The Politics of Distributing Social Transfers: State Capacity and Political Contestation in Sub-saharan Africa and South Asia

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The Politics of Distributing Social Transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia provides a systematic analysis of the political processes shaping the distribution of social transfers in six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In doing so, the book addresses a notable gap in recent research on social protection concerning the politics of implementation. While considerable attention has been devoted to debating the merits of different policy designs and the political factors shaping the adoption and diffusion of different policy models, ultimately the ability of any social transfer programme to deliver on its promises is dependent on the effective implementation and distribution of social transfers in line with intended objectives. The chapters in this book examine international and sub-national variation in programme implementation in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nepal, and Rwanda, drawing on a common analytical framework that highlights the importance of state capacity and reach, rooted in histories of state formation, and contemporary political competition in shaping the distribution of social transfers. Comparative analysis of the case studies supports the view that variation in the capacity and reach of the state within countries is a centrally important factor shaping the effectiveness and impartiality of distribution. Yet state capacity alone is insufficient. Rather political competition and power relations shape how this capacity is actually deployed in practice. As such, the book underscores the inherently political nature of implementation and questions common technocratic efforts to improve implementation by de-politicizing the social protection policy process.

Tom Lavers, Senior Lecturer in Politics and Development, University of Manchester

Tom Lavers is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and Development at the University of Manchester's Global Development Institute. His research focuses on the politics of social policy, agrarian transformation, infrastructure, and state-society relations. He was one of the editors of the 2019 book, The Politics of Social Protection in Eastern and Southern Africa. He has previously published on the politics of social protection and other issues in leading journals, including African Affairs, Development and Change, Geoforum, the Journal of Agrarian Change, the Journal of Peasant Studies, Social Science and Medicine, and World Development.