Mats Hårsmar | Uppsala University (original) (raw)

Papers by Mats Hårsmar

The thesis discusses different theories about agricultural growth and their applicability in Sub-... more The thesis discusses different theories about agricultural growth and their applicability in Sub-Saharan Africa. Starting in a debate about lack of expected results from economic reform programmes, the study goes on to describe the situation prevailing on the Mossi Plateau of central Burkina Faso. This area has been selected as a case where agricultural reforms have been implemented properly, and hence positive results from liberalisation in terms of agricultural growth should be expected. In spite of this, what is found is an increasing level of income diversification, combined with the upholding of self-subsistence farming with traditional methods. The factor explaining the prevalence of income diversification is the level of reluctance to change. Underlying this reluctance to change are four indigenous institutions: the upholding of social relationships, the household as the basic production unit, customary land tenure and the upholding of local power structures. These four institutions are also found to influence the level of economic dynamism more broadly. Hence, they determine the scope for agricultural growth. However, some growth is taking place first and foremost in the fields of vegetable gardening, cotton cultivation and cattle breeding. In these areas change is possible because it can take place without challenging the identity of Mossi peasantries. Some members of households are also able to be more dynamic than others since they have roles that are freer. The indigenous institutions that guide Mossi economic behaviour are rules that are constitutive, that is, the upholding of them contribute to create meaning for those who follow them. In this they way, they belong to logic of appropriateness. Based on these findings neoclassic as well as New Institutional Economic theories are criticised, as are other theories that indirectly make the assumption that agricultural growth is hindered or held back by an irrelevant institutional pattern. In order to make sense, theories about agricultural growth in Sub-Saharan Africa need to take indigenous institutions into consideration and give them a proper role.

Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, 2021

Introduction Increasingly, poor country governments in sub-Saharan Africa aim at promoting inclus... more Introduction Increasingly, poor country governments in sub-Saharan Africa aim at promoting inclusive growth. Rather than infinitely trying to minimize something negative – in combating poverty – they try to situate their development challenges in a context of progress. One example is the government of Burkina Faso, which recently abandoned its “poverty reduction strategy”, and replaced this with a “strategy for sustainable growth” (Palenfo, 2011). Given that the majority of the population resides in rural areas and continuously is occupied in subsistence agriculture, a major issue for the current strategy is how to raise productivity in smallholder production of food crops. Focus is increasingly given to the issue of technical change in peasant agriculture.

Sweden is an interesting aid donor to study. With a reputation of a committed and trustworthy dia... more Sweden is an interesting aid donor to study. With a reputation of a committed and trustworthy dialogue partner with a focus on poverty reduction, Sweden is seen to be driven by altruistic motives and pushing the international donor coordination agenda. However, at a closer look, selectivity and poverty focus in the Swedish partner portfolio is relatively weak; country selections have primarily been based on historical patterns and are often contributing to donor congestion; aid motives are increasingly becoming blurred, while the Swedish aid agencies rapidly are becoming messier from an organizational standpoint, So what is the Swedish aid model, and how is it evolving? Why has Swedish aid become increasingly complex in its content?

African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 2013

ABSTRACT How can technical changes within food crop cultivation in a country like Burkina Faso be... more ABSTRACT How can technical changes within food crop cultivation in a country like Burkina Faso be explained? This is an important question for the reduction of poverty, for enhanced food security as well as for economic growth. Poor countries, where agriculture is dominating broad based economic growth, require increased productivity in food crop cultivation. This study builds on fieldwork from three villages, undertaken in 2001/2002 and in 2010. The villages are situated on the ‘Mossi plateau’ in central Burkina Faso, where chronic poverty is widespread. The study finds the character of diffusion channels and the role of social relations to be decisive in explaining access, choice and adoption of new techniques. The innovation system theory is found relevant, not least because of its focus on power structures and relations between actors. To further strengthen such systems, intermediary organizations should be supported and informal institutions transformed.

Journal of International Development, 2011

There are several reasons why mobilisation of domestic resources and taxation is in focus right n... more There are several reasons why mobilisation of domestic resources and taxation is in focus right now in sub-Saharan Africa. Decreasing financial flows following the global financial crisis is one. Even if the crisis has not hit sub-Saharan Africa as hard as expected, the assessment is that remittances, net private capital flows, the share of domestic revenue to GDP and overall economic growth fell during 2009 as a consequence of the crisis. At the same time, aid did not increase as much as promised. 1 Another reason is that the implementation of the Uruguay Round trade agreements and the signing of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU have led to decreased revenue from trade taxes. Even though increased trade is believed to be beneficial for the economies of the region, governments still need to find new sources to finance their expenditures. Many governments in sub-Saharan Africa have been heavily dependent on revenue from trade taxes. A third reason is that attempts to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) might lead countries to compete with their neighbours by offering tax exemptions. This makes it difficult to increase the revenue from FDI. In this situation, both the UN Economic Commission for Africa Annual Report and the African Economic Outlook (published by the African Development Bank and OECD Development Centre) carry domestic resource mobilisation as their main theme in 2010.

The South African Journal of International Affairs, Mar 21, 2014

ABSTRACT The debate on current economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) contains two opposing ... more ABSTRACT The debate on current economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) contains two opposing poles: One position claims that African countries are on their way to catching up with richer parts of the world. The other argues that no structural changes have occurred, and that continued dependency on commodity exports will push African economies further into poverty traps, while economic enclave sectors blossom. This article surveys challenges in promoting inclusive growth and creating employment, and goes on to assess how countries' economic vulnerability has developed, as measured by the economic vulnerability index used by the United Nations for classification of ‘least developed country’ status. Improvements are found for several African countries as well as for SSA on average, despite simultaneous increases in the average export concentration. This broader measure shows structural conditions for economic growth to have improved for SSA on average and for many of its countries.

Annual Report 2012 Development Dilemmas, 2013

URING 2012, most international reports on the African economy have focused on jobs and employment... more URING 2012, most international reports on the African economy have focused on jobs and employment. After years of complacency over the continent's rapid economic growth, it is now widely recognised that, if growth is to be sustained, it is high time for inclusiveness. In particular, the demographic dividend has to be reaped. If Africa can put its rapidly growing population to productive work, its economic future will be very bright. If, on the other hand, the many young are left unemployed or in less productive informal activities,

This is a review of Sida's programme for development research (U-forsk) that over long time has p... more This is a review of Sida's programme for development research (U-forsk) that over long time has provided support to Swedish research of relevance for development and poverty reduction. The questions at issue for the review stem from a need to understand the significance and role of the programme in relation to changes that have taken place during the period 2006 to 2012. To provide a basis for the further handling of the programme the reviewers have covered a broad spectrum of areas such as overall significance, quality, relevance and synergies to more specific and practical issues relating to the administration of the programme.

If the rapid economic growth in Africa is to be sustained, the majority of people need to be part... more If the rapid economic growth in Africa is to be sustained, the majority of people need to be part of it. However, there are differing views on how growth in Africa should be understood. Mats Hårsmar explores the two competing stories and the challenges that flow from them.

International land investments in Africa, Latin America and parts of Southeast Asia for the produ... more International land investments in Africa, Latin America and parts of Southeast Asia for the production of food and biofuel is a trend that has increased in recent years, not least after the food price crisis 2007-2008. The rising cost of food, coupled with water scarcity in countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and in parts of Asia, motivated a number of countries dependent on imported food to lower their vulnerability to future food price hikes by investing in agricultural land in foreign nations where they could produce food and agricultural goods (IFPRI, 2009). This has led to an increased international and domestic interest in farmland, primarily in Africa and Latin America (World Bank, 2010), but has also raised a series of concerns. Some claim domestic food security in host countries may be under threat (Matondi et al, 2011), while others fear that local populations with customary access to land are often evicted or excluded when large scale agricultural development projects are ushered in (Deininger, 2011). As land rights are being put into question, water rights are also coming to the fore. Most of the focus in the research to date has been on the terms and conditions of the contracts for invest

The thesis discusses different theories about agricultural growth and their applicability in Sub-... more The thesis discusses different theories about agricultural growth and their applicability in Sub-Saharan Africa. Starting in a debate about lack of expected results from economic reform programmes, the study goes on to describe the situation prevailing on the Mossi Plateau of central Burkina Faso. This area has been selected as a case where agricultural reforms have been implemented properly, and hence positive results from liberalisation in terms of agricultural growth should be expected. In spite of this, what is found is an increasing level of income diversification, combined with the upholding of self-subsistence farming with traditional methods. The factor explaining the prevalence of income diversification is the level of reluctance to change. Underlying this reluctance to change are four indigenous institutions: the upholding of social relationships, the household as the basic production unit, customary land tenure and the upholding of local power structures. These four institutions are also found to influence the level of economic dynamism more broadly. Hence, they determine the scope for agricultural growth. However, some growth is taking place first and foremost in the fields of vegetable gardening, cotton cultivation and cattle breeding. In these areas change is possible because it can take place without challenging the identity of Mossi peasantries. Some members of households are also able to be more dynamic than others since they have roles that are freer. The indigenous institutions that guide Mossi economic behaviour are rules that are constitutive, that is, the upholding of them contribute to create meaning for those who follow them. In this they way, they belong to logic of appropriateness. Based on these findings neoclassic as well as New Institutional Economic theories are criticised, as are other theories that indirectly make the assumption that agricultural growth is hindered or held back by an irrelevant institutional pattern. In order to make sense, theories about agricultural growth in Sub-Saharan Africa need to take indigenous institutions into consideration and give them a proper role.

Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, 2021

Introduction Increasingly, poor country governments in sub-Saharan Africa aim at promoting inclus... more Introduction Increasingly, poor country governments in sub-Saharan Africa aim at promoting inclusive growth. Rather than infinitely trying to minimize something negative – in combating poverty – they try to situate their development challenges in a context of progress. One example is the government of Burkina Faso, which recently abandoned its “poverty reduction strategy”, and replaced this with a “strategy for sustainable growth” (Palenfo, 2011). Given that the majority of the population resides in rural areas and continuously is occupied in subsistence agriculture, a major issue for the current strategy is how to raise productivity in smallholder production of food crops. Focus is increasingly given to the issue of technical change in peasant agriculture.

Sweden is an interesting aid donor to study. With a reputation of a committed and trustworthy dia... more Sweden is an interesting aid donor to study. With a reputation of a committed and trustworthy dialogue partner with a focus on poverty reduction, Sweden is seen to be driven by altruistic motives and pushing the international donor coordination agenda. However, at a closer look, selectivity and poverty focus in the Swedish partner portfolio is relatively weak; country selections have primarily been based on historical patterns and are often contributing to donor congestion; aid motives are increasingly becoming blurred, while the Swedish aid agencies rapidly are becoming messier from an organizational standpoint, So what is the Swedish aid model, and how is it evolving? Why has Swedish aid become increasingly complex in its content?

African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 2013

ABSTRACT How can technical changes within food crop cultivation in a country like Burkina Faso be... more ABSTRACT How can technical changes within food crop cultivation in a country like Burkina Faso be explained? This is an important question for the reduction of poverty, for enhanced food security as well as for economic growth. Poor countries, where agriculture is dominating broad based economic growth, require increased productivity in food crop cultivation. This study builds on fieldwork from three villages, undertaken in 2001/2002 and in 2010. The villages are situated on the ‘Mossi plateau’ in central Burkina Faso, where chronic poverty is widespread. The study finds the character of diffusion channels and the role of social relations to be decisive in explaining access, choice and adoption of new techniques. The innovation system theory is found relevant, not least because of its focus on power structures and relations between actors. To further strengthen such systems, intermediary organizations should be supported and informal institutions transformed.

Journal of International Development, 2011

There are several reasons why mobilisation of domestic resources and taxation is in focus right n... more There are several reasons why mobilisation of domestic resources and taxation is in focus right now in sub-Saharan Africa. Decreasing financial flows following the global financial crisis is one. Even if the crisis has not hit sub-Saharan Africa as hard as expected, the assessment is that remittances, net private capital flows, the share of domestic revenue to GDP and overall economic growth fell during 2009 as a consequence of the crisis. At the same time, aid did not increase as much as promised. 1 Another reason is that the implementation of the Uruguay Round trade agreements and the signing of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU have led to decreased revenue from trade taxes. Even though increased trade is believed to be beneficial for the economies of the region, governments still need to find new sources to finance their expenditures. Many governments in sub-Saharan Africa have been heavily dependent on revenue from trade taxes. A third reason is that attempts to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) might lead countries to compete with their neighbours by offering tax exemptions. This makes it difficult to increase the revenue from FDI. In this situation, both the UN Economic Commission for Africa Annual Report and the African Economic Outlook (published by the African Development Bank and OECD Development Centre) carry domestic resource mobilisation as their main theme in 2010.

The South African Journal of International Affairs, Mar 21, 2014

ABSTRACT The debate on current economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) contains two opposing ... more ABSTRACT The debate on current economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) contains two opposing poles: One position claims that African countries are on their way to catching up with richer parts of the world. The other argues that no structural changes have occurred, and that continued dependency on commodity exports will push African economies further into poverty traps, while economic enclave sectors blossom. This article surveys challenges in promoting inclusive growth and creating employment, and goes on to assess how countries' economic vulnerability has developed, as measured by the economic vulnerability index used by the United Nations for classification of ‘least developed country’ status. Improvements are found for several African countries as well as for SSA on average, despite simultaneous increases in the average export concentration. This broader measure shows structural conditions for economic growth to have improved for SSA on average and for many of its countries.

Annual Report 2012 Development Dilemmas, 2013

URING 2012, most international reports on the African economy have focused on jobs and employment... more URING 2012, most international reports on the African economy have focused on jobs and employment. After years of complacency over the continent's rapid economic growth, it is now widely recognised that, if growth is to be sustained, it is high time for inclusiveness. In particular, the demographic dividend has to be reaped. If Africa can put its rapidly growing population to productive work, its economic future will be very bright. If, on the other hand, the many young are left unemployed or in less productive informal activities,

This is a review of Sida's programme for development research (U-forsk) that over long time has p... more This is a review of Sida's programme for development research (U-forsk) that over long time has provided support to Swedish research of relevance for development and poverty reduction. The questions at issue for the review stem from a need to understand the significance and role of the programme in relation to changes that have taken place during the period 2006 to 2012. To provide a basis for the further handling of the programme the reviewers have covered a broad spectrum of areas such as overall significance, quality, relevance and synergies to more specific and practical issues relating to the administration of the programme.

If the rapid economic growth in Africa is to be sustained, the majority of people need to be part... more If the rapid economic growth in Africa is to be sustained, the majority of people need to be part of it. However, there are differing views on how growth in Africa should be understood. Mats Hårsmar explores the two competing stories and the challenges that flow from them.

International land investments in Africa, Latin America and parts of Southeast Asia for the produ... more International land investments in Africa, Latin America and parts of Southeast Asia for the production of food and biofuel is a trend that has increased in recent years, not least after the food price crisis 2007-2008. The rising cost of food, coupled with water scarcity in countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and in parts of Asia, motivated a number of countries dependent on imported food to lower their vulnerability to future food price hikes by investing in agricultural land in foreign nations where they could produce food and agricultural goods (IFPRI, 2009). This has led to an increased international and domestic interest in farmland, primarily in Africa and Latin America (World Bank, 2010), but has also raised a series of concerns. Some claim domestic food security in host countries may be under threat (Matondi et al, 2011), while others fear that local populations with customary access to land are often evicted or excluded when large scale agricultural development projects are ushered in (Deininger, 2011). As land rights are being put into question, water rights are also coming to the fore. Most of the focus in the research to date has been on the terms and conditions of the contracts for invest

Published by SLU, Framtidens lantbruk/Future Agriculture ISBN 978-91-576-9090-6 Layout: Karin Ull... more Published by SLU, Framtidens lantbruk/Future Agriculture ISBN 978-91-576-9090-6 Layout: Karin Ullvén, SLU Photos: iStockphoto Printed at Fyris-Tryck AB © SLU, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet Critical research issues for future sub-Saharan African agriculture Professor Kjell Havnevik, Senior Researcher,