The politics of welfare policy reforms: a comparative study of how and why changes of government affect policy making on social cash transfer programmes in Zambia and Malawi
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis examines how and why social protection policy reforms happened after changes of government in Zambia and Malawi. It provides four case studies that account for the process of reforms to promote or constrain social cash transfer programmes (SCTs) by government administrations within and across the two countries over time. Recent research on social protection in Africa shows that politics matters for the expansion of programmes, but the literature discussing the specific forms of politics that drive or limit support for reforms is still emerging. There is also a paucity of evidence accounting for variation in reforms within and between countries on the continent over time. This thesis contributes to these knowledge gaps. The study argues that while donors introduced pilot SCTs in Zambia and Malawi and continue to promote reforms, domestic politics is important for understanding when, how and why national governments expanded donor supported pilots into national programmes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand variation in political support for reforms within countries and to bring attention to the relative importance of partisanship. The study uses a process tracing method to understand the reform process from the mid-2000s until 2017. It draws on qualitative interviews with policy makers such as political elites, government technocrats and donor officials, and a review of policy documents. It also includes a statistical analysis of reforms in 10 East and Southern African countries to understand how Zambia and Malawi fit into a broader set of cases. The thesis demonstrates that in Zambia and Malawi, there was a greater incentive for political parties and the leaders within them to promote programmatic social protection when it had not already been seized as a mechanism for poverty reduction by the preceding government. Moreover, in cases where state support for social protection was limited, changes of government provided opportunities fo…
abstract: This thesis examines how and why social protection policy reforms happened after changes of government in Zambia and Malawi. It provides four case studies that account for the process of reforms to promote or constrain social cash transfer programmes (SCTs) by government administrations within and across the two countries over time. Recent research on social protection in Africa shows that politics matters for the expansion of programmes, but the literature discussing the specific forms of politics that drive or limit support for reforms is still emerging. There is also a paucity of evidence accounting for variation in reforms within and between countries on the continent over time. This thesis contributes to these knowledge gaps. The study argues that while donors introduced pilot SCTs in Zambia and Malawi and continue to promote reforms, domestic politics is important for understanding when, how and why national governments expanded donor supported pilots into national programmes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand variation in political support for reforms within countries and to bring attention to the relative importance of partisanship. The study uses a process tracing method to understand the reform process from the mid-2000s until 2017. It draws on qualitative interviews with policy makers such as political elites, government technocrats and donor officials, and a review of policy documents. It also includes a statistical analysis of reforms in 10 East and Southern African countries to understand how Zambia and Malawi fit into a broader set of cases. The thesis demonstrates that in Zambia and Malawi, there was a greater incentive for political parties and the leaders within them to promote programmatic social protection when it had not already been seized as a mechanism for poverty reduction by the preceding government. Moreover, in cases where state support for social protection was limited, changes of government provided opportunities fo…
author: Siachiwena, Hangala
keywords: sociology
date published: 2021
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:23:36Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Department of Sociology

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34009