I agree totally with 3 out of four, I take an exception to "align with elite incentives". Not that I disagree with it, I think it is reasonable, , but I dislike it. I dislike it because it seems to me to another way of saying "bribe the elites to go for growth". If I am wrong, what 'aligning with elites incentives" might mean in practice?
Hi there -- thanks for this comment. I'm not advocating for bribery. The point is that elites (around the world, not just in Africa) are self interested. This explains, for example, the power of industry lobbies in the US and the EU. If you proposal conflicts too much with their interests, then you will have a hard time gaining political traction. The point here is that policy wonks behave like their proposals live in a political vacuum, but the truth is that you have to factor in political calculus to some extent if you want to get anything done
We also need more Rose Mutiso’s at this inflection point of Africa’s development trajectory. Hat tip to you two!!
Thank you Joe! You are one of the people whom Rose Mutiso has modeled herself on, so perhaps we should just go straight to the source material!
I agree totally with 3 out of four, I take an exception to "align with elite incentives". Not that I disagree with it, I think it is reasonable, , but I dislike it. I dislike it because it seems to me to another way of saying "bribe the elites to go for growth". If I am wrong, what 'aligning with elites incentives" might mean in practice?
Hi there -- thanks for this comment. I'm not advocating for bribery. The point is that elites (around the world, not just in Africa) are self interested. This explains, for example, the power of industry lobbies in the US and the EU. If you proposal conflicts too much with their interests, then you will have a hard time gaining political traction. The point here is that policy wonks behave like their proposals live in a political vacuum, but the truth is that you have to factor in political calculus to some extent if you want to get anything done