The document discusses sustaining innovative economic policies in Africa. It argues that policies adapted from Western countries may not be effective due to differences in socio-economic realities like poverty, corruption, and weak rule of law. To develop sustainable policies, the document advocates taking a disciplined approach based on understanding local realities, generating policies through analytical research on local data, and establishing a rule of law that promotes socio-economic justice. The key to sustaining innovative policies is implementing them through contextualization, analytical validity, adequate funding, rigorous implementation, and ongoing learning and improvement.

1. Sustaining Innovative
Economic Policies
Martin Oluba, Ph.D, DBA
President/CEO
ValueFronteira Limited
42 Olowu Street, Ikeja
Lagos
martin@valuefronteira.com

2. We are Uniquely Different
So are the Socio-economic Realities
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3. So, is What is Good for the
Goose …??
• Source of the challenge:
– Implicit assumption that policy efficacy in the Western
world means pass for potential efficacy in Africa;
– The re-echoing of Western rhetorics which frustrates
inward inquiry and resource deployment to discovering
ours;
– Policy failure (or sub-optimization) due to wrong adaptation
and differences in contextual realities
• Overcoming the challenge:
– A disciplined approach to policy development based on
deeper appreciation of our own socio-economic realities;
– Our main socio-economic realities comprise acute poverty,
corruption and weak rule of law
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4. This Paper:
Emphasizes the Economic Leg of
Sustainability
• The three legs of sustainability: economic,
social, environmental;
• The focus of the paper is on how the
economic leg can be in sync with the
others;
• Focus has hitherto been on development
and growth to the detriment of the other
two.
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5. We Want Economic Policies that
are Consistent with Our Reality
Reduces
Poverty &
Promotes
Prosperity
Fosters Strong
Socio-economic
Justice
Enthrones the
Rule of Law
• Promotes entrepreneurship
• Encourages the rapid and
sustained emergence of
the middle class
• Encourages the
enhancement of income,
health and literacy
• One with strong socio-
economic justice.
• Not based on sympathy for
deprivation but out of the
need to recover what rightly
belongs to a group but was
stolen through corruption
• One with very robust rule of
law that protects all. It is the
rule of law that legitimizes and
gives strength to our own
brand of innovative economic
policies
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6. What Process will Deliver this Policy
Reality on a Sustained Basis?
Contextualization
[Conceptually Sound &
Contextually Relevant]
AnalyticalValidity
[Strong data based
evidence of validity] PolicyFunding
[Adequate funding of
initiative]
6-sigma
Implementation
[Implementation as
designed]
Learning&Growth
[Monitoring,
evaluation and
fine-tuning]
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7. “Sustaining” versus “Innovative Policy” Frontiers
Markets Equity Inclusion
1. Contextualization Is policy designed to
promote healthy
competition?
Is the policy designed
to operate based on
equitable participation
by stakeholders?
Does the design ensure
total inclusion of all
relevant stakeholders?
2. Analytical Validity Is the policy promoting
healthy competition based
on data evidence on size,
complexity etc?
Has the policy taken
adequate note of the
magnitude of potential
marginalization?
Is there sufficient data
evidence that the policy
incorporates all
stakeholders?
3. Policy Funding Is the policy for promoting
healthy competition
adequately funded?
Is the policy such that it
will have “level-playing-
ground” effect on all
stakeholders?
Are all parties included
to benefit from the policy
effects of adequate
funding?
4. 6-Sigma Implementation Can we guarantee “as-
designed” implementation
of policy for healthy
rivalry?
Can the constitution
sufficiently defend
socio-economic equity
in on this policy?
Has the implementation
maximally included all
persons?
5. Learning and Growth What have we learnt in the
entire process of
delivering the policy for
competitive prosperity?
What have we learnt
that can enable us
improve on the socio-
economic justice
required for policy
success?
What lessons have we
learnt that will enable us
improve on
inclusiveness?
SustainingFrontier
Innovative Policy Frontier
[Conceptually Sound &
Contextually Relevant]
[Strong data based evidence of
validity]
[Implementation as designed]
[Adequate funding of initiative]
[Monitoring, evaluation and
fine-tuning]
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8. Sound Macroeconomic Policies Economic Policy Innovation
Promotes
Competitive
Process
Promotes
Inclusive
Process
Policy Analytics
6-Sigma
Implementation
Learning &
Growth
Sound Monetary
Policies
Rule of Law that
sustains socio-
economic Justice
Relevant to Our
Economic Reality
Sound Fiscal
Polices
Limited
Government
Policy Sustainability
Putting it all Together
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9. Policy Relevance versus Policy
Analytics
• The broad policy direction which are relevant and
consistent with our aspirations are well known;
– The specific details that will make the implementation
well targeted and to deliver expected results is the
missing link;
– They must be discovered through conscious research
and analytical processes;
• Generating reliable and relevant data is one level
of the challenge, but utilizing these data to come
up with the policies is another;
• A culture of policy design based on knowledge
discovery in databases will strengthen
sustainability.27/06/2013 Sustaining Innovative Economic Policies 9

10. What Kind of Rule of Law?
• The law does not support what we want to
see on ground and that makes it largely
untrustworthy for sustaining economic
policies;
• The law defines the level playing ground and
the boundary within which economic policies
can operate;
• Borrowed laws or laws not substantially
crafted based on our own realities or even
the absence of meaningful laws on serious
issues necessary for socio-economic justice
will on its own be unsustainable and will
continue create unsustainable policies.
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11. Going Forward: The Mechanism for
Change
• Cross-sectoral partnerships
• Coordinating sustainable development
across government
• Craft a governance system that minimizes
the socio-economic and environmental
challenges
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