Developmental state

­­The term developmental state first referred to the phenomenon of state-led macroeconomic planning in Asia, where the state had autonomous political power as well as control over the economy. The process attracted attention as it emerged that the poor appeared to benefit more than other regions reporting similar economic growth.

A later definition, the democratic developmental state, was introduced to include the elements of democracy. The document collection in this section aims to provide an overview of policy issues and the democratic developmental state, to support those who aim to influence the policy development process.

Policy briefs

Research reports & papers

  • Towards better use of evidence in policy formation: A discussion paper 
    A report intended as an initial high-level paper to stimulate discussion amongst New Zealand policy advisors and policy makers.­
    Gluckman, P., May 2011
  • A democratic developmental state in Africa? 
    A concept document arguing that the question of the democratic developmental state should be on the agenda in Africa, preceding a broader research project by the Centre for Policy Studies and the Partners in Development for Research Consulting and Training.
    Edigheji, O., May 2005
  • A developmental state for South Africa? 
    A Cosatu discussion paper which reviews the theoretical discourse around the developmental state and reviews the evolution of central co-ordinating institutions since 1994.
    Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), 2005
  • Africa progress report 2011: The transformative power of partnerships:  
    A concise overview of the progress Africa has made over the previous year in seven areas, namely economic growth, governance, peace and security, social development, food and nutrition security, climate change, and development cooperation and finance. Provides a series of practical recommendations for policy makers.
    Africa Progress Panel, May 2011
  • Beyond the national question: Towards the social question 
    A Harold Wolpe Memorial Trust annual lecture.
    Mkandawire, T., October 2007
  • Botswana's 'developmental state' and the 'politics of legitimacy' 
    Reflects on Botswana's economic policies and how they reflect aspects of the developmental state, granting the ruling party an enduring fo­rm of legitimacy.
    Taylor, I., December 2006
  • Citizens' engagement in policymaking and the design of public services 
    Citizen participation in policymaking and service design has been debated or attempted, but too infrequently realised. Considers current reform initiatives in the Australian Public Service (APS) and examines the implications of citizen-centric ideals for the processes and structures of government agencies.­
    Australian Public Service (APS), July 2011
  • Constructing a democratic developmental state in South Africa: Potentials and challenges 
    Examines how South Africa could build a democratic developmental state, drawing on relevant conceptual models and experiences from other countries.
    Human Sciences Research Council, March 2010
  • Delivering the democratic developmental state in South Africa 
    Working paper on South African ruling African National Congress's (ANC) plans to construct a state that is both developmental and democratic as a political ambition and a moral imperative. ­
    Development Bank of Southern Africa, 2009
  • Economic report on Africa 2011 
    Argues that economic transformation in Africa requires the state to play a central role—using a comprehensive development framework—in planning, articulating and implementing policies aimed at ensuring efficient allocation of resources.
    European Commission for Africa, Africa Union, March 2011
  • Governing development in Africa - the role of the state in economic transformation 
    Recommends that African countries adopt a developmental state approach that uses the market as an instrument rather than a sole mechanism for fostering long-term investment, rapid and sustained economic growth, equity ­and social development.
    Economic Commission for Africa, March 2011
  • Implementing the APRM: Views from civil society  
    Assembled collaboratively over the past year by several South African civil society organisations (CSOs), this report scrutinises the country’s track record in fighting corruption, managing diversity, addressing xenophobia and racism, managing elections, consolidating democracy and upholding the rule of law, as well as confronting social exclusion and effective service delivery. ­­
    APRM Monitoring Project (AMP), June 2011
  • In search of the 21st century developmental state 
    Reviews the potential role of the developmental state and what state structures and political institutions are required to achieve developed country status.
    Centre for Global Political Economy, December 2008
  • Knowledge, networks and nations: Global scientific collaboration in the 21st century 
    Reviews the changing patterns of science, and scientific collaboration, in order to provide a basis for understanding such ongoing changes. Aims to identify the opportunities and benefits of international collaboration, to consider how they can best be realised, and to initiate a debate on how international scientific collaboration can be harnessed to tackle global problems more effectively.
    Royal Society, March 2011
  • Politics: Developmental state in the making: Comment and analysis 
    This think-piece adopts two approaches to determine the extent to which South Africa could be viewed as a developmental state or not.
    Gumede, V., April 2011
  • Prospects for South Africa's future: Development report 2011 
    ­This report seeks to focus on the core, critical interventions that will be needed if South Africa’s development objectives are to be ­met.
    Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), November 2011
  • Recognising community voice and dissatisfaction 
    The result of a collective process of reflection on the meaning and implications of community protests for local governance. The network’s third publication providing a civil society perspective on the state of local governance. ­
    Good Governance and Learning Network (GGLN), May 2011
  • South Africa's developmental state makeover 
    Highlights ten key features of the developmental state growth model by contrasting economic and institutional trends between China (and East Asia) and South Africa.
    Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies, December 2009
  • South Africa's public policy clubs of exclusion  
    Commentary from the South African Civil Society Information Service (Sacsis) that the Zuma administration is attempting to insulate public policy choices from contestation in society, and as a consequence failing to build broader­ policy consensus.­
    Hassen, E-K., July 2010
  • South African Development Index (SADI) 
    An initiative by the South African Institute of Race Relations which aims to track development trends in South Africa, and will be released on a quarterly basis. ­
    South African Institute of Race Relations, February 2011
  • State of the cities report: Towards resilient cities 
    Assesses the progress made by South African cities over the last decade in relation to key development outcomes and reviews strategic problems and opportunities relating to planning and management­
    South African Cities Network (SACN), April 2011
  • State of the cities report: Towards resilient cities 
    Assesses the progress made by South African cities over the last decade in relation to key development outcomes and whether developmental metropolitan government has had the desired effect in improving socio-economic and environmental conditions.
    South African Cities Network (SACN), April 2011
  • The developmental state and educational advance in East Asia 
    Attempts to illustrate a link between educational development and the formation of developmental states in East Asia. Presents evidence that education systems contributed to nation-building.
    Abe, M., January 2006
  • The future of the welfare state 
    Full text of monograph launched at conference on the welfare state, with chapter on the need for a values-led debate on shaping public policy.
    Social Justice Ireland, September 2010
  • The rise and fall (?) of the developmental state: The vicissitudes and implications of East Asian interventionism 
    After World War II East Asia began to industrialise, leading to a seemingly permanent rise in living standards across the region. Reviews implications of economic policies of the developmental state.
    Beeson, M., January 2008
  • The state of the world's children 2011: Adolescence - an age of opportunity 
    Examines the global state of adolescents, outlines the challenges they face in health, education, protection and participation, and argues that investing in them now is our best hope of breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty and inequity and laying the foundation for a more peaceful, tolerant and equitable world.
    UNICEF, March 2011
  • The university in development case studies of use-oriented research 
    This analysis provides new understandings of current concepts of 'globalisation', 'use-oriented' research, 'knowledge society and economy', and 'national system of innovation'.
    HSRC Press, November 2011

Case studies

  • Call for proposals: To conduct a series of case studies on the policy influence of impact studies 
    Call for proposals to conduct a series of case studies to identify factors that contribute to or impede evidence from rigorous impact evaluations to influence policy(deadline is 28 February 2011).
    International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), February 2011
  • Systematic review database 
    ­This database provides policymakers and practitioners with easy access to systematic reviews that examine evidence on the effects of social and economic development interventions in low- and middle-income countries. It draws together systematic reviews from a range of sources and covers all sectors.
    International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), September 2011

Country studies

Toolkits & guidelines

  • Call for submissions: Terms of reference for an online course on how to build a policy influence plan 
    Call for the development of a course which will improve  organizational capacity to influence public policies in developing countries - deadline 23 January 2011
    Global Development Network (GDNet), January 2011
  • Data strategies for policymaking: Identifying international good practice 
    Reviews international good practice for using data in policymaking and develops a conceptual framework for characterising and classifying the different elements of a data strategy for public sector orga­nisations.
    RAND Corporation, 2010
  • e-Atlas of global development 
    A free, online, interactive tool, which maps and graphs more than 175 indicators from the World Bank’s development database.
    World Bank, March 2011
  • From Evidence to Action: Issue 6: Evaluating our way to better government performance 
    In the final issue of the PAN newsletter for 2011 ­we look at how the evaluation of government programmes can be invaluable in improving performance and service delivery.
    Policy > Action Network, Human Sciences Research Council, December 2011
  • From Evidence to Action: P>AN Newsletter 1/2010 
    This is the first edition of the Policy > Action Network newsletter, From Evidence to Action, published with support from the Programme to Support Pro-Poor Policy Development (PSPPD), a partnership between the Presidency and the Eu­ropean Union.­
    Policy > Action Network, November 2010
  • Handbook on monitoring, evaluating and managing knowledge for policy influence 
    The main purpose of this handbook is to facilitate the investment process of a public research institute in developing a system (from the simplest to the most sophisticated) of monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and knowledge management (KM) of the impact of research on public policy.
    CIPPEC, February 2011
  • Magenta book 
    Sets out the key issues to consider when designing and managing evaluations, and the presentation and interpretation of evaluation results. Describes why thinking about evaluation before and during the policy design phase can help to improve the quality of evaluation results without needing to hinder the policy proce­ss.
    HM Treasury, April 2011
  • Managing for development results: A focus on Africa 
    A case book aimed at ensuring­ that managers are using evidence to make decisions and development stakeholders are able to keep track of progress.
    African Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results, 2010
  • Research as a tool for advocacy 
    A presentation outlining approaches to achieving research-based­ policies.
    Institute for Security Studies (ISS), 2010
  • Sound expectations: From impact evaluations to policy change 
    A conceptual framework to be used in the production of case studies which identify factors that help or hinder rigorous impact evaluations from influencing policy.
    International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), April 2011
  • Tools and resources 
    Aims to provide analytical tools and resources to assist analysts and managers with policy development or service-planning projects.
    Population and Sustainable Development, New Zealand, March 2011

Conference & seminar papers

Advocacy initiatives

  • African Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results 
    A community of over 1,000 practitioners managing for development results (MfDR) from 37 different African countries and regions across the world.
    March 2011
  • From Evidence to Action: the Policy > Action Network newsletter 
    Download the second issue of the Policy > Action Network newsletter and email pan@hsrc.ac.za if you would like to make comments or submissions for the next issue.
    Human Sciences Research Council, February 2011
  • IPC-IG Internship Programme  
    This internship offers outstanding graduate-level students the opportunity to acquire direct exposure to IPC-IG’s work as a global forum for policy dialogue and South-South learning on development innovations.
    International Poverty Centre, January 2011
  • National Planning Commission (NPC) Jam 
    If you have some ideas on building a better South Africa, please register for and participate in the National Planning Commission (NPC)­ Jam (an online brainstorming event from noon on 28 September until noon on 1 October). Additional information can also be found here. ­
    National Planning Commission (NPC) , September 2011
  • Online training: How to build a policy influence plan 
    CIPPEC, a leading think tank in Argentina will award 12 scholarships to participate in the third edition of this online training programme developed jointly with Global Development Network (GDN)­ which will start by the end of August 2011.­
    CIPPEC, August 2011
  • September National Imbizo 
    A new Facebook forum for a national citizens' dialogue, currently working against xenophobia and planning for ­a National Indaba in September 2010.
    July 2010