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USA: Africa Policy On-Line Poll
USA: Africa Policy On-Line Poll
Date distributed (ymd): 990601
APIC Document
USA Economic Relations with Africa
West Coast Poll
June 1 - June 15, 1999
[If you are a resident of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii,
Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, this pilot poll
is for you. Express your opinions and win a free book! If you
live elsewhere, please pass this on to your friends and
acquaintances in those states. Responses from this poll will
only be accepted until June 15.]
Note: This page is the version of the poll sent out by e-mail, for reference. If you wish to fill the poll out on line,
please go instead to the web version.
Introduction
What perspectives and policies should guide US relations with
Africa in the policy arena of economy and development?
These are among the issues being discussed at the West Coast
Regional Summit on Africa in San Francisco on June 4-5.
This Africa Policy on-line poll is open to everyone who is
interested in U.S. relations with Africa and who lives in the
states named above, the states represented at the regional
summit. Just fill it out by e-mail or on the web, and send it
in. The results of the poll will be compiled and publicized
by APIC as well as submitted to the National Summit
secretariat for their consideration.
For additional background on these issues, with documents and links from
African, international, and US sources, go to:
http://www.africafocus.org/docs01/econ.shtml
Only the analysis of totals from this poll will be made
public. All individual data will be treated as confidenial.
Please read carefully before responding:
(1) Responses other than from a valid postal address
in the states indicated above, as well as multiple responses
from the same person, will not be counted.
(2) How to fill in this poll:
(a) If you have access to the web, the easiest way is to go to
http://www.africapolicy.org/survey/west99.htm, click in your
answers and then click on Submit Poll.
(b) If you prefer to return this by e-mail, paste the poll
contents into a message to west99@africapolicy.org and put an
X INSIDE THE BRACKETS for your answers, like this [X] or this
[name]. Do NOT use your reply function in your e-mail, as
this may not return your answer to the correct address. Do not
delete the text of the questions since otherwise your answers
cannot be processed properly.
Our test runs indicate that it should take approximately 10 to
15 minutes to fill in the poll on the web or approximately 15
to 20 minutes by e-mail. Sorry, the lack of staff time for
data entry means we cannot accept fax or snail mail responses
to this poll.
Thank you very much for taking the time to express your views
on these issues.
West Coast Poll:
USA Economic Relations with Africa
Please check the multiple-choice answers which most closely
represent your views.
General Perspectives
- <gen1>
In order to develop, African countries need to join the
"economic mainstream" by fully opening up their economies to
free trade and investment from the rest of the world.
[ ] strongly agree [ ] agree
[ ] strongly disagree [ ] disagree
[ ] uncertain or don't know
2. <gen2>
In order to develop, African countries must give highest
priority to investment in human resources and capacity
building, and carefully negotiate for better terms in their
economic relationships with the rest of the world.
[ ] strongly agree [ ] agree
[ ] strongly disagree [ ] disagree
[ ] uncertain or don't know
3. <gen3>
"Structural adjustment" packages including macroeconomic
reforms such as devaluation, pricing policy, budget cuts and
tax reforms, are most accurately seen as:
[ ] temporarily painful but necessary measures that do pay off
in long-term economic growth
[ ] of doubtful benefit even in terms of economic growth, and
definitely harmful to the poor
[ ] including some necessary measures, but both ineffective
and unjust unless combined with other measures aimed at
alleviating poverty and transforming economic structures
[ ] differing so much from one another in practice that it is
wrong to generalize
[ ] uncertain or don't know
Debt
4. <debt1>
Are you familiar with the World Bank/IMF Heavily Indebted
Poor Country (HIPC) initiative or with the Jubilee 2000
campaigns for debt cancellation for poor countries?
[ ] yes [ ] no
5. <debt2>
If so, which statement most closely represents your view?
[ ] The HIPC initiative, with some additional resources,
can provide enough debt relief for African countries to make
it possible for them to pay their remaining debts on their own
[ ] The HIPC initiative falls far short; debt reduction
measures should include more countries, deliver results more
quickly and be de-linked from prior compliance with World
Bank/IMF structural adjustment programs.
[ ] For most African countries, only complete debt
cancellation would be enough to enable them to make a fresh
start.
[ ] Cancelling debt for any country sets a bad example,
and harms the investment climate for Africa by labelling
African countries as not creditworthy.
[ ] none of the above
[ ] undecided, don't know
6. <debt3>
What conditions should be required for debt cancellation or
other significant debt reduction for heavily indebted
countries? (check one or two options, but no more)
[ ] current debt service payments in excess of 20 percent
of export earnings (HIPC requirement)
[ ] current debt service payments in excess of 3.5
percent of export earnings (requirement for German debts to
allies in 1950s)
[ ] compliance with economic reform packages as defined
by World Bank, the IMF and donor countries
[ ] requirement that savings from debt reduction not be
squandered on corruption, military expenditures or waste, as
determined by joint monitoring by African governments, African
civil society and creditors
[ ] no conditions at all
[ ] uncertain, don't know
Trade
7. <trade1>
Are you aware of the debate about the Africa Growth and
Opportunity Act and the H.O.P.E. for Africa Act, now before
the U.S. Congress?
[ ] yes [ ] no
8. <trade2>
If so, what best describes your position
[ ] support the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act
[ ] support the H.O.P.E. for Africa Act
[ ] think the best aspects of both bills should be
combined in a compromise measure
[ ] think neither bill is good enough to support
[ ] undecided, don't know
9. <trade3>
In general, the best ways to advance mutually beneficial
trade relations between the U.S. and Africa are (check your
top 3 priorities):
[ ] open up the U.S. market by measures rewarding those
African countries that are advancing most rapidly towards a
free-market economy
[ ] open up the U.S. market by measures providing greater
access for all African countries
[ ] more actively promote U.S. exports to Africa
[ ] help African countries develop so that they will be
able to buy more from the U.S.
[ ] help African countries develop their export capacity,
particularly for non-traditional and industrial products
[ ] help African countries develop greater trade
relationships within African regions so as to create larger
economic units for relating to the rest of the world
Private Investment
10. <priv1>
In order to attract more foreign investment that benefits
their people, the highest priority for African countries is
to:
[ ] eliminate all bureaucratic and legal barriers to
foreign investment and put foreign investors on an equal
playing field with domestic investors
[ ] establish national policies for industrial
development and seek foreign partners to provide capital and
technology in priority sectors and projects
[ ] concentrate on investment in human resources,
government capacity building and infrastructure development
that will create a favorable climate for investment
[ ] none of the above
[ ] uncertain, don't know
11. <priv2>
Investment ventures in Africa benefitting from incentives
or subsidies from U.S. national, state and local governments
should be required to comply with at least as high standards
of environmental and workers' rights as they are legally
required to in the U.S. and other industrial countries.
[ ] strongly agree [ ] agree
[ ] strongly disagree [ ] disagree
[ ] uncertain or don't know
12. <priv3>
Investment sectors most heavily favored by incentives or
subsidies from U.S. national, state and local governments to
invest in Africa should be (check your top 3 priorities):
[ ] those supporting African small farmers
[ ] communications infrastructure
[ ] transportation infrastructure
[ ] raw materials extraction (including oil)
[ ] those involving minority-owned U.S. companies
[ ] those promoting "non-traditional" exports
[ ] joint ventures with substantial participation from
African partners, including government-owned as well as
privately owned enterprises
[ ] no sectoral preference; evaluate ventures purely on
potential for profitability for investors
Public Investment (also known as "aid")
13. <pub1>
Development assistance to Africa has declined sharply in
the 1990s, while the U.S. rates the lowest among all rich
countries with eight hundredths of one percent of GNP going to
development assistance worldwide (less than 1% of the U.S.
federal budget). The three best responses to these trends are
(check one, two or three options only):
[ ] recognize that aid is on the way out, and rely on
greater incentives to the private sector to encourage trade
and capital investment in Africa
[ ] stress that public investment in health, education,
and other social and material infrastructure is a prerequisite
for African development, and that the international community
should pay a fair share of the cost
[ ]stress that "aid" projects benefit the U.S. economy by
providing markets for U.S. products and employment for U.S.
contractors
[ ] focus on improvement in the quality of development
assistance, including accountability to state and civil
society in the recipient as well as 'donor' countries
[ ] argue that the U.S. is not paying its "fair share" of
international public investment in Africa, as compared with
other rich countries
[ ] argue that Africa is not getting its "fair share" of
U.S. assistance, as compared with other world regions,
reflecting the racial bias still entrenched in U.S. society
[ ] none of the above
[ ] uncertain, don't know
14. <pub2>
Please rate the priority that should be given to the
following sectors for international public investment in
Africa, on a scale from 1 (low priority) to 5 (high priority):
public health [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5
education [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5
small farmers [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5
private business [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5
humanitarian assistance [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5
communications/internet [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5
children [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5
women [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5
large infrastructure [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5
good governance [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5
environmental protection [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5
15. <pub3>
The following amounts for selected Africa-related programs
were proposed by President Clinton for Fiscal Year 2000, in
his February 1999 budget request. Please indicate for each
whether you think the amounts should be increased, decreased,
or kept the same. For comparison, the average unit cost of one
B-2 bomber is $2.1 billion.
Development Fund for Africa (through USAID) $512 million
[ ] increase [ ] decrease [ ] keep the same
International Organizations (including UNICEF, UNDP and
others) $294 million (world total)
[ ] increase [ ] decrease [ ] keep the same
Disaster Assistance $293 million (world total)
[ ] increase [ ] decrease [ ] keep the same
African Development Fund (low-interest affiliate of African
Development Bank) $127 million
[ ] increase [ ] decrease [ ] keep the same
Debt reduction $120 million (world total)
[ ] increase [ ] decrease [ ] keep the same
African Development Foundation (for grassroots projects) $14
million
[ ] increase [ ] decrease [ ] keep the same
Your answers to the following questions will enable us to
verify and analyze the poll results. However, only aggregate
conclusions will be made public. All individual data will be
treated as confidential. The e-mail addresses and addresses
from this poll may be used very occasionally for announcements
from APIC, but will not be sold or traded.
16. <first_name>
[ ]
17. <last_name>
[ ]
18. <organization>
[ ]
19. <postal_address>
[ ]
20. <city>
[ ]
21. <state (two-letter)>
[ ]
22. <postal_code>
[ ]
23. <email_address>
[ ]
24. <age>
[ ] Under 20
[ ] 20 to 35
[ ] 36 to 50
[ ] Over 50
25. <sex>
[ ] Male
[ ] Female
26. <education>
What is your level of education?
[ ] advanced degree
[ ] college degree
[ ] secondary school
[ ] other
27. <institution>
What is your primary institutional affiliation? (Check one.)
[ ] educational institution
[ ] commercial institution
[ ] governmental institution
[ ] religious institution
[ ] non-governmental organization (non-religious)
[ ] media institution
[ ] trade-union
[ ] foundation or other philanthropic institution
[ ] other
28. <africa_connection>
What are your significant personal connections with African
concerns? (Check all that apply.)
[ ] Born in (or parents born in) an African country
[ ] Worked in an African country for year or more
[ ] Visited an African country for shorter time
[ ] African-American or other African diaspora community
[ ] Business interests
[ ] Academic interests
[ ] Other professional interests
[ ] Activist concerns for human rights, development,
environment, social justice and related issues
[ ] None of the above
29. <citizenship>
[ ] U.S. citizen
[ ] citizen of an African country
[ ] other
Additional notes: (1) This is the first in what we expect to
be a series of on-line policy polls. As such it is a pilot
version. The results will help us address issues of wording,
poll design, and other needed improvements in future polls for
other regions and at the national level. If you have
additional suggestions, please send them to
polls@africapolicy.org.
(2) There are both e-mail and web versions of this poll. As
other on-line polls, neither meets the requirements for a
scientific opinion poll based on a random sample of a fixed
target population. The results will not be an accurate
statistical profile of any group other than those who chose to
answer it. They will, however, provide minimum estimates of
the number of people expressing different views. If these
numbers are large enough, the poll can be presented to
policymakers as a significant expression of public opinion.
This material is produced and distributed by the
Africa Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's primary
objective is to widen the policy debate in the United States
around African issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by
providing accessible policy-relevant information and analysis
usable by a wide range of groups and individuals.
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