Policymaking for economic transformation in African states: what ought to be done

A simple case for embracing sound principles of economics and politics to improve policy design, implementation, and sustainability in the region

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I: Who knew so many people cared about policy research?

Based on the sheer volume of correspondence I received following the last post (sorry I can’t respond to every single one!), I thought it might be useful to write a follow-up. In particular, I’d like to double down on the idea that policy research ought to be as close to the implementation context as possible. Furthermore, I’d like to reiterate that my focus here is not on what happens in academia — we should be free to do whatever kinds of research we want (including RCTs). Rather, it is about what actual policymakers in low-income countries ought to do.

I believe it is perfectly fine for official aid organizations, philanthropies, or think tanks in high-income countries to subsidize academic research and derive status from being associated with award-winning academics and highly r…