The link between primary education and democracy in Africa

It is argued that democratically elected governments may have a greater incentive than authoritarian regimes to provide their citizens with primary schooling. It is also argued that democracy may be reinforced by primary education encouraging democratic attitudes. Is there evidence of any truth in these statements in African countries?

A major question for development is to find if and when democratic governments have a greater incentive to provide basic public services in comparison to autocratic states. One of the most important basic services is primary education, which is likely to be prioritised by democratic governments in poor countries for obvious reasons. Access to primary schooling is likely to be an important political issue for much of the population. If governments depend on people’s support in elections, then they are far more likely than their autocratic counterparts to spend a large part of their budgets on primary education.

The issue of primary education has been prominent in recent election campaigns in some African countries, including Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya. It is also argued that the opinions of more educated people may favour democracy over other systems of government, and hence democracy may be more sustainable when the population is educated. This may have nothing to do with attitudes, however, but relate instead to income levels. Yet it is known that democracies with a more educated population are less likely to experience shifts towards authoritarianism.

Research by the London School of Economics looks at the extent to which the emergence and sustainability of democracy in African countries has depended on the population’s education levels. It examines whether African democracies have a greater incentive to provide citizens with primary schooling, and if higher education levels lead to greater support for democracy.

The study finds there is a clear causal link between democracy and greater provision of primary education, yet less evidence that primary education leads to significant shifts in creating democratic attitudes and therefore causes democracy. More specifically:

• Democratic African governments have a greater incentive than authoritarian states to provide primary education for their populations. This can be seen in primary attendance rates: citizens rate their president more highly where primary education has been expanded recently.
• People with primary education are generally more likely to support democracy but the size of this effect appears to be small.
• Time plays a major role in the effect of democracy on education, and the effect of education on democracy: if a country experiences a rapid change towards democratic elections, governments have an incentive to expand primary education provision rapidly. Yet a large and rapid expansion in primary schooling provision takes decades before leading to a shift in opinions towards democracy.

These findings are based on evidence from 12 African countries (Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe), yet they are likely to have implications for broader discussions on the link between education and democracy as they indicate that:

•  Democracy can be a powerful incentive to governments to provide basic services, even in very poor countries that have “weak” economic and political institutions.
• If democracy is dependent on the emergence of “democratic attitudes”, then expanding the provision of primary schooling may have a relatively small effect in promoting these attitudes, which will spread only over a long period of time.

Source(s):
‘Democracy and Primary School Attendance: Aggregate and Individual Level Evidence from Africa’, Afrobarometer Working Paper 54, by David Stasavage, 2005 Full document.

Funded by: Economic and Social Research Council (UK)

id21 Research Highlight: 2 March 2007

Further Information:
David Stasavage
Department of Politics
New York University
19 East Fourth Street
New York, NY 10012
USA

Tel: +44 (0)20 7955 6617
Fax: +44 (0)20 7955 7431
Contact the contributor: David.stasavage@nyu.edu

New York University, USA

Other related links:
'Democracy and Primary School Attendance in Africa'

'The role of democracy in Uganda's move to universal primary education'

'Toward universal primary education: investments, incentives, and institutions'