Nongovernmental organizations in public/private partnerships: Applications to new institutional economics (Africa)

The decades of the 1980s and 1990s witnessed academic and policy debates about the relative merits of public versus private sector efficiencies and effectiveness in processes of economic development in Africa. These discussions came in the wake of failed development approaches to redress symptoms of underdevelopment, including negative economic growth rates, poverty and poor governance structures. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) emerged in the 1990s and are being welcomed as panaceas and alternatives for economic development in Africa.; This study investigates the applications of New Institutional Economic (NIE) theory to analyze the activities of NGOs in processes of economic development. The holistic approach of NIE theory emphasizes institutional configurations in development processes, and it transcends the polarization of the public or private sector in economic development approaches.; The methodology employed is a multiple case analysis of the performance of projects by 51 nongovernmental organizations in 16 African countries. The data collected from observations of these organizations were used to establish statistical relationships between NGO performance and five NIE variables---service delivery, task, structure, participation and environment.; The findings from the study support NIE theory that a certain set of institutional arrangements is conducive to the performance of development projects and economic development. The findings also reveal that NGO performance is salient in the design of these institutional arrangements, and that NGO and government partnerships are effective alternatives to paradigms that foster the polarization of government or the market in the development process.; The study demonstrates that a continuing need exists to re-assess prevailing theories of public administration to develop public policies that address changes in social relationships. The study also demonstrates a need to assess the overall applicability of theories designed in developed countries to Africa and Third World nations. The recommendation of this study is that such an assessment should not be based on a choice among hierarchy of nation-state bureaucracy, markets, and civil participation, but it should emphasize the contributions that these three pillars of institutional development can make to enhance institutional performance.