Showing papers in "Progress in Development Studies in 2005"

The use of indigenous knowledge in development: problems and challenges:

Abstract: The use of indigenous knowledge has been seen by many as an alternative way of promoting development in poor rural communities in many parts of the world. By reviewing much of the recent work on indigenous knowledge, the paper suggests that a number of problems and tensions has resulted in indigenous knowledge not being as useful as hoped for or supposed. These include problems emanating from a focus on the (arte)factual; binary tensions between western science and indigenous knowledge systems; the problem of differentiation and power relations; the romanticization of indigenous knowledge; and the all too frequent decontextualization of indigenous knowledge.

The impact of micro-credit on poverty: evidence from Bangladesh

Abstract: This paper examines empirically the impact of micro-credit on poverty in Bangladesh. Unlike previous studies, the focus is on both objective and subjective poverty and particular attention is paid to the length of time programme participants have had access to micro-credit. A household-level survey (N = 954) was carried out, collecting information about micro-credit recipients from Grameen Bank, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee and the Association of Social Advancement. Our two main findings are, first, micro-credit is associated with both lower objective and subjective poverty and, secondly, the impact of micro-credit on poverty is particularly strong for about six years with some levelling off after that point.

Against the local trap: scale and the study of environment and development:

Abstract: This paper argues against what we call ‘the local trap’, in which development researchers and practitioners falsely assume that localized decision-making is inherently more socially just or ecologi...

‘Young, gifted and back’: second-generation transnational return migrants to the Caribbean:

Abstract: This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study of a relatively new group of Caribbean migrants, namely second-generation overseas-born Barbadians who have decided to migrate to the country of birth of at least one of their parents, paying particular attention to the development-oriented implications of these migrants. After a brief review of the circumstances surrounding this relatively new and innovative migratory cohort, the insights gained from in-depth interviews with 25 such migrants are presented. The account focuses in particular on the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the young returnees, as well as their pattern of visits to the island prior to migration, and the reasons for their move. The paper then tentatively explores the adjustments made by the returnees and those that they feel they still face. In a number of respects, the essentially ‘hybrid’ and ‘inbetween’ positionality of these young transnational migrants is emphasized. Thus, they report difficulties in making...

Children and development: rights, globalization and poverty:

Abstract: © 2005 Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd 10.1191/1464993405ps118pr In 1924 the League of Nations endorsed the first Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which set out a series of normative claims to save and protect the ‘delinquent’ and the ‘waif ’. Over the next 60 years development extended the promise beyond protecting children, to offer all children the benefit of improved education, health and nutrition, while recognizing that investing in children would be good for everybody through increased productivity. Despite the lack of child-specific data on human development, owing to a tendency to fold child welfare into family welfare (Pasztor and McFadden, 2001), until the early 1980s reports such as UNICEF’s State of the world’s children indicated some notable successes. By 1990, however, observers were far less optimistic as economic crises and Structural Adjustment threatened budget lines in education and health (White, 2003). Studies showed that between 1990 and 2000 about 60 countries had cut mortality rates in the under-fives (U5MR) by one-third, but the rate of improvement had slowed in many countries and nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa recorded increased U5MR (UNICEF, 2002). Assessments judged that access to basic schooling had risen to almost 80% but 88 countries would not achieve primary education for all by 2015 and gender inequality was proving persistent (UNICEF, 2002; Delamonica et al., 2004). As noted by Cornia (2001) about 700 million children live on less than US$1 per day, more than in 1990, and one billion children suffer from at least one of seven deprivations such as inadequate access to drinking water (Gordon et al., 2003). Into the twenty-first century and images of semi-naked, often solitary, victim children, remain a dominant trope of campaign posters and platform speeches, functional (according to Ruddick, 2003) to the aim of connecting us (the viewer) to a bigger project of modernity through charity. Note the tenor of Chancellor Gordon Brown’s call for a new development contract based on children given in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children (UNGASS) in 2002:

The antagonistic relevance of development studies

Abstract: This paper discusses relevance in development studies. We argue that current debates around relevance assume a hegemonic view of development, which is bolstered by the high levels of research funding from key policy-making institutions. We feel relevance can be pluralized and radicalized, but that this requires us to be ideologically transparent and to examine other ways of undertaking and validating knowledge production. This involves frst, acknowledging the material and ethical connectedness, but not sameness of people; secondly, a relational tension between discipline and interdiscipline; thirdly, that problem-framing and influencing involves 'researchers' and 'users', whereby 'users' include students, practitioners, decision-makers and 'the poor'. Further, we argue that such dialogic approaches require alternative criteria for rigour. Positivistic criteria imply a distinctive form of rationality; but if rationality is also pluralized then alternative epistemologies and methodologies of working with multiple rationalities is necessary.

Hidden livelihoods?: Natural resource-dependent livelihoods and urban development policy

Abstract: Natural resources and their contribution to livelihoods have been widely explored within rural contexts yet have received relatively little attention within urban contexts. However, natural resourc...

The Poverty Consensus: some limitations of the popular agenda

Abstract: The New Poverty Agenda is said to represent a break with the past and to offer a rationale for aid that is built on partnerships towards a common and realizable goal - the elimination of poverty. However, recent critiques have highlighted problems with the practice of poverty policy, and particularly limitations identified from its association with global actors which stand accused of contributing to poverty. For some, there is no new agenda; a poverty focus merely represents a different path to the same ends (i.e., political reform and economic adjustment). This paper investigates the implications for smaller donors, such as Australia and New Zealand, of adopting poverty policy as defined by the World Bank and others. It argues that certain contexts, such as the Pacific, demonstrate the weaknesses of an all-encompassing policy that remains muddled and contradictory. In terms of effective partnerships, much more could be gained by first seeking to learn more about the nature of poverty in the immediate region and its underlying causes.

The implications of the demographic transition for women, girls and gender equality: a review of developing country evidence

Abstract: The demographic transition has become a dramatic global phenomenon, in which most developing countries are now participating. While much has been written about the impact of women’s roles and statu...

Complexity theory: a new framework for development is in the offing:

Abstract: ble applicability of complex systems theory as a framework for the study and practice of development (see Rihani, 2001, 2002a). It suggests that a substantial change in the development framework is now emerging. However, ad hoc adjustments to policies and actions within the current wisdom are not sufficient to effect a sustainable improvement in performance. Despite the difficulties associated with a radical shift in overall structure, the key issue is no longer whether a change is necessary and feasible but rather what form the new framework will take and how the process of revision will unfold.

HIV/AIDS impact: so where have we got to and where next?

Abstract: © 2005 Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd 10.1191/1464993405ps112pr

‘Consultation’ or co-option? A case study from the Chilean health sector

Abstract: Using a macro-meso-micro framework this paper examines the shifts in the hegemonic development model and the implementation of new participatory mechanisms. It argues that despite macro-level policy shifts, in the Chilean context, the implementation of these mechanisms at the meso- and micro-levels has limited opportunities for citizen input into policy-making processes. The analysis focuses on citizen engagement with the machinery of participation and argues that the co-option of NGOs and civil society groups by the state has meant that there has been little real challenge to the implementation from civil society and policy-making remains a top-down process.

Institutions and financial market development in the MENA region

Abstract: There is reasonable agreement that effective and well-developed institutions have a significant role to play in economic development. Accordingly a number of studies have attempted to relate institutions to the rate of economic growth and the level of efficiency of markets. This paper assesses the relationship between a number of economic development and institutional variables and the level of financial market development in the Middle East and north Africa (MENA) region. Correlation matrices support the view that the institutional environment in which financial markets function is important, as this reinforces the efficient allocation of economic rights that are essential for markets to function optimally. The correlation analysis also establishes a link between the development of financial markets and governance in the MENA region. However, regression estimates indicate that infrastructure development and the degree of openness of an economy are the most robust indicators for the development and effect...

Rising manufacture exports and terms of trade: the case study of Korea

Abstract: This study observed rapidly rising shares of manufactured and electronic goods in Korea’s total exports and a trend decline in Korea’s terms of trade over the period of this study (1967-2001), in accordance with the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis. Contrary to the expectation of Prebisch, the increasing proportion of manufactured and electronic goods in Korea’s exports exerted no favourable influence on the course of Korea’s terms of trade. In fact, this study supports the later extension to the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis, that rather than an emphasis on relations between types of commodities there should be an emphasis on relations between types of countries.

The last putting themselves first (Ii): The practice of praxis

Abstract: I Growth and poverty The ‘Practice of praxis’ is the second article in the series ‘The last putting themselves first’. The first, subtitled ‘Knowledge and progress’ (Cole, 2005) reviewed the arguments of mainstream development theory: that progress – the enhancement of human potentials – is a consequence of competitive exchange; and that development – social change to realize these potentials – implies economic liberalization to allow individuals to fulfil their ambitions by maximizing utility. This article argues that human existence is social existence, and the dynamic of the development process is individuals’ frustration at being denied the opportunity to realize their abilities by social forces beyond their control. Hence, progress and development imply that individuals are: (a) aware of their potentials and what they might become; (b) are conscious of the social constraints that frustrate their achievement; and (c) have the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the social organization of their existence to address these frustrations and constraints. Development studies, as the nexus between individuals’ evolving creative potentials and the social context of existence, has to address the social relationships of human existence. Individuals’ social consciousness, ‘implicit and intuitive’ or ‘explicitly theoretical’, defines the potential of human activity and the course of the development process. Development studies, theorizing the social relations between individuals, focuses upon: individuals’ choices; or the organization of society; or the process by which individuals’ socially create their existence. The ontological vision is either – the individual, society or the social individual: which defines the epistemological approach – positivism, paradigms or praxis: assuming particular methodological imperatives – reductionism, holism or the dialectic.

Reform of Japan’s official development assistance: a complete overhaul or merely a fresh coat of paint?

Abstract: Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) programme, the world’s second largest, is best known for its funding of large-scale infrastructure projects. However, the aid programme has been undergoing a process of reform and more progressive aid projects are emerging. The paper concludes that although an increase in the number of such projects can be expected, large-scale infrastructure projects will remain the centrepiece of Japan’s aid programme.

The export-income relationship: the case of India

Abstract: Export promotion has been central to India’s export-import policies since the late 1990s and exports are seen as a potential engine of growth. This paper examines India’s export-income relationship...

Responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic: lessons from the case of Eritrea

Abstract: This paper discusses the political response to HIV/AIDS in Eritrea, a country where the epidemic appears to have stabilized at an average prevalence rate of around 3%. It shows that Eritrea has mobilized an effective multisectoral response to cope with the epidemic and its impact under conditions of full-scale war followed by a still-fragile postconflict situation, compounded by recurring drought and economic decline. As one key factor for successful policy action, the commitment of a centralized government with the capacity to implement its decisions and mobilize other stakeholders is identified. Another important factor might be the high level of social cohesion prevalent within Eritrean society.

The relationship between national income and health: a new measure applied to Bangkok

Abstract: The importance of good health of a population is crucial when determining social welfare. A new health-adjusted national income indicator that explores the relationships between economic growth, health and social welfare in Bangkok, Thailand from 1975 to 1999 is applied. This new approach to social welfare analysis is based on normative social choice theory, cost-benefit and systems analysis and is called (new)3 welfare economics. This paper argues that traditional measures of welfare, such as national income, fail to reflect accurately the impact of health on social welfare.

Book Review: Living at the edge of Thai society: the Karen in the highlands of northern Thailand:

Abstract: measurement (e.g., Lipton and Waddington on halving world poverty). Others broaden their analysis to place specific goals within a larger context (e.g., Standing explores how, in spite of the emphasis on reproductive health at the Cairo Conference and its inclusion in the original International Development Targets, the subsequent MDG focuses on the more limited goal of improving maternal health). Taken together, they offer an extremely thorough assessment of the MDGs, the ways in which the goals overlap and interlink and the progress that has and has not been made in reaching them. Given the abundance of information detailing the MDGs and their introduction at country level (available online from the UN, World Bank, IMF and Northern donors) but the dearth of critical analysis of the goals and the processes surrounding them, this is a necessary and welcome contribution. It does, however, make for challenging reading, as the material upon which this analysis is based is often detailed and dense. The chapters also function effectively in their own right as introductions to a series of key development themes and the way in which the donor community has taken them up. As a result, this half of the book will be equally useful to development policy-makers requiring expert assessment of progress towards meeting the MDGs, and to students of development studies seeking an introduction to and explanation of key development issues such as poverty, education and health. The chapters on the individual goals are an important addition to debates about the MDGs and the likelihood that they will not be met. However, especially in its first six chapters, Targeting development raises broader and more interesting questions about the overall structure and power relations of development assistance and the nature of development policies and programming in the era of results-based management. In examining the MDG process and its central emphasis on poverty reduction and human-centred development, the book contributes useful insights about how and why it was possible for the donor community to arrive at consensus on this approach. The book also highlights the gap between global policy and national and local-level development programmes, making some suggestions of how this gap might be bridged. In its emphasis on the process of setting and measuring targets, pertinent questions about planning, monitoring and evaluation are outlined. Particularly important, given the prevalence of results-based management amongst donor organizations, is Howard White’s discussion of the difficulties of using performance outcome measures as a management tool. Finally, important questions are raised about the principle and realities of global partnerships for development, highlighting continuing and even expanding power imbalances between North and South. Perhaps a failing of the book is in not taking these questions far enough in critiquing the overall structure of donor-funded development. Although these issues are raised in the context of the Millennium Development Goals, they are critical themes for international development more generally. Nonetheless, their discussion in relation to the MDGs and the strategies and programmes that have been introduced to implement them serves to provide tangible examples through which to consider a series of questions that are central to any analysis of international development and donor development assistance. As a result, this book will be useful to a wide range of readers, from policy makers to development practitioners and from first year development studies students to those engaged in academic research.

Gender, health and development (II): gender equity and access to antiretroviral drugs:

Abstract: © 2005 Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd 10.1191/1464993405ps107pr

Book Review: Promises not kept: poverty and the betrayal of third world development:

Abstract: revolutionary struggle. There is also little said about the history of other types of revolutionary groups, even though they continue to inspire people. For example, the Diggers from the English civil war and the machine-breaking Luddites all pre-date Zapata and were some of the first groups to organize against the concentration of land ownership and the ills of industrial capitalism – issues at the heart of today’s revolutionary ideals in the majority world. Perhaps because of their lack of success, they didn’t make the pages of this book. Finally, nothing was said about the World Social Forum movement born in Porto Alegre in the 1990s, which is now spreading across the world using the banner ‘Another World is Possible’. Nor was there any mention of People’s Global Action (PGA), which counts millions in its ranks, bringing together groups as diverse as Reclaim the Streets, the KRRS in India and Via Campesina PGA, which encourages nonhierarchical confrontation with the capitalist system and has organized global days of action as a practical means to enacting radical change. What is lost is the sense of the street as an important site for revolutionary practice, where people share stories and learn new tactics, and get involved in the carnival and joyous nature of social change. Hence, new ways of organizing are overlooked in the book. Many people working for social change across the world mistrust hierarchy, dogma and blueprints and couldn’t be further from the socialist revolutions that are a large focus in the book. Many of the contributors, I imagine, come from a different generation who are more interested in the possibilities of a socialist Fifth International than engaging with everyday grass roots struggles. These criticisms aside, the book does contain many lively discussions and it does have much useful material on the Zapatistas and the lessons they offer in terms of reinventing revolutions. But asking academics to write about something as exciting, alive and shifting as revolutions is never a good idea. As with all academic books there is a certain amount of jargon, most of which wouldn’t be understood by the people they are writing about. This wouldn’t be so much of a problem if the point wasn’t to create dialogue between academic understandings of revolutions and those struggling to achieve it. The stuff of revolutions these days is diversity and networking between loose coalitions of labour, environmental, feminist and other groups. Many books capture the spirit of this new diversity such as One no many yeses (Kingsnorth, 2003), A movement of movements (Mertes, 2004) and We are everywhere, the irresistible rise of anti capitalism (Notes From Nowhere, 2003). They do this by dwelling on a question that is also raised by Holloway (2002), ‘how do you take control without taking power?’. By focusing on the nation-state, their governments, the big socialist revolutions and post-1989 changes, John Foran’s book has missed what has been going on underneath all along – the building of bottom-up, locally networked, nonhierarchical, creative acts of rage, love and dissent that are quietly sowing the seeds of the revolutions of the future.

Book Review: Perspectives on growth and poverty

Abstract: have attempted to include some anecdotes told from the point of view of the research subjects, ideally more voices of ‘the researched’ would be desirable, to balance those of the researchers. But these are relatively minor flaws, ones that might be addressed in later editions by the inclusion of other fieldwork stories (further examples of which the editors have expressly solicited). Overall, Development fieldwork: a practical guide is an excellent examination of and preparation for development research and will be an invaluable guide for all those entering or considering fieldwork, wherever that may be.