The weak link

The role of local institutions in accountable natural resource management in Peru, Senegal, Ghana, and Tanzania

Extractive industries present potentially large opportunities for developing countries. However, advocates for responsible natural resource management are often frustrated by the fact that best-practice policy prescriptions are frequently ignored by governments in developing counties. As a result, there has been a growing effort to understand how policy decisions are made, and how political and economic incentives shape development outcomes.

With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Oxfam has produced a detailed study of the political economy of decision making, with research conducted in Peru, Ghana, Senegal and Tanzania. Reports for each of the countries are below (Tanzania report forthcoming), along with a synthesis of the findings.