Do new democracies deliver social welfare? Political regimes and health policy in Ghana and Cameroon
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2012
Citazione:
Do new democracies deliver social welfare? Political regimes and health policy in Ghana and Cameroon / G.M. Carbone. - In: DEMOCRATIZATION. - ISSN 1351-0347. - 19:2(2012 Apr), pp. 157-183. [10.1080/13510347.2011.572618]
Abstract:
Democratic reform processes often go hand in hand with expectations of social
welfare improvements. While the connection between the emergence of
democracy and the development of welfare states in the West has been
the object of several studies, however, there is a scant empirical literature on
the effects of recent democratization processes on welfare policies in
developing countries. This is particularly true for Africa. In a dramatically
poor environment, Africans often anticipated that the democratic reforms
many sub-Saharan states undertook during the early 1990s would deliver
welfare dividends. This article investigates whether and how the advent
of democracy affected social policies – focusing, in particular, on health
policy – by examining one of the continent’s most successful cases of
recent democratization (Ghana) and comparing it with developments in a
country of enduring authoritarian rule (Cameroon). Evidence shows that
democracy can indeed be instrumental to the expansion and strengthening
of social policies. In Ghana, new participatory and competitive pressures
pushed the government towards devising and adopting an ambitious health
reform. Despite fac¸ade elections, no similar pressures could be detected in
undemocratic Cameroon and health policy remained almost entirely dictated
by foreign donors.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
Cameroon; Consequences of democratization; Democratization; Ghana; Welfare state
Elenco autori:
G.M. Carbone
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