The Policy Challenges of Africa’s Changing Demography and Social Structures
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23586117 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chance Chagunda (0000-0002-7456-3127, University of Cape Town, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Pages | 39-52 |
| Publication date | 2023-05-22 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Oxford Handbook of Governance and Public Management for Social Policy (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190916329.013.15 |
| OpenAlex | W4377225197 |
| ISBN | 9780190916329 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 5 |
Social structures have changed from precolonial Africa, when most African communities followed a communal way of life characterized as umunthu, to colonial days. Although family and community care systems underwent significant transformation over this long history, patriarchal power relations persisted, as evidenced in social indicators that reflect a highly gendered division of labor and social reproduction. Demographic trends reveal significant hardships, especially for women, youth, and rural populations. Core institutions (family, religion, and government) of African societies are experiencing increasing difficulties in their efforts to reduce the hardships that most female-headed families and people in rural areas face. The chapter explores how governments in the region can use demographic data to improve social policy, program design, and delivery. Such data is needed to better understand how trends in population growth, migration patterns, education levels, age, gender, and other social and economic factors influence household and social structures. Based on that knowledge, governments can respond to trends and build more effective public administrative systems for providing social services to people in need.
Colonialism · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Government (linguistics) · Political science · Population · Public policy · Social policy · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |