Political‐Economy Analysis, Aid Effectiveness and the Art of Development Management

Copestake, James; Williams, Richard

doi:10.1111/dpr.12047

Cited by 27 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…These are areas where political economy analysis approaches could adopt insights from critical institutionalism regarding the agency and behaviour of different actors. In particular, political economy analysis could benefit from engagement with what Copestake and Williams (2012) refer to as the "aidnography" literature 3 (Mosse 2004;Eyben 2010). This work aims to understand the agency and actions of development workers themselves, as I discuss below in relation to the case study of WaterAid in Mali.…”

Section: Natural Resource Management Critical Institutionalism and Imentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of the wider political economy approach also demonstrates the effect of structural factors on how these arrangements emerged, such as the influence of Mali's aid dependency and decentralisation reforms. Putting this approach into practice through the partnership with WaterAid shows one way of considering within a political economy analysis approach what Copestake and Williams (2012) call the "micro-politics" of aid agencies, by trying to understand the day-to-day decisions of development workers such as the staff of WaterAid's partners (Jones 2014). This should be an essential part of political economy analysis.…”

Section: Extending Political Economy Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Firstly, a series of authors argue that most political economy analysis is still based on over-simplified and sanitised understandings of politics and institutional change, in the broad belief that consensus can be built towards win-win situations that are beneficial for all involved (De Haan and Everest-Phillips 2007;Leftwich 2007;Hughes and Hutchison 2010). A second area of criticism points out the basic tensions between donors and NGOs attempting to engage in complex political analysis while at the same time responding to pressures to disburse money and achieve measurable results (Unsworth 2009;Robison 2010;Copestake and Williams 2012;Duncan and Williams 2012). Political economy analysis undertaken so far has also been hard to operationalize in terms of identifying specific practical recommendations or entry points for action (Chhotray and Hulme 2009;Unsworth 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bridging political economy analysis and critical institutionalism: an approach to help analyse institutional change for rural water services

Jones

2015

Int J Commons

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This paper argues that approaches to understanding local institutions for natural resource management based on "critical institutionalism" (Cleaver 2012), which emphasises the importance of improvisation and adaptation across different scales, can be placed within broader political economy analysis frameworks for assessing challenges in public services delivery from national to local levels. The paper uses such an extended political economy analysis approach to understand the role of the international NGO WaterAid and its partners in Mali in relation to institutions for financing rural water services, drawing on collaborative research undertaken in 2010 and 2011. The case study shows that WaterAid's approach can be understood through elements of both mainstream and critical institutionalist thinking. At local government level, WaterAid primarily promotes formal institutional arrangements, which exhibit the challenge of "reforms as signals" (Andrews 2013), where institutional reforms appear to happen but lack the intended function. However, the work of WaterAid's partners at community level supports processes of "institutional bricolage" through which they try to gradually work with local actors to find ways of 'best fit' for financing rural water services which adapt existing local practices into new arrangements.

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Section: Natural Resource Management Critical Institutionalism and Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Extending Political Economy Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bridging political economy analysis and critical institutionalism: an approach to help analyse institutional change for rural water services

Jones

2015

Int J Commons

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“…How did you fare from the benchmarks set at the time of project initiation? In the same vein, effectiveness is determined by studying the impact of particular projects on the ground, whether it is on economic, social, human or other forms of development (Copestake and Williams, 2014;Gulrajani, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Social Construction of Development Cooperation Success and Failure

Fejerskov

2016

Forum for Development Studies

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Determining the success of development projects and programmes is often portrayed and understood as a question of measurable impact and effectiveness. More often than not however, success is a negotiated truth, socially constructed between the involved stakeholders that does not require measurable results of impact, and may very well hold the opposite circumstances. By examining the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in the Horn of Africa, the article investigates one such case of development project success despite substantial impact on the ground. Success in development cooperation, the article argues, is not a matter of attaining impact, but is rather constructed in the overlapping space between representation and interpretation of events, actions and discourses, made and sustained socially between recipient and donor.

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“…Due to this schism, parties from different viewpoints have stopped listening and learning from each other. Reformists acknowledge that it is at least possible to reduce poverty and achieve other developmental goals through a ‘planned, rational, technical and controlled process’ (Copestake and Williams, : 140). In contrast, radicals condemn the former approach as dispensable or even deleterious to the ‘empowerment and emancipation of the many’ (ibid.).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Schism to Synthesis: The Off‐Centre Radical‐Reformist Role of Development Management

Ramizo

2016

Development Policy Review

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In a wide range of issues such as aid effectiveness, poverty reduction and planning, development management has witnessed a schism between reformists and radicals. This article traces the ‘schism’ between reformist and radical views, critiques their unnecessary dichotomization and proposes an epistemologically‐grounded metaphor for managing divergent ideas. Moving beyond the schism, the article examines current conceptions from Gulrajani that the synthesis should be at the ‘centre’ of the spectrum between radical and reformist frames. The article then proposes an ‘off‐centre’ radical‐reformist synthesis with a less apologetic acceptance of reformist or ‘managerialist’ approaches.

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Political‐Economy Analysis, Aid Effectiveness and the Art of Development Management

Cited by 27 publications

References 36 publications

Bridging political economy analysis and critical institutionalism: an approach to help analyse institutional change for rural water services

Bridging political economy analysis and critical institutionalism: an approach to help analyse institutional change for rural water services

The Social Construction of Development Cooperation Success and Failure

From Schism to Synthesis: The Off‐Centre Radical‐Reformist Role of Development Management

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