Showing papers in "Development Policy Review in 2009"
TL;DR: The first in an occasional series of DPR Debates, designed to illuminate specific issues of international development policy, was presented by as discussed by the authors, which brought together two well-known researchers or practitioners, giving them the opportunity, over three rounds, to test and challenge each other's ideas.
Abstract: This is the first in an occasional series of DPR Debates, designed to illuminate specific issues of international development policy. Each debate will bring together two well-known researchers or practitioners, giving them the opportunity, over three rounds, to test and challenge each other's ideas. The debates are intended to be robust but accessible, rooted in rigorous research but useful to the wide readership of Development Policy Review.
516 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines evaluation evidence on two of the most important recent initiatives in Brazil's policies for food and nutrition security (conditional cash transfers through Bolsa Familia and support for family agriculture through the Programa de Aquisicao de Alimentos).
Abstract: Brazil is on track to achieve many of the Millennium Development Goals, and this is widely credited to bold and innovative government policies backed by new forms of popular participation in social policy. This article examines evaluation evidence on two of the most important recent initiatives in Brazil's policies for food and nutrition security (conditional cash transfers through Bolsa Familia and support for family agriculture through the Programa de Aquisicao de Alimentos). It also considers advances in older policies (such as the School Meals programme) and the work of the National Council for Food and Nutrition Security, which has culminated in national legislation establishing food and nutrition security as a right.
476 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors distinguish between the two roles, and consider how development assistance might support and complement adaptation funding and action under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), rather than competing with or substituting it.
Abstract: The formal financial mechanisms for managing adaptation to climate change under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are falling significantly short of meeting needs in the most vulnerable countries. Given the close relationship between development and adaptation, it is tempting to use existing channels of development assistance to fill this gap. However, it is imperative that development assistance is not seen as a substitute for specific adaptation finance. This article therefore attempts to distinguish between the two roles, and considers how development assistance might support and complement adaptation funding and action under the Convention, rather than competing with or substituting it.
201 citations
TL;DR: The global MDG canon is dominated by a money-metric and donor-centric view of development, and is not ready to accept that growing disparities within countries are the main reason why the 2015 targets will be missed as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The MDGs are being misappropriated to gain support for a specific development strategy, agenda or argument, mostly being used as a call for more aid or as a Trojan horse for a particular policy framework. As relative benchmarks, they are extremely difficult to meet in countries with low human development. Their misinterpretation as one-size-fits-all targets is leading to excessive Afro-pessimism, begging the question whether Africa is missing the targets or whether the world is missing the point. The global MDG canon is dominated by a money-metric and donor-centric view of development, and is not ready to accept that growing disparities within countries are the main reason why the 2015 targets will be missed.
189 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that development urgently needs to shift its focus away from prevailing growth and yield-maximisation models towards alternatives encouraging resilience and risk-spreading, and draw on archaeological evidence showing that adaptation to severe climate change can involve much more radical changes in human societies than are currently envisaged.
Abstract: Climate change poses a challenge to the dominant development paradigm with its concepts of modernisation, economic growth and globalisation which treat the environment as an externality and largely ignore climate variability. This article explores the extent of the challenge, drawing on archaeological evidence showing that adaptation to severe climate change can involve much more radical changes in human societies than are currently envisaged. Furthermore, short-term adaptation can result in long-term maladaptation, increasing vulnerability to climate shocks. The article argues that development urgently needs to shift its focus away from prevailing growth and yield-maximisation models towards alternatives encouraging resilience and risk-spreading.
124 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a dialogue around a conceptualisation of development as involving three complementary processes: "hanging in", "stepping up" and "stpping out" to describe different types of structural change operating at different scales and affecting national and sub-national societies and economies.
Abstract: There are continuing disagreements regarding aspirations and processes in development and appropriate policies for promoting these. This paper proposes a dialogue around a conceptualisation of development as involving three complementary processes: ‘hanging in’, ‘stepping up’ and ‘stepping out’. It argues that these can describe different types of structural change operating at different scales and affecting national and sub-national societies and economies, different sectors within these economies, and people’s evolving livelihoods. The simplicity of this conceptualisation and its strong theoretical, empirical and experiential content make it a powerful framework both for inter-disciplinary, inter-sectoral, multi-scale analysis of dynamic development processes, and for structuring dialogue about contested aspirations, assumptions, modalities and constraints among development analysts and stakeholders with different interests and paradigms.
120 citations
TL;DR: Eliminating World Poverty: Building Our Common Future as discussed by the authors is a recent publication by the UK Department for International Development. And it is based on the work of the authors of this paper.
Abstract: Eliminating World Poverty: Building Our Common Future. By the UK Department for International Development.
101 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the carbon accounting and carbon labeling schemes being developed to address growing concerns over climate change and their particular concern is their impact on small stakeholders, especially low-income countries.
Abstract: This article discusses the carbon accounting and carbon-labelling schemes being developed to address growing concerns over climate change. Its particular concern is their impact on small stakeholders, especially lowincome countries. The popular belief that trade is by definition problematic is not true; carbon efficiencies elsewhere in the supply chain may more than offset emissions from transportation. Indeed, low-income countries may offer important opportunities for carbon emission reductions because of their favourable climatic conditions and use of low energy-intensive production techniques. However, their effective inclusion in labelling schemes will require innovative solutions to provide low-cost data collection and certification.
97 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a DPR theme issue on how development policy is responding to the increasingly pressured global climate agenda, paying particular attention to action on three policy frontiers: adaptation actions and finance, mitigation policies and their governance, and the implications for development planning.
Abstract: Climate change poses the most significant foreseeable threat to the development of humankind. Among the parts of the globe liable to be affected, the developing world is the most vulnerable to climate risks. Introducing a DPR theme issue on how development policy is responding to the increasingly pressured global climate agenda, this article reviews what is being done and still needs to be done, paying particular attention to action on three policy frontiers: (i) adaptation actions and finance, (ii) mitigation policies and their governance, and (iii) the implications for development planning. It addresses what will be needed for the development community to rise to the challenge in the run-up to the Copenhagen conference in 2009 and beyond.
87 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines how developing countries can use, and enlarge, existing policy space, without opting out of international commitments, and argues that a meaningful context for policy space must extend beyond trade policy and include macroeconomic and exchange-rate policies that will achieve developmental goals more effectively.
Abstract: This article examines how developing countries can use, and enlarge, existing policy space, without opting out of international commitments. It argues that: (i) a meaningful context for policy space must extend beyond trade policy and include macroeconomic and exchange-rate policies that will achieve developmental goals more effectively; (ii) policy space depends not only on international rules but also on the impact of international market conditions and policy decisions taken in other countries on the effectiveness of national policy instruments; and (iii) international integration affects policy space through several factors that pull in opposite directions; whether it increases or reduces policy space differs by country and type of integration.
84 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the historical evolution of this process since 1994, exposing the complex manoeuvring to establish workable practices, and the less visible political implications of this agenda.
Abstract: Since the mid-2000s, significant strides have been made in Rwanda to implement the ‘aid effectiveness’ agenda as captured in the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. This article explores the historical evolution of this process since 1994, exposing the complex manoeuvring to establish workable practices, and the less visible political implications of this agenda. The Rwandan government is considered to have strong ‘ownership’ of aid strategies. However, the article demonstrates that the concept of progressive ownership implicit within ‘aid effectiveness’ discourse is misleading. The evidence points rather to joint ownership between donor and recipient, reflecting limitations to the amount of control over aid that donors will cede.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a framework for understanding and explaining the governance of clean development in order to generate insights about who is governing it, by what means, for whom and how effectively.
Abstract: This article constructs a framework for understanding and explaining the governance of clean development (CD) in order to generate insights about who is governing it, by what means, for whom and how effectively. Such a framework usefully highlights governance gaps and blind spots, issues of policy coherence and co-ordination, and the distributional consequences of existing patterns of CD governance. It points to the need to construct forms of governance which are mutually reinforcing, which avoid duplication and which provide incentives to address the energy needs of the very poorest, whose interests may otherwise be overlooked.
TL;DR: The authors provide a review of literature on the relationship between poverty and the institutions of collective action and property rights, as outlined in the conceptual framework of Di Gregorio et al. (2008).
Abstract: This article provides a review of literature on the relationship between poverty and the institutions of collective action and property rights, as outlined in the conceptual framework of Di Gregorio et al. (2008). Using the elements of the framework as a guide, it offers an overview of how researchers and practitioners identify and evaluate these concepts. The article emphasises the multidimensionality of poverty and the necessity of applying various approaches and tools to conceptualising and measuring it. In addition to highlighting the crucial role that institutions play in poverty reduction, it shows power relations and the political context to be of fundamental importance in poverty-related studies.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a four-stage framework to clarify and analyse the connections between politics and growth: discussing the basic conditions essential for growth, suggesting that whether or not these conditions emerge depends on specific forms of public-private interaction, linking these relationships to the incentives facing those in political power and investors, and considering the factors at country level that may help to push incentives in a pro-growth direction.
Abstract: Theories of growth have made progress in understanding the mechanisms of growth in economic terms. However, there is less understanding of the political processes that enable or obstruct these mechanisms. This article provides a four-stage framework to clarify and analyse the connections between politics and growth: (i) discussing the basic conditions essential for growth; (ii) suggesting that whether or not these conditions emerge depends on specific forms of public-private interaction; (iii) linking these relationships to the incentives facing those in political power and investors; and (iv) considering the factors at country level that may help to push incentives in a pro-growth direction.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss a rationale for reverse share tenancy contracts that relies on weak property rights as well as the legal doctrine of adverse possession and test it using data from Lac Alaotra, Madagascar, where this type of tenancy accounts for one-third of land rentals.
Abstract: Sharecropping between poor landlords and rich tenants has hitherto been the subject of very little academic scrutiny. Given that such ‘reverse share tenancy’ contracts are mostly at odds with the canonical risk-sharing explanation for sharecropping, this article discusses a rationale for them that relies on weak property rights as well as the legal doctrine of adverse possession, and tests it using data from Lac Alaotra, Madagascar, where this type of tenancy accounts for one-third of land rentals. The empirical findings are discussed in relation to recent land-reform policies by the Government of Madagascar, the World Bank, IFAD, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore what is at stake in the international conflict on geographical indications (GIs), particularly for developing countries, and show that GIs are a key political and trade issue in Turkey, India, China, Colombia and Ethiopia.
Abstract: This article explores what is at stake in the international conflict on geographical indications (GIs), particularly for developing countries. It first examines how the WTO panel has obliged the European Union to open its registration system to third countries and how the ongoing negotiations on GIs seem to be reaching stalemate. Initiatives showing how GIs are a key political and trade issue are identified in Turkey, India, China, Colombia and Ethiopia. Trade negotiation agendas have to handle this new balance of power, in which the reputation accompanying a good may become common.
TL;DR: The evidence presented in this article suggests that, in design and practice, the incentive tranche is surprisingly similar to some of the unsuccessful aid modalities of the past.
Abstract: Around the turn of the millennium a growing consensus emerged on the dos and don'ts of development assistance, based on lessons drawn from failed aid. Donors now increasingly see aid as a leverage to induce or support governance reforms in recipient countries. The EC, which considers itself to be a forerunner of the new aid approach, has recently launched a new instrument to incentivise such reforms: the ‘Governance Incentive Tranche’. However, the evidence presented in this article suggests that, in design and practice, the incentive tranche is surprisingly similar to some of the unsuccessful aid modalities of the past.
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual framework to tailor social protection policy and implementation more closely to country contexts is presented, and four stylised models of social protection are identified, corresponding to scenarios where social protection systems are absent, where elements of such systems exist, and where systems are emerging or have been consolidated.
Abstract: Social protection has evolved rapidly both conceptually and in practice, and is now a key policy issue in humanitarian and development debates. However, debates have sometimes been misled by approaches that pay inadequate attention to context-specific factors, do not fully consider the sequence of interventions, and are too instrument-centred. This article presents a conceptual framework to tailor social-protection policy and implementation more closely to country contexts. Four stylised models of social protection are identified, corresponding to scenarios where social-protection systems are absent, where elements of such systems exist, and where systems are emerging or have been consolidated. Each model is shown to lead to different challenges, implications and areas for further research.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the fundamental problems are low profitability, which reflects the displacement of cotton by food crops, and the forced-labour conditions under which cotton was grown, and conclude that promotion of biotechnology and training cotton growers are two areas that should receive priority.
Abstract: During the 1960s, Uganda was the largest cotton producer in sub-Saharan Africa Attempts to revive the sector following its demise in the 1970s were unsuccessful in the 1980s and more effective in the 1990s However, there is a sense that it still lags behind its full potential Low quality of the cotton, lack of a domestic textile industry, and low use of purchased inputs due to lack of rural credit are identified as key constraints This article argues that the fundamental problems are low profitability, which reflects the displacement of cotton by food crops, and the forced-labour conditions under which cotton was grown It concludes that promotion of biotechnology and training cotton growers are two areas that should receive priority
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that there is a gap in current Mexican rural development policy that could be filled by a small-holder-targeted program, drawing on lessons from PROCAMPO and Oportunidades.
Abstract: This article argues that there is a gap in current Mexican rural development policy that could be filled by a smallholder-targeted programme. The gap exists because agricultural programmes tend to benefit better-off farmers, while social programmes tend to focus on long-term investment in human capital, specifically for the children of today's poor. Drawing on lessons from PROCAMPO and Oportunidades, it offers a specific design for such a programme at a time when the government is considering how to reform PROCAMPO, given that, after 15 years, it is due to come to an end.
TL;DR: Based on an analysis of the changing trade relations between China and 15 Latin American countries over the period 2000-6, the authors argues that these relations have significantly exacerbated the subcontinent's dilemma of being caught in the middle-income trap.
Abstract: This article analyses the implications of the rapid economic rise of China for the development prospects of Latin America. Based on an analysis of the changing trade relations between China and 15 Latin American countries over the period 2000–6, it argues that these relations have significantly exacerbated the subcontinent's dilemma of being caught in the middle-income trap. At the same time, some of the key drivers behind China's economic success point to a possible solution, first and foremost the lessons provided by its proactive development strategy which has focused on developing domestic technological capabilities and diversifying the productive structure with a move up the value chain.
TL;DR: This article showed that debt relief is only weakly associated with subsequent improvements in economic performance but it is correlated with increasing domestic debt in HIPCs, undermining the positive achievements in reducing external debt service.
Abstract: The history of debt relief is now particularly long, the associated costs are soaring and the outcomes are at least uncertain. This paper reviews and provides new evidence on the effects of recent debt relief programs on different macroeconomic indicators in developing countries, focusing on the Highly Indebted Poor Countries. Besides, the relationship between debt relief and institutional change is investigated to assess whether donors are moving towards and ex-post governance conditionality. Results show that debt relief is only weakly associated with subsequent improvements in economic performance but it is correlated with increasing domestic debt in HIPCs, undermining the positive achievements in reducing external debt service. Finally, there is evidence that donors are moving towards a more sensible allocation of debt forgiveness, rewarding countries with better policies and institutions.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that it is problematic to assume that a reform model will generate similar outcomes across a wide variety of contexts, and present a conceptual framework, including the concepts of transaction domain and domain consensus, that enables context-sensitive analyses.
Abstract: This article is concerned with the relationship between generalised and particularistic knowledge in the context of policy-making and policy analysis. It argues that it is problematic to assume that a reform model will generate similar outcomes across a wide variety of contexts. It presents a conceptual framework, including the concepts of transaction domain and domain consensus, that enables context-sensitive analyses. The argument is exemplified by South Africa's introduction in the 1990s of an Integrated Development Planning model, based on British reform experience and various international public-management models. With a case study of such planning in Lukhanji Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, it illustrates how the conceptual framework may be used in policy research and analysis.
TL;DR: In this article, the implications of low-carbon energy transitions in the two countries, which can mitigate their serious contribution to climate change while allowing economic growth, are discussed. And three modelling case studies are presented: for the Chinese power sector, the economy of Beijing and rural Indian households without access to electricity.
Abstract: China and India are heavily dependent on high-carbon fossil fuels. This article elaborates the implications of low-carbon energy transitions in the two countries, which can mitigate their serious contribution to climate change while allowing economic growth. Three modelling case studies are presented: for the Chinese power sector, the economy of Beijing and rural Indian households without access to electricity. They demonstrate a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and energy use, while costs are likely to increase. Financial assistance and technology transfer will be needed to support their efforts towards a climate-friendly low-carbon economy.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the most efficient way of developing Bangladesh is to encourage more emigration and propose that 10% of the population be encouraged to emigrate to member states in the Bangladeshi Aid Consortium.
Abstract: This article argues that the most efficient way of developing Bangladesh is to encourage more emigration. This argument is made in three steps: (i) proposing that 10% of the population be encouraged to emigrate to member states in the Bangladeshi Aid Consortium; (ii) outlining the anticipated costs; and (iii) describing the anticipated gains, which in the light of any feasible alternative, and when contrasted with the relatively meagre costs, are phenomenal and encouraging. By providing individual Bangladeshis with such an opportunity the hopes of the millions remaining behind are strengthened.
TL;DR: This paper reviewed the arguments for promoting private investment in infrastructure as a basis for poverty reduction in developing countries and found that there is a possible but not necessary association between private investment, economic growth and poverty reduction, but the causal chain is poorly understood.
Abstract: This article reviews the arguments for promoting private investment in infrastructure as a basis for poverty reduction in developing countries. It describes the experience leading to the development of international ‘facilities’ intended to address impediments to private investment. It then explores three ‘levels’ of literature: that of the facilities themselves, of donor organisations, and of academic authors. At each, it investigates the rationale and causal pathways leading from support for private investment to pro-poor outcomes. It finds there is a possible but not necessary association between private investment, economic growth and poverty reduction, but the causal chain is poorly understood. It proposes the development of such a causal framework.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consolidate and expand on evidence on how National AIDS Commissions (NACs) in sub-Saharan Africa are measuring up to expectations that drove their rapid adoption across the continent.
Abstract: This article consolidates and expands on evidence on how National AIDS Commissions (NACs) in sub-Saharan Africa are measuring up to expectations that drove their rapid adoption across the continent. While their overall performance seems reasonably good, most NACs still lack adequate power and incentive structures to hold line ministries accountable, a key requirement for co-ordinating activities and mainstreaming HIV-AIDS across the public sector. Second-generation African NACs urgently need the authority and institutional stature to effectively co-ordinate the channelling of the larger funds now available through government bureaucracy. The evolution of the epidemic also imposes requirements different from those when the current NAC architecture was crafted.
TL;DR: This article showed that there is a robust relationship between achieving the Millennium Development Goals and having a higher capacity to carry debt and discussed options for modifying the current debt sustainability framework, and suggested that including progress made in achieving the MDGs in determining borrowing limits would be a first step towards adopting such a concept.
Abstract: Owing to concerns among low-income countries that the new debt sustainability framework of the Bretton Woods institutions may lock them into a so-called ‘low debt-low growth’ scenario, the United Nations has called for a more MDG-consistent debt-sustainability concept. This article shows that there is a robust relationship between achieving the Millennium Development Goals and having a higher capacity to carry debt. It then discusses options for modifying the current debt-sustainability framework, and suggests that including progress made in achieving the MDGs in determining borrowing limits would be a first step towards adopting such a concept.
TL;DR: This paper found that households for whom the costs of formal insurance contracts are prohibitive tend to deal with risk in a comparable way, suggesting that households with high costs tend to be more likely to seek informal insurance.
Abstract: Informal insurance groups have been created in many poor regions in response to a risky environment typical of developing countries. Drawing on original datasets from Benin and Ethiopia, this article provides empirical evidence describing the various forms these indigenous institutions take. While their principal role has been to provide indemnities for funeral expenses, they also cater for a wide range of shocks. The article finds striking resemblances in group structures and types of coverage offered, suggesting that households for whom the costs of formal insurance contracts are prohibitive tend to deal with risk in a comparable way. Dissimilarities may reflect different local household structures or the extent to which these groups are advertised and known to the public.
TL;DR: The World Bank's newest country-systems policy, adopted in 2008, allows borrowers to use their national systems to conduct procurement and manage finances for Bank-funded projects.
Abstract: The World Bank's newest country-systems policy, adopted in 2008, allows borrowers to use their national systems to conduct procurement and manage finances for Bank-funded projects. In principle, it will incentivise institutional reform, increase local ownership, and facilitate donor harmonisation. In practice, its content and the handling of stakeholder input seem to indicate that the Bank's dominant desire has been to preserve its market share. This article demonstrates (i) how deficiencies in the policy may reverse the Bank's work on governance and undercut aid efficiency, and (ii) how its handling of public consultations on the policy ignored the Bank's best practices. It concludes with steps for improving the policy, including re-opening dialogue with key stakeholders.