Political Economy Analysis for Transboundary Water Resources Management in Africa : Practical Guidance
Fostering cooperation to optimize development outcomes in complex African river basins requires a nuanced understanding of context, especially the political and economic incentives facing local actors. Decisions related to water resources managemen...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/760941483962191757/Political-Economy-Analysis-for-Transboundary-Water-Resources-Management-in-Africa-Practical-Guidance http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25824 |
| Summary: | Fostering cooperation to optimize
development outcomes in complex African river basins
requires a nuanced understanding of context, especially the
political and economic incentives facing local actors.
Decisions related to water resources management are shaped
by a range of considerations from traditional economic
factors and physical constraints to political considerations
such as the need to manage political support within a single
state or to navigate complex international relationships
with riparian countries. Exploring political economy
realities can reveal capacities and systems that support
pockets of effectiveness or have produced successful reforms
in the past. It can also reveal the underlying logic behind
seemingly irrational policy decisions or apparently
dysfunctional institutional arrangements. This in turn
provides the basis for thinking about how to work with,
around, or gradually reshape existing systems to achieve
developmental policy goals. Political Economy Analysis for
Transboundary Water Resources Management in Africa
introduces key concepts and variables for the transboundary
water context. Furthermore, it provides practical advice to
help water resource management specialists carry out strong,
operationally relevant analysis that contributes to new ways
of thinking and working, and ultimately to achieving better
results. The note draws on the numerous frameworks that have
been developed and the many lessons learned about how to
design and implement politically sensitive programming.
Importantly, while political economy assessments provide
insights into the non-technical drivers of decision-making,
they rely on a sound understanding of the technical
bottlenecks that need to be resolved, as well as the
economic and social costs and benefits of a given intervention. |
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