Reaping Richer Returns, Preliminary Overview : Public Spending Priorities for African Agriculture Productivity Growth

Goyal, Aparajita ; Nash, John

Washington, DC: World Bank

关键词: agriculture productivity;    public expenditure;    poverty;    economic growth;    markets;   

RP-ID  :  109330

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This study is part of the AfricanRegional Studies Program, an initiative of the Africa RegionVice-Presidency at the World Bank. These studies aim tocombine high levels of analytical rigor and policyrelevance, and to apply them to various topics important forthe social and economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa.This book well demonstrates, agricultural spending inSub-Saharan Africa not only significantly lags behind otherdeveloping regions, its impact is also vitiated by subsidyprograms and transfers that tend to benefit elites to thedetriment of poor people and the agricultural sector itself.Shortcomings of the budgeting processes also reduce spendingeffectiveness. In light of this scenario, addressing thequality of public spending and the efficiency of resourceuse becomes an even more important issue than simplyaddressing the level of spending. The rigorous analysispresented in this book provides options for reform with aview to enhancing investment in the sector and eventuallydevelopment impact. The evidence show that the efficient useof public funds has been instrumental in laying thefoundations f or agricultural productivity growth around theworld, providing important lessons for African policymakersand development partners. Investments in rural public goods,combined with better policies and institutions driveagricultural productivity growth. The dividends frominvestments to strengthen markets, develop and disseminateimproved technologies and expand irrigation can be enormous.Similarly, improvement of the policy environment throughtrade and regulatory policy complements spending byenhancing incentives for producers and innovators to takeadvantage of public goods, thereby crowding in privateinvestment. Reforming the design and implementation of thesesubsidy programs while prioritizing government spending infavor of high-return core public goods and policies couldproduce significant gains. For this reason, this book arguesfor a rebalancing of the composition of public agriculturalspending in order to reap robust development dividends. Theauthors hope that the findings presented here will resonatewith policymakers concerned with agricultural policies, andmore specifically with public spending programs that aim toimprove the productivity of African agriculture.