Publication: How (Not) to Fix Problems that Matter: Assessing and Responding to Malawi's History of Institutional Reform
Date
2017-12
ISSN
Published
2017-12
Author(s)
Abstract
Malawi can be understood as a microcosm
of institutional reform approaches in developing countries
more broadly. A common feature of such approaches, whether
implemented by government or donors, is reform initiatives
that yield institutions that "look like" those
found in higher-performing countries but rarely acquire the
same underlying functionality. This paper presents a
retrospective analysis of previous institutional reform
projects in Malawi, as well as interviews with Malawi-based
development practitioners. The paper finds a plethora of
interventions that, merely by virtue of appearing to be in
conformity with "best practices" elsewhere, are
deemed to be successful yet fail to fix underlying problems,
sometimes in contradiction to internal and public narratives
of positive progress. This unhappy arrangement endures
because a multitude of imperatives, incentives, and norms
appear to keep governments and donors from more closely
examining why such intense, earnest, and long-standing
efforts at reform have, to date, yielded so few successes.
This paper seeks to promote a shift in approach to
institutional reform, offering some practical
recommendations for reform-minded managers, project teams,
and political leaders in which the focus is placed on
crafting solutions to problems that Malawians themselves
nominate, prioritize, and enact.
Citation
“Bridges, Kate; Woolcock, Michael. 2017. How (Not) to Fix Problems that Matter; How (Not) to Fix Problems That Matter: Assessing and Responding to Malawi's History of Institutional Reform : Assessing and Responding to Malawi's History of Institutional Reform. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8289. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29111 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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