Incentives, Governance, and Capacity Development in Africa

Abstract

When donors take the driver ‘s seat, Africans move to the back seat. When donors try to do the same thing in Vietnam, Vietnamese get out of the car. —Anonymous Africa’s brain drain to the North is part of a much larger story of the capacity-building challenges facing the continent. During the past 20 years African economies struggled through what are often referred to as the “lost decades.” The region’s economies have been characterized by dependence on economic aid and technical assistance. It is surmised that there are more expatriate “experts” in Africa now than at any time since independence. Technical assistance rose from US$1 billion in 1971 to US$4 billion in 1995. Africans themselves have, as the epigram suggests, taken the back seat, and the skilled ones among them have increasingly migrated abroad.

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