Namibia National Policy Interventions

No nation, however rich, has enough resources to do everything. Hard choices must be made. Ultimately, the trade-off is the defining characteristic of politics: deciding where to spend extra resources first. 

But some policies deliver large benefits for low costs, whereas others deliver little for high costs. Knowing which policies are most cost-effective can be incredibly helpful for more informed decision making. 

Together with the National Planning Commission the Copenhagen Consensus think tank has done a rapid cost-benefit assessment of a number of key policy considerations for Namibia. These have been chosen from the Fifth National Development Plan (NDP 5) by the National Planning Commission.

Our analysis helps by showing which interventions would deliver the most social and economic benefits for every Namibian Dollar (NAD) spent. Although value-for-money is not the only relevant measure, it certainly is one important measure. Here, we report each intervention’s likely economic and social return on investment and the benefit-cost ratio (BCR). A BCR of 15 would mean that a given intervention will deliver NAD 15 worth of social, economic, and environmental benefits for every NAD spent.

It highlights EXCELLENT (BCR over 15) or GOOD (BCR = 5 to 15) interventions with dark and light green. FAIR interventions deliver moderate returns (BCR = 1 to 5), and POOR interventions (BCR below 1) will likely generate fewer benefits than the cost, meaning cost recovery will not be possible within the national development strategy.

This Rapid Assessment is not a conclusion but rather an aid to begin an even more informed conversation of future priorities for Namibia.