Public Sector Performance in West African Countries: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

This paper evaluates and compares the performance of public sectors in West African countries for two periods- 2007 and 2012. The evaluation is conducted based on the assumption that the state is faced with the responsibility of redistributing its revenue to achieve certain social and economic objectives. In this study, we compute PSP indicators, covering seven sub-indicators and a composite, for 16 countries within West Africa. These indicators are administrative, the public infrastructure quality, health and education outcomes, which are known as “opportunity” indicators. Three remaining indicators are the conventional “Musgravian” roles of a government which are stabilisation, distribution, and allocation. The analysis shows significant distinctions among West Africa countries’ public sector performance and welfare enhancing public spending is desirable.