Khemani, StutiDevarajan, ShantayananWalton, Michael2012-03-192012-03-192011-07-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3497This paper examines the potential role of civil society action in increasing state accountability for development in Sub-Saharan Africa. It further develops the analytical framework of the World Development Report 2004 on accountability relationships, to emphasize the underlying political economy drivers of accountability and implications for how civil society is constituted and functions. It argues on this basis that the most important domain for improving accountability is through the political relations between citizens, civil society, and state leadership. The evidence broadly suggests that when higher-level political leadership provides sufficient or appropriate powers for citizen participation in holding within-state agencies or frontline providers accountable, there is frequently positive impact on outcomes. However, the big question remaining for such types of interventions is how to improve the incentives of higher-level leadership to pursue appropriate policy design and implementation. The paper argues that there is substantial scope for greater efforts in this domain, including through the support of external aid agencies. Such efforts and support should, however, build on existing political and civil society structures (rather than transplanting "best practice" initiatives from elsewhere), and be structured for careful monitoring and assessment of impact.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTABILITYACCOUNTABILITY FAILURESACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMSACCOUNTABILITY RELATIONSHIPACCOUNTABILITY RELATIONSHIPSACCOUNTINGACTIVISMADVOCACYANTI-CORRUPTIONASSETSAUDITINGBASIC SERVICESBEST PRACTICEBUDGET TRANSPARENCYBUREAUCRACIESBUSINESS ASSOCIATIONSCANDIDATESCAPITAL INVESTMENTSCHILD POPULATIONCITIZEN DEMANDSCITIZEN ENGAGEMENTCITIZEN PARTICIPATIONCITIZEN REPORT CARDCITIZENSCIVIL SOCIETYCIVIL SOCIETY ACTORSCIVIL SOCIETY CAPACITYCIVIL SOCIETY ENGAGEMENTCIVIL SOCIETY GROUPCIVIL SOCIETY GROUPSCIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONCIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONSCOLLABORATIONCOLLECTIVE ACTIONCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIESCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGYCOMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONSCOMMUNITY MEMBERSCOMMUNITY MOBILIZATIONCOMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONSCOMMUNITY PARTICIPATIONCOMMUNITY RADIOCOMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENTCOMPLAINTCOMPLAINTSCONFLICT OF INTERESTCONFLICTS OF INTERESTCONSTITUENCYCONSTITUENTSCORRUPTCORRUPTIONCREDIBILITYCRIMINALDECISION MAKINGDECISION-MAKINGDEMOCRACIESDEMOCRACYDEMOCRATIC COUNTRIESDEMOCRATIC PROCESSESDEMOCRATIC REGIMESDEMOCRATIC VALUESDEMOCRATIZATIONDEMOCRATIZATION PROCESSDEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESSDISTRICT AUTHORITIESECONOMIC POLICIESEDUCATION SECTOREDUCATION SERVICE DELIVERYEDUCATION SYSTEMELECTIONELECTIONSELITESEMPOWERMENTENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDSETHNIC IDENTITYEXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIESFAIR ELECTIONSFISCAL POLICIESFRAUDGAMESGOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITYGOVERNMENT SERVICESGOVERNORGROUP BASISHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUMAN RIGHTSINDEPENDENT MEDIAINFANT MORTALITYINFORMATION LAWSINITIATIVEINSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTEREST GROUPSINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTERNATIONAL NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONSINVESTIGATIONJUDICIARIESJUDICIARYKNOWLEDGE GAPLAWSLEADERSHIPLEARNINGLEGISLATIONLEGISLATORLEGISLATORSLINE MINISTRIESLOCAL COMMITTEESLOCAL COMMUNITIESLOCAL ELECTIONSLOCAL GOVERNANCELOCAL GOVERNMENTLOCAL GOVERNMENTSLOCAL GROUPSLOCAL INSTITUTIONSLOCAL POLITICIANSMARGINALIZED GROUPSMASS MEDIAMECHANISMS OF ACCOUNTABILITYMEDIAMEDIA COVERAGEMOBILIZATIONMONOPOLIESMONOPOLYMULTILATERAL DONORSMULTIPARTY ELECTIONSNGOORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITYPARTICIPATORY APPROACHESPARTICIPATORY BUDGETINGPATRONAGEPENALTIESPETTY CORRUPTIONPHONESPOLICEPOLICY DISCUSSIONSPOLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITYPOLITICAL LEADERSPOLITICAL LEADERSHIPPOLITICAL PARTICIPATIONPOLITICAL PARTYPOLITICAL POWERPOLITICAL PRESSURESPOLITICAL PROCESSPOLITICAL PROCESSESPOLITICAL STABILITYPOLITICAL SYSTEMPOLITICIANPOLITICIANSPOVERTY REDUCTIONPREPARATIONPRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONSPRIVATE BUSINESSPROCUREMENTPROGRAMMINGPROGRAMSPROJECT DESIGNPUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITYPUBLIC AWARENESSPUBLIC FUNDSPUBLIC GOODPUBLIC INTERESTPUBLIC OPINIONPUBLIC POLICIESPUBLIC SECTOR REFORMPUBLIC SERVICESRECONSTRUCTIONREPRESENTATIVESREPRESSIONRIGHT TO INFORMATIONRULE OF LAWSANCTIONSANCTIONSSCIENTISTSSELF-HELPSERVICE DELIVERYSERVICE PROVIDERSSOCIAL CAPITALSOCIAL COHESIONSOCIAL EXCLUSIONSOCIAL NETWORKSSOCIAL ORGANIZATIONSOCIAL STRUCTURESSTATE GOVERNMENTTARGET GROUPSTRADE UNIONSTRANSPARENCYTRIALSVILLAGEVILLAGESVIOLENCEVOTER TURNOUTWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-5733