Scarcity, Choice and Public Policy in Middle AfricaNew challenges and opportunities have come to the fore as the middle African States have consolidated their independence. In grappling with economic scarcity and restricted choice, decision-makers must transform domestic institutions and practices and reformulate their relationship to the global economy. The authors of this book believe that their efforts can be advanced by resorting to a problem-solving focus. Such an approach will, in their opinion. allow social scientists to remain true to their professional disciplines while permitting them to embrace African-designated objectives. By inquiring into decision processes and results, policy analysis seeks to identify optimal courses of action in the context of prevailing societal demands and constraints. In general, African decision-makers have adopted three choice strategies with an eye to reducing scarcity and expanding alternatives: accommodation, reorganization, and transformation. When these choice strategies are related to system goals, striking variations in preferences and priorities emerge, the most significant of which concern decision on mobilizing and distributing resources and achieving freedom from external control. In various trade--off situations (involving negotiations by producer cartels, bargaining between multinational companies and African host countries, and external economic assistance) diverse policy patters among the groups in relating to the benefits and costs of particular lines of action appear. Each choice strategy has its own benefit-cost combination. Since no approach may be equally valid cross-nationally, the decision elites of each country are left with the responsibility for determining their own goals and priorities. New challenges and opportunities have come to the fore as the middle African States have consolidated their independence. In grappling with economic scarcity and restricted choice, decision-makers must transform domestic institutions and practices and ref |
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Scarcity, Choice and Public Policy in Middle Africa Donald S. Rothchild,Robert L. Curry Limited preview - 1978 |
Scarcity, Choice, and Public Policy in Middle Africa Donald S. Rothchild,Robert L. Curry Limited preview - 1978 |
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achieve ACP countries action administrative African countries African governments agreement allocation alternative analysis bargaining benefits Botswana capacity capital capitalist central choice colonial Common Market community’s conflict cooperation costs country’s Dar es Salaam decision elites decision-making developing countries distribution Donald Rothchild East African East African Community Economic Integration effect enterprise ethnic exchange expanded export external factors federalism foreign Ghana growth implementation important income increased independence indifference curve industrial institutions interests International Monetary Fund investment Ivory Coast Journal of Modern Kenya leaders Liberia limited Lusaka million MNCs Modern African Studies multinational corporations Nairobi Ndola negotiations Nigerian Nyerere objectives organization output party percent planning policy-making production possibilities production possibilities curve Public Policy regimes regional relationships revenue Rothchild social strategy structures subregional system goals Tanzania Third World trade Uganda UNCTAD United unity University Press Western York Zambia