IFPRI E-brary (International Food Policy Research Institute) · 1992 · 33 citations · 3 references
Social SciencesEconomicsPublic PolicyDevelopment EconomicsEconomic DevelopmentPublic EconomicsAfrican Development StudiesAfrican EconomiesFood Security EconomicsPovertyPublic Sector EmploymentPublic-private PartnershipsAgricultural LabourLabor-intensive Public WorksLearning CostsPrice DistortionsPublic Goods ProductionPublic Works InvestmentPublic Works ManagementTechnology Intensive Industries
The rapid evolution of public works institution in recent years, such asPAMSCAD in Ghana, DFFRI in Nigeria, as well as AGETIP in Senegal and NIGETEP in the Niger, demonstrates the extent to which past macroprice distortions (due to changes in the labour/capital price ratio) not only led to misallocation of resources in the private sector, but also prevented properpublic institutions from emerging to manage public works programmes with labour-intensive technology. Accelerated changes in this respect in the late 1980's suggest that public response is now forthcoming. There is a risk, of course that the learning costs of a fast institutional build-up will behigh, but these can be minimized by learning from both African and non-African experiences with public works programmes. Simpler than many other development instruments, the public works programme may not be foolproof, but it can be rendered very effective
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