SpringerLink
Log in

Ideas, Interests, and Institutions in Public Policymaking

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Public Policy in Ghana

Part of the book series: International Series on Public Policy ((ISPP))

  • 69 Accesses

Abstract

Multiple theoretical and conceptual frameworks explain how public policies are developed, further contested, and reshaped. Underlying these frameworks are the following variables: ideas, interests, and institutions. While several studies have stressed the importance of each of these variables, how do they interact and, probably, interdepend in the making of public policy, particularly in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region? Building on an earlier work that emphasizes the importance of ideas, particularly in transnational policymaking in Ghana, this chapter explores how ideas influence the construction of interest and institutions. In doing so, it draws on information from policies and programmes implemented in some SSA countries. The chapter draws broadly from ideational analysis to argue that ideas are critical elements in public policy development. While interest and institutions direct policy actors’ behaviour in specific ways, ideational elements which include cognitive and normative beliefs define interests and serve as a basis for building support for institution creation and maintenance. The exploration of how the three variables interact in public policy process would extend the field of ideational studies by accounting for the interdependence of ideas, interests, and institutions in public policy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahiakpor, J. C. (1991). Rawlings, Economic Policy Reform, and the Poor: Consistency or Betrayal? The Journal of Modern African Studies, 29(4), 583–600.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayee, J. R. (2005). Public Sector Management in Africa (Economic research working paper edition). Tunis: African Development Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • BĂ©land, D. (2007). Ideas and Institutional Change in Social Security: Conversion, Layering, and Policy Drift. Social Science Quarterly, 88(1), 20–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BĂ©land, D. (2019). How Ideas and Institutions Shape the Politics of Public Policy. Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • BĂ©land, D., & Cox, R. H. (2011). Introduction: Ideas and Politics. In D. B. Cox (Ed.), Ideas and Politics in Social Science Research (pp. 3–20). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • BĂ©land, D., Foli, R., Howlett, M., Ramesh, M., & Woo, J. J. (2018b). Instrument Constituencies and Transnational Policy Diffusion: The Case of Conditional Cash Transfers. Review of International Political Economy, 25(4), 463–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BĂ©land, D., Foli, R., & Kpessa-Whyte, M. (2018a). Social Policy as Nation-building: Identity Formation, Policy Feedback, and Social Citizenship in Ghana. Canadian Journal of African Studies, 52(1), 19–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blyth, M. (2002). Great Transformations. Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Boafo-Arthur, K. (1999). Ghana: Structural Adjustment, Democratization, and the Politics of Continuity. African Studies Review, 42(2), 41–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. L. (1998). Institutional Analysis and the Role of Ideas in Political Economy. Theory and Society, 27(3), 377–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. L. (2002). Ideas, Politics and Public Policy. Annual Review of Sociology, 28, 21–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. L. (2004). Institutional Change and Globalization. Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cheru, F. (2016). Africa at 50+: Still searching for the “political kingdom”. Institute for Peace and Security Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • CissĂ©, F., Choi, J. E., & Maurel, M. (2016). Industrial Policy in Senegal. In C. Newman, J. Page, J. Rand, A. Shimeles, M. Söderbom, & F. Tarp (Eds.), Manufacturing Transformation: Comparative Studies of Industrial Development in Africa and Emerging Asia (pp. 137–154). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Downs, A. (1957). An Economic Theory of Political Action in a Democracy. Journal of Political Economy, 65(2), 135–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eamer, G. G., & Randall, G. E. (2013). Barriers to Implementing WHO’s Exclusive Breasfeeding Policy for Women Living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Exploration of Ideas, Interests, and Institutions. International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 28, 257–268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, S. (2014). Toxic Aid: Economic Collapse and Recovery in Tanzania. Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Emmerij, L., Jolly, R., & Weiss, T. G. (2005). Economic and Social Thinking at the UN in Historical Perspective. Development and Change, 36(2), 211–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foli, R., & BĂ©land, D. (2014). International Organizations and Ideas About Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poverty and Public Policy, 6(1), 3–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foli, R., BĂ©land, D., & Fenwick, T. B. (2018). How Instrument Constituencies Shape Policy Transfer: A Case Study from Ghana. Policy and Society, 37(1), 108–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garba, A.-G. (2007). Ruling Ideas and Social Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Assessment of Nationalist, Keynesian and Neoliberal Paradigms. In J. O. AdĂ©sĂ­nĂ  (Ed.), Social Policy in Sub-Saharan African Context: In Search of Inclusive Growth (pp. 54–86). Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hacker, J. (2004). Privatizing Risk Without Privatizing the Welfare State: The Hidden Politics of Welfare State Retrenchment in the United States. American Political Science Review, 98(2), 243–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Information Services Department (ISD). (1983). Forging Ahead: Selected Speeches of Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings January 1, 1983–December 31, 1983. Information Services Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kakwani, N., Soares, F. V., & Son, H. H. (2005). Conditional Cash Transfers in African Countries. United Nations Development Programme–International Poverty Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keynes, J. M. (2013). The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. In A. Robinson & D. Moggridge (Eds.), The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes Vol VII: The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. Cambridge University Press for the Royal Economic Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kpessa, M. W., BĂ©land, D., & Lecours, A. (2011). Nationalism, Development, and Social Policy: The Politics of Nation-building in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34(12), 2115–2133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kwawukume, S. D. (2013, March 27). TNAs and Policymaking in Ghana. (R. Foli, Interviewer).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahoney, J., & Thelen, K. (2010). A Gradual Theory of Institutional Change. In J. Mahoney & K. Thelen (Eds.), Explaining Institutional Change: Ambiguity, Agency, and Power (pp. 1–37). Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McWilliam, H. O., & Kwamena-Poh, M. A. (1975). The Development of Education in Ghana. Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • MDAs_008. (2013, April 19). TNAs and Policymaking in Ghana (R. Foli, Interviewer).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohan, J. (1967). Nkrumah and Nkrumaism. The Socialist Register, 4, 191–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nkrumah, K. (1957). Ghana: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah. Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • North, D. (1991). Institutions. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1), 97–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nyerere, J. (1980, January). Speech by President Nyerere at a Dinner for Diplomats in Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Affairs, 9, 2–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyerere, J. (1985). (A. Versi, Interviewer) New African Magazine. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://newafricanmagazine.com/16207/.

  • Orenstein, M. A. (2008). Privatizing Pensions: The Transnational Campaign for Social Security Reform. Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, C. (2007). How to Map Arguments in Political Science. Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rawlings, J., & Holecek, B. G. (1993). Paying the Piper. Transitions, 62, 158–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, J. (2000). Rational Choice Theory. In G. Browning, A. Halcli, & F. Webster (Eds.), Understanding Contemporary society: Theories of The Present (pp. 126–138). Sage Publications.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Shearer, J. C., Abelson, J., KouyatĂ©, B., Lavis, J. N., & Walt, G. (2016). Why Do Policies Change? Institutions, Interests, Ideas, and Networks in Three Cases of Policy Reform. Health Policy and Planning, 31(9), 1200–1211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Streeck, W., & Thelen, K. A. (2005). Beyond Continuity: Institutional Change in Advanced Political Economies. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • The World Bank. (2000/2001). The World Development Report: Attacking Poverty. Washington: The World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thelen, K. (1999). Historical Institutionalism in Comparative Politics. Annual Review of Political Science, 2, 369–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2000, September 8). Resolution Adopted by the General Assembly: United Nations Millennium Declaration. United Nations Web site. http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm

  • Varshney, A. (1989). Ideas, Interest, and Institutions in Policy Change: Transformation of India’s Agricultural Strategy in the Mid-1960s. Policy Sciences, 22(3/4), 289–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M. (1946). The Social Psychology of the World Religions. In H. H. Gerth & C. W. Mills (Eds.), From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (pp. 267–301). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, College of Humanities, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

    Rosina Foli

Authors
  1. Rosina Foli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rosina Foli .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

    Michael Kpessa-Whyte

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

    James Dzisah

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Foli, R. (2024). Ideas, Interests, and Institutions in Public Policymaking. In: Kpessa-Whyte, M., Dzisah, J. (eds) Public Policy in Ghana. International Series on Public Policy . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33005-6_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation