Social Policy for Development or Democracy Development in Africa

Social Policy for Development

Author: James Midgley

'Strong social policy is essential for sustainable growth. This book is an extremely useful overview of social policy issue for policy makers and anyone who wants to understand the true roots of successful sustainable development'

- Ian Johnson, Vice President for Sustainable Development, The World Bank

'Throughout the world issues of social development have now taken centre stage. There is no more comprehensive and readable guide to the choices and conflicts of this global drama. This book is essential reading for all students and practitioners of social development - and for every World Bank economist'

- David Piachaud, Professor of Social Policy, London School of Economics

This much-needed textbook fulfils a major gap in providing a complete up-to-date guide and introduction to the increasingly important role of social policy in the context of development processes and practice.

Across a number of key sectors and areas of social policy concern, the authors accessibly introduce and explain the main conceptual debates, the most recent policy discussions, and provide applied examples to illustrate the latest developments in the social policy and planning field. Central topics covered include:

- poverty

- rural development

- urban development

- education

- health

- social work

- social welfare

- international development and cooperation.

Social Policy for Development is an essential text for all students and practitioners alike seeking a deeper understanding of the issues of poverty, social exclusion and deprivationacross social policy and development studies internationally.

Table of Contents:

	List of tables
	List of figures
	Preface
	List of abbreviations
	Glossary
1	Social policy for development : local, national and global dimensions	1
2	Poverty, inequality and development : the challenge for social policy	44
3	Social policy and rural development : from modernization to sustainable livelihoods	87
4	Social policy and urban development	114
5	Basic education for social development	142
6	Health systems in developing countries	168
7	Social work and the human services	205
8	Social security policies and programmes	233
9	International development cooperation and social policy	262
	Index	284

See also: Renewing Americas Food Traditions or Vijs

Democracy & Development in Africa

Author: Claude Ak

Despite three decades of preoccupation with development in Africa, the economies of most African nations are still stagnating or regressing. For most Africans, incomes are lower than they were two decades ago, health prospects are poorer, malnutrition is widespread, and infrastructures and social institutions are breaking down. An array of factors has been suggested to explain the apparent failure of development in Africa, including colonial legacy, social pluralism, corruption, poor planning and incompetent management, limited inflow of foreign capital, and low levels of saving and investment. Alone or in combination, these factors are serious impediments to development, but Claude Ake contends that the problem is not that development has failed, but that it was never really on the agenda. He maintains that political conditions in Africa are the greatest impediment to development. In this book, Ake traces the evolution and failure of development policies, including the IMF stabilization programs that have dominated international efforts. He believes that the authoritarian structure the African states inherited from colonial rule created a political environment that was hostile to development. Ake sketches the alternatives that are struggling to emerge from calamitous failure - economic development based on traditional agriculture, political development based on decentralization of power, and reliance on indigenous communities that have been providing some measure of refuge from the coercive power of the central state. Ake's argument may become a new paradigm for development in Africa.

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