa and the potential nature of such a reform. The chapters also stress the need for a holistic social policy reform that spans key areas including health, education, disability, gender, and migration policies.
This concise and interdisciplinary open access volume explores the imperative of social policy reform in Sub-Saharan Africa and the potential nature of such a reform. Its chapters study social policy changes that have been made before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and those that need to be made towards better protecting individuals, families, and communities against exposure to insecurity, poverty, and other vulnerabilities throughout their lifecycle. As argued, for this to happen, the state needs to play a pivotal role in building harmonised and coordinated social policy systems. The chapters also stress the need for a holistic social policy reform that spans key areas including health, education, disability, gender, and migration policies. Besides this, the volume considers the role of automatic stabilisers and novel issues such as the impact of social media. Finally, the volume draws our attention to the respective roles of state actors, national non-state actors, and transnational actors.
Daniel Béland is Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and James McGill Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University (Montreal, Canada). A student of comparative fiscal and social policy, he has published more than 20 books and 220 articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Rosina K. Foli is a Senior lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana. Her research interests include social policy, governance and poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa and transnational policy processes. Recent publications include The Making of Anti-Poverty Policies in Ghana: Transnational Actors, Processes and Mechanisms (Palgrave).
Privilege (Priva) Hang’andu is a Senior Policy Advisor at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, an agency of the Government of Canada. He also teaches at the Canada School of Public Service. His main research interest is the role of transnational policy actors in driving policy change in African institutions.
“This rich volume is an indispensable resource for debates about social policy in Africa. To give just one example of many eloquent analyses, one chapter finds COVID-19 lockdowns had a disproportionate negative effect on people with disabilities, who were not consulted on these policies. The authors call for voice for the voiceless: “nothing about us without us.” (William Easterly, Professor of Economics at New York University and Co-director of the NYU Development Research Institute)
“This volume provides a critical contribution to the debates and practicalities of establishing effective social protection in Sub-Saharan Africa. Taking the COVID-19 pandemic as a backdrop, it advocates for state led social policy, rather than informal local provision or external finance. Chapters outline traditional and emerging social policy sectors, constituencies and issues, and while acknowledging inter-country heterogeneity, the volume nevertheless argues for universal and holistic social policy reform. The book brings together an impressive range of established and new scholars, most of whom are African and many, working directly in the sectors about which they write. An excellent addition to the field.” (Rebecca Surender, Associate Head, Social Science Division, Senior Research Fellow, Dept. Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford)
“Social policy plays a crucial role in governance and development by addressing societal needs, promoting social justice, and ensuring a basic standard of living for all citizens. The book examines a range of interventions, including health care, education, food security and housing in the context of development policies of African countries from the colonial period to the present day. The book makes an important contribution to understanding the challenges that governments and development agencies face as they develop social policies designed to promote economic development, social stability, and human development in their respective countries. The book examines the topics in the book with expertise and an interdisciplinary approach. It is a comprehensive , insightful, and significant contribution to governance and development studies.” (Muna Ndulo, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of International and Comparative Law; and Elizabeth and Aurthur Reich Director , Leo and Arvilla Berger International Legal Studies Program, Cornell Law School)
“The essays in this volume provide valuable insights into the social policy landscape in Africa, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. These range from the ideological underpinnings of the conceptions of ‘needs’ that framed social policy responses to the pandemic, to the role of automatic stabilizers, and the use of social media to mediate interventions. I highly recommend the volume; it is worth reading.” (Jimi Adesina, Professor and Holder of the South African Research Chair in Social Policy, University of South Africa)