Debates over whether democratic or neopatrimonial forms of politics are driving the
politics of development in Africa have increasingly given way to more nuanced
readings which seek to capture the dynamic interplay of these forms of politics.
However, most current analyses fail to identify the specific causal mechanisms
through which this politics shapes the actual distribution of resources. A political
settlements approach which emphasises the distribution of ‘holding power’ within
ruling coalitions and how this shapes institutional functioning can bring greater clarity
to these debates. Our analysis shows that patterns of resource allocation within
Ghana’s education sector during 1993-2008 were closely shaped by the incentives
and norms generated by Ghana’s competitive ‘clientelistic political settlement’, which
overrode rhetorical concerns with national unity and inclusive development. This had
particularly negative implications for the poorest Northern regions, which have lacked
holding power within successive ruling coalitions.