Improving the impact of market reform on agricultural productivity in Africa : how institutional design makes a difference

However, an analysis, undertaken in Section 2 of the present study, of reform programs in seven geographically dispersed African countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), shows that program results have been mixed and frequently inconsistent with the expected increases in productivity. Section 3 of the study identifies some of the factors accounting for these variations, arguing that inadequate attention to key institutional design questions arising from the transition to a market economy has maintained a situation of high transaction costs and uncertainties in the coordination of input generation and distribution, farm credit, and the various stages of commodity marketing in Africa. Section 4 explores potential options for promoting agricultural productivity growth through increased attention to the institutional details of economic policy in a market economy. Includes references. (Author abstract, modified)