Do institutions limit clientelism?: A study of the district assemblies common fund in Ghana

Analyses of how coveted central-government resources in Africa are shared have shown widespread patronage, ethnic cronyism, and pork-barrel politics. While some governments have attempted to rectify the situation by establishing revenue-sharing formulas, a key unanswered question is whether such ins...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Banful, Afua Branoah
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161849
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author Banful, Afua Branoah
author_browse Banful, Afua Branoah
author_facet Banful, Afua Branoah
author_sort Banful, Afua Branoah
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Analyses of how coveted central-government resources in Africa are shared have shown widespread patronage, ethnic cronyism, and pork-barrel politics. While some governments have attempted to rectify the situation by establishing revenue-sharing formulas, a key unanswered question is whether such institutions are able to achieve this goal. This paper presents an empirical investigation of a pioneering formula-based system of resource allocation from the central government to local governments in Ghana?the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF). The evidence is consistent with governments being able to politically manipulate resource allocation within the confines of the formula-based system. Nevertheless, this does not suggest that the DACF completely fails to limit political influence. It indicates that other guiding structures of a formula-based system?in particular, how and when the formula can be altered?are important determinants of how well a program such as the DACF is able to resist political pressures.
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spelling CGSpace1618492025-11-06T05:42:44Z Do institutions limit clientelism?: A study of the district assemblies common fund in Ghana Banful, Afua Branoah resource allocation governance Analyses of how coveted central-government resources in Africa are shared have shown widespread patronage, ethnic cronyism, and pork-barrel politics. While some governments have attempted to rectify the situation by establishing revenue-sharing formulas, a key unanswered question is whether such institutions are able to achieve this goal. This paper presents an empirical investigation of a pioneering formula-based system of resource allocation from the central government to local governments in Ghana?the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF). The evidence is consistent with governments being able to politically manipulate resource allocation within the confines of the formula-based system. Nevertheless, this does not suggest that the DACF completely fails to limit political influence. It indicates that other guiding structures of a formula-based system?in particular, how and when the formula can be altered?are important determinants of how well a program such as the DACF is able to resist political pressures. 2009 2024-11-21T09:58:47Z 2024-11-21T09:58:47Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161849 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Banful, Afua Branoah. 2009. Do institutions limit clientelism? IFPRI Discussion Paper 855. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161849
spellingShingle resource allocation
governance
Banful, Afua Branoah
Do institutions limit clientelism?: A study of the district assemblies common fund in Ghana
title Do institutions limit clientelism?: A study of the district assemblies common fund in Ghana
title_full Do institutions limit clientelism?: A study of the district assemblies common fund in Ghana
title_fullStr Do institutions limit clientelism?: A study of the district assemblies common fund in Ghana
title_full_unstemmed Do institutions limit clientelism?: A study of the district assemblies common fund in Ghana
title_short Do institutions limit clientelism?: A study of the district assemblies common fund in Ghana
title_sort do institutions limit clientelism a study of the district assemblies common fund in ghana
topic resource allocation
governance
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161849
work_keys_str_mv AT banfulafuabranoah doinstitutionslimitclientelismastudyofthedistrictassembliescommonfundinghana