A reversed collective action dilemma and the challenge of enhancing bureaucratic capacity in Botswana and Ghana.

摘要

African countries generally exhibit lower levels of administrative and state capacity compared to other regions of the developing world. Decades of civil service reforms across the continent have yielded little by way of enhanced bureaucratic capacity. These reforms have been focused on civil servants and the formal aspects of the state, not the informal institutions within which officials live and work.;Using data from Botswana and Ghana, both considered strong states by regional standards, this dissertation finds that demands on individuals' resources constitute significant sources of financial strain and often result in individuals acting in ways that undermine administrative and, by extension, state capacity and that the most common forms of assistance sought reflect the need for basic safety net programs. Reforms have so far not dealt with these realities in a systematic way, and they should if we are to improve administrative capacity.