Reaping Richer Returns, Preliminary Overview : Public Spending Priorities for African Agriculture Productivity Growth
This study is part of the African Regional Studies Program, an initiative of the Africa Region Vice-Presidency at the World Bank. These studies aim to combine high levels of analytical rigor and policy relevance, and to apply them to various topics...
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Washington, DC: World Bank
2017
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/657671476866050422/Reaping-richer-returns-public-spending-priorities-for-African-agriculture-productivity-growth http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25782 |
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okr-10986-257822021-05-25T08:56:32Z Reaping Richer Returns, Preliminary Overview : Public Spending Priorities for African Agriculture Productivity Growth Goyal, Aparajita Nash, John agriculture productivity public expenditure poverty economic growth markets public investment agricultural research climate change fertilizer subsidies This study is part of the African Regional Studies Program, an initiative of the Africa Region Vice-Presidency at the World Bank. These studies aim to combine high levels of analytical rigor and policy relevance, and to apply them to various topics important for the social and economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa. This book well demonstrates, agricultural spending in Sub-Saharan Africa not only significantly lags behind other developing regions, its impact is also vitiated by subsidy programs and transfers that tend to benefit elites to the detriment of poor people and the agricultural sector itself. Shortcomings of the budgeting processes also reduce spending effectiveness. In light of this scenario, addressing the quality of public spending and the efficiency of resource use becomes an even more important issue than simply addressing the level of spending. The rigorous analysis presented in this book provides options for reform with a view to enhancing investment in the sector and eventually development impact. The evidence show that the efficient use of public funds has been instrumental in laying the foundations f or agricultural productivity growth around the world, providing important lessons for African policymakers and development partners. Investments in rural public goods, combined with better policies and institutions drive agricultural productivity growth. The dividends from investments to strengthen markets, develop and disseminate improved technologies and expand irrigation can be enormous. Similarly, improvement of the policy environment through trade and regulatory policy complements spending by enhancing incentives for producers and innovators to take advantage of public goods, thereby crowding in private investment. Reforming the design and implementation of these subsidy programs while prioritizing government spending in favor of high-return core public goods and policies could produce significant gains. For this reason, this book argues for a rebalancing of the composition of public agricultural spending in order to reap robust development dividends. The authors hope that the findings presented here will resonate with policymakers concerned with agricultural policies, and more specifically with public spending programs that aim to improve the productivity of African agriculture. 2017-01-03T16:39:27Z 2017-01-03T16:39:27Z 2016-10 Report http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/657671476866050422/Reaping-richer-returns-public-spending-priorities-for-African-agriculture-productivity-growth http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25782 English en_US CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank Washington, DC: World Bank Economic & Sector Work :: Other Agriculture Study Economic & Sector Work Africa Sub-Saharan Africa |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
agriculture productivity public expenditure poverty economic growth markets public investment agricultural research climate change fertilizer subsidies |
| spellingShingle |
agriculture productivity public expenditure poverty economic growth markets public investment agricultural research climate change fertilizer subsidies Goyal, Aparajita Nash, John Reaping Richer Returns, Preliminary Overview : Public Spending Priorities for African Agriculture Productivity Growth |
| geographic_facet |
Africa Sub-Saharan Africa |
| description |
This study is part of the African
Regional Studies Program, an initiative of the Africa Region
Vice-Presidency at the World Bank. These studies aim to
combine high levels of analytical rigor and policy
relevance, and to apply them to various topics important for
the social and economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa.
This book well demonstrates, agricultural spending in
Sub-Saharan Africa not only significantly lags behind other
developing regions, its impact is also vitiated by subsidy
programs and transfers that tend to benefit elites to the
detriment of poor people and the agricultural sector itself.
Shortcomings of the budgeting processes also reduce spending
effectiveness. In light of this scenario, addressing the
quality of public spending and the efficiency of resource
use becomes an even more important issue than simply
addressing the level of spending. The rigorous analysis
presented in this book provides options for reform with a
view to enhancing investment in the sector and eventually
development impact. The evidence show that the efficient use
of public funds has been instrumental in laying the
foundations f or agricultural productivity growth around the
world, providing important lessons for African policymakers
and development partners. Investments in rural public goods,
combined with better policies and institutions drive
agricultural productivity growth. The dividends from
investments to strengthen markets, develop and disseminate
improved technologies and expand irrigation can be enormous.
Similarly, improvement of the policy environment through
trade and regulatory policy complements spending by
enhancing incentives for producers and innovators to take
advantage of public goods, thereby crowding in private
investment. Reforming the design and implementation of these
subsidy programs while prioritizing government spending in
favor of high-return core public goods and policies could
produce significant gains. For this reason, this book argues
for a rebalancing of the composition of public agricultural
spending in order to reap robust development dividends. The
authors hope that the findings presented here will resonate
with policymakers concerned with agricultural policies, and
more specifically with public spending programs that aim to
improve the productivity of African agriculture. |
| format |
Report |
| author |
Goyal, Aparajita Nash, John |
| author_facet |
Goyal, Aparajita Nash, John |
| author_sort |
Goyal, Aparajita |
| title |
Reaping Richer Returns, Preliminary Overview : Public Spending Priorities for African Agriculture Productivity Growth |
| title_short |
Reaping Richer Returns, Preliminary Overview : Public Spending Priorities for African Agriculture Productivity Growth |
| title_full |
Reaping Richer Returns, Preliminary Overview : Public Spending Priorities for African Agriculture Productivity Growth |
| title_fullStr |
Reaping Richer Returns, Preliminary Overview : Public Spending Priorities for African Agriculture Productivity Growth |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Reaping Richer Returns, Preliminary Overview : Public Spending Priorities for African Agriculture Productivity Growth |
| title_sort |
reaping richer returns, preliminary overview : public spending priorities for african agriculture productivity growth |
| publisher |
Washington, DC: World Bank |
| publishDate |
2017 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/657671476866050422/Reaping-richer-returns-public-spending-priorities-for-African-agriculture-productivity-growth http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25782 |
| _version_ |
1764460173496156160 |