عنوان

The political economy of social policy and agrarian transformation in Ethiopia

Number

TLets589653

Title Proper

The political economy of social policy and agrarian transformation in Ethiopia

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Lavers, Tom

Subsequent Statement of Responsibility

Devine, Joseph ; Brown, Graham

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

University of Bath

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2013

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

University of Bath

Text preceding or following the note

2013

Text of Note

This thesis is concerned with social policy during structural transformation, focusing on the caseof Ethiopia. The thesis takes a realist, case-based approach to the study of social policy, whichrecognises that political actors construct the domain of 'social' policy within legitimisingdiscourses in specific national-historical contexts. Social policy is a key aspect of state-societyrelations and an inherently political field of study. Consequently, the study integrates analysis ofcleavages in domestic society along class and ethnic lines, the role of state organisations andinternational influences, and their impact on the social policy pronouncements by seniorgovernment officials and implementation of those policies on the ground.In the Ethiopian case, this approach highlights the centrality of land to social policy and state•society relations. In particular, state land ownership is a key part of the government'sdevelopment strategy that aims to combine egalitarian agricultural growth with security forsmallholders. Nevertheless, the failure to expand the use of productivity-enhancing agriculturalinputs, which constitute key complements to the use of land for social objectives, has led todifferentiation in social policy provision along class, gender, age and ethnic lines. Micro-level casestudies link the land question to food security, including the Productive Safety Net Programme(PSNP), and processes of agricultural commercialisation, notably the so-called 'global land grab'.A main argument of the thesis is that the Ethiopian government is attempting to manage socialprocesses in order to minimise the social and political upheaval involved in structuraltransformation, and that social pol icy is a central means by which it does so. The developmentstrategy requires social policies that enable the government to control the allocation of factors ofproduction, necessitating restrictions on the rights of individuals and groups. As such, this strategyis intricately intertwined with political authority.

agrarian change

Ethiopia

land grab

social policy

Lavers, Tom

Brown, Graham

Devine, Joseph

University of Bath

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y