Despite the odds
Assessing Africa’s new social welfare landscape
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24237016 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yonatan L Morse (0000-0002-4366-5446) |
| Year | 2027 |
| Volume | 210 |
| Pages | 107600 |
| Publication date | 2027-02-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | World Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0305-750X • E-ISSN: 1873-5991 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.worlddev.2026.107600 |
| OpenAlex | W7223143396 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 23 |
Over the past decades more attention has been given to the growth of social welfare related programs in sub-Saharan Africa. However, to date there are still insufficient empirical observations, which makes it difficult to assess these changes or the factors behind them. This article introduces the Structure of Social Welfare (SSWA) dataset. Rather than rely on spending data, which is sporadically reported, the SSWA gathers data on the design elements of diverse social welfare programs for 44 African countries between 1960 and 2022. These data are used to create indexes of social welfare that take into consideration intended coverage as well as institutional and fiscal sustainability. The SSWA data demonstrates that despite difficult material conditions there is considerably more social welfare in Africa today, but that there is also important variation across countries in terms of the level of commitment. The utility of the SSWA data is then demonstrated by reevaluating the contested impact of democratization on welfare expansion in Africa. The results indicate a positive yet underexplored relationship.
International Development and Aid · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Social Policy and Reform Studies
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Alternative routes to the institutionalisation of social transfers in sub-Saharan Africa
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The Invisible Hand of Democracy
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Welfare Policy Expansion in Botswana and Mauritius
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From Formlessness to Structure? The Institutionalization of Competitive Party Systems in Africa
When Payouts Pay Off
Gradations of Democracy? Empirical Tests of Alternative Conceptualizations
Do Conditional Cash Transfers Affect Electoral Behavior? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Mexico
What Drives the Swing Voter in Africa
Studying political settlements in Africa
Democratic demands and social policies
Ghana's Competitive Clientelism and Space for Long-Term Stable Policies
Democracy and Social Spending in Latin America, 1980-92
The Illusion of Welfare 'Regimes
| Highly cited | No |
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