Showing papers in "Progress in Development Studies in 2008"
TL;DR: In an era when traditional engines or suppliers of development are being increasingly criticized, sport is being seen by some as a vehicle that can reach communities with messages in a way that politicians, multilateral agencies and NGOs cannot as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In an era when traditional engines – or suppliers – of development are being increasingly criticized, sport is being seen by some as a vehicle that can reach communities with messages in a way that politicians, multilateral agencies and NGOs cannot. The list of development-through-sport initiatives is impressive, spanning many aspects of international development, from national development strategies to HIV/AIDS awareness. Those that favour the use of sport in such a manner are quick to point out its qualities. However, the traditional field of development is taking longer to warm to the idea that sport might be an engine that drives development initiatives forward. This paper, the first of three, begins by outlining some of the ways that sport is being used for development. It concludes by noting that these schemes receive insufficient evaluation. The following two papers discuss how these initiatives might be evaluated, and share the results of the evaluation process.
184 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine key aspects of the policies promoting the expansion of private multinational monopolies as the main tool to solve the problems affecting water and sanitation services in less developed countries.
Abstract: This paper examines key aspects of the policies promoting the expansion of private multinational monopolies as the main tool to solve the problems affecting water and sanitation services in less developed countries. It is based on recent findings from research carried out on the impact of these policies in nine countries of Africa, Europe, and Latin America. The article argues that the main claims put forward to justify these policies, that private sector participation provides the financial resources needed to improve the situation in developing countries and that these policies contribute to reduce social inequality in these countries, are not supported by the empirical evidence. The findings suggest that the international community cannot rely on private sector participation for achieving the development goals for water and sanitation, particularly in the poorer countries. The paper concludes that there is a need to learn from the past, when developed countries managed to achieve the universalization o...
77 citations
TL;DR: The hypothesis that financial development promotes economic growth in developing countries is largely supported by empirical studies as mentioned in this paper, though contrary evidence also exists, and this relationship is re-e ected by several empirical studies.
Abstract: The hypothesis that financial development promotes economic growth in developing countries is largely supported by empirical studies, though contrary evidence also exists. This relationship is re-e...
65 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an analysis of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) in sub-Saharan Africa revealed insufficient attention to water and rural development and identified three common themes in the pursuit of reduced poverty: trade liberalization, decentralization and privatization.
Abstract: The links between access to safe water and poverty alleviation are multifaceted, but can be realized only if water supplies are sustained. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) have been developed by many low-income countries in conjunction with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and describe each country's macroeconomic, structural and social policies and programmes to promote growth and reduce poverty. An analysis of PRSPs in sub-Saharan Africa revealed insufficient attention to water and rural development and identified three common themes in the pursuit of reduced poverty: trade liberalization, decentralization and privatization; each of which poses opportunities, but also considerable threats, to the development of sustainable rural water services. An additional theme is that of community management of water services, which is prescribed by many PRSPs and related national sectoral strategies, yet has failed to deliver satisfactory levels of sustainability. PRSPs are designed to promo...
60 citations
TL;DR: A general overview of the intellectual history of the question of mining in the development field can be found in this article, which describes the leading development theories and their normative claims with r...
Abstract: The paper presents a general overview of the intellectual history of the question of mining in the development field. It describes the leading development theories and their normative claims with r...
47 citations
TL;DR: The Millennium Village Project (MVP) has come to embody hope for a new development path that might succeed where previous efforts have failed as mentioned in this paper, but a closer consideration of this project, however, suggests that this hope might be misplaced.
Abstract: The Millennium Village Project (MVP) has come to embody hope for a new development path that might succeed where previous efforts have failed. A closer consideration of this project, however, suggests that this hope might be misplaced. Because of a general dearth of critical thought in key areas of project conceptualization, the MVP risks reproducing the problems of previous top-down, expert-driven development efforts. This article examines the conceptual issues raised by this absence of critical thought, and the reasons why project supporters have generally overlooked these issues. It then presents a critical grassroots framework which, if incorporated into existing MVP practices, might allow for the creation of a realistic, sustainable development path in Africa.
41 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed the causes and effects of the current broad pattern of gender disparity in transport access and use in Africa, paying particular attention to cultural constraints on women's travel, the impact of poor transport on women health and women's access to IMTs.
Abstract: The first progress report in this transport series presented an overview of major current transport research themes and gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa from a social science perspective. This second report is specifically concerned with gender and, in particular, women’s physical mobility, transport needs and patterns of transport use. It reviews the causes and effects of the current broad pattern of gender disparity in transport access and use in Africa, paying particular attention to cultural constraints on women’s travel, the impact of poor transport on women’s health and women’s access to IMTs. It then considers the gendered impact of transport interventions and suggests reasons why efforts to improve women’s access to transport have had limited impact to date.
39 citations
35 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the potential of public water operations in achieving developmental goals such as the Millennium Development Goals, and argues that the public sector has a comparative advantage in developing water services.
Abstract: This paper addresses the potential of public water operations in achieving developmental goals such as the Millennium Development Goals, and argues that the public sector has a comparative advantage in developing water services. The global importance of the public sector in urban water supply is examined through a review of current practice in the world's largest cities, including operational presence and distribution and ongoing trends. Empirical evidence shows that, in transition and developing countries, public operators are capable of undergoing successful reform. One explanatory factor is proposed to be the creation through the public sphere of highly interconnected networks among stakeholders. Such accountability networks act as vehicles for the generation and distribution of public knowledge among stakeholders, which in turn inform rational decision making on the reform and management of operations.
33 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the extent to which the knowledge strategies applied to development agencies are compatible with the normative characteristics of "reflexive development", arguing that although development agencies were seemingly in a process of transforming thinking and practice, reflexivity has not gone far enough in the evaluation of development strategies.
Abstract: Post-development critiques and subsequent debates have sparked revision in the development sector, influencing recent approaches to knowledge in development. This article examines the extent to which the ‘knowledge strategies’ applied to development agencies are compatible with the normative characteristics of ‘reflexive development’. It argues that although development agencies are seemingly in a process of transforming thinking and practice, reflexivity has not gone far enough in the evaluation of development strategies. This has resulted in several deficiencies in the knowledge agenda: a concentration on organizations rather than the development sector; an emphasis on larger organizations while ignoring smaller development actors; and inadequate conceptualizations of ‘learning’.
32 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide an analysis of the human resources issues facing policy makers in less developed countries engaged in software exports policy formulation and highlight the complexities of the case study of Costa Rica.
Abstract: Software industry development is acknowledged as an important engine of economic growth for many less developed countries. The role of national policy has been identified by various researchers as a catalyst to software industry and software exports development. Software development is a service that is both labour and knowledge-intensive, and thus an important aspect of related policy is concerned with the provision of appropriately educated and trained human resources in sufficient quantity. This paper provides an analysis of the human resources issues facing policy makers in less developed countries engaged in software exports policy formulation. The complexities are highlighted through the case study of Costa Rica, where there is an ongoing national strategic planning effort to increase software exports.
TL;DR: In this paper, the World Bank's social capitalists have defended their use and heavy promotion of social capital within the Bank as a strategy for civilizing the Bank's economists, this is shown to have been both a flawed strategy and one that misreads both the internal dynamic of the Bank and its external influence.
Abstract: Whilst, from their internally privileged position, the World Bank's social capitalists have defended their use and heavy promotion of social capital within the Bank as a strategy for civilizing the Bank's economists, this is shown to have been both a flawed strategy and one that misreads both the internal dynamic of the Bank and its external influence.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the emerging opportunities for public sector reform without recourse to privatization that are based on the protagonism by an emerging transnational and locally embedded public sphere.
Abstract: The ‘Reclaiming Public Water’ project joins social movements, NGOs, trade unions, public officials and water professionals. In opposition to neoliberal sector policies, they argue for improved public service delivery and effective citizen and workers participation. The paper critically engages with this transnational process of research, networking and political projection. I discuss the emerging opportunities for public sector reform without recourse to privatization that are based on the protagonism by an emerging transnational and locally embedded public sphere. The analysis of this ‘globalization from below’ examines the potential impacts on sector policy and argues for changes in research and development practices and policy.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors first estimated the Cobb-Douglas production functions for Vietnam's economy using annual data in 1975-2003, and then measured the contribution of capital formation, labour, and trade.
Abstract: This article first estimates Cobb-Douglas production functions for Vietnam's economy using annual data in 1975–2003. Then, the article measures the contribution of capital formation, labour, and te...
TL;DR: In this article, the benefits of private sector involvement are discussed whilst recognizing that, for many, international private-sector involvement was an unwelcome and invalid attempt at a development shortcut, and with no commitments of the water sector to the GATS, economic regulation, left behind from the privatization wave, is seen as an important driver for institutional development to ensure service to all, but only in the context of significantly enhanced "capacity building" which facilitates the delivery of a'societally-owned' customer oriented water service.
Abstract: The goal of ensuring good enough water and sanitation, particularly for the urban poor in lower-income countries, is considered in relation to the initial wave of public private partnerships and the development of the GATS. Some benefits of private sector involvement are discussed whilst recognizing that, for many, international private sector involvement was an unwelcome and invalid attempt at a development short-cut. With no commitments of the water sector to the GATS, economic regulation, left behind from the privatization wave, is seen as an important driver for institutional development to ensure service to all, but only in the context of significantly enhanced ‘capacity building’ which facilitates the delivery of a ‘societally-owned’ customer oriented water service.
TL;DR: In this article, a case study based on an application of the Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning (IRAP) methodology in a rural area in the Indian state of Rajasthan is presented.
Abstract: This is a case study based on an application of the Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning (IRAP) methodology in a rural area in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The article adopts a participatory approach to quantify accessibility needs for water source, education and health care for all 13 villages in the study area. The villages were then prioritized according to their needs for better accessibility. Villages with the worst accessibility levels in all three sectors are identified. A number of alternative proposals, generated in consultation with the representatives of the villagers, are evaluated and then the most suitable solutions are identified.
TL;DR: The authors provides a contextual and historical backdrop for this special edition by exploring cross-sectoral debates about the potential impacts of the GATS negotiations and their place within the broader political economy of North-South relations.
Abstract: This paper provides a contextual and historical backdrop for this special edition by exploring cross-sectoral debates about the potential impacts of the GATS negotiations and their place within the broader political economy of North-South relations. It traces the historical background to the negotiations as part of the formation of the World Trade Organization in 1995 and assesses some of the major controversies that have arisen over the likely impacts of GATS upon the interests of Southern countries. It then goes on to consider the specfic issues involved in the regulation of international trade in services and outline how the GATS is supposed to operate, before briefly outlining some of the major controversies that have arisen over the likely impacts of the GATS process upon the interests of Southern countries.
TL;DR: In this article, the implications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services for the delivery of water to low-income residential customers in the South are considered, and three possible ways in which the GATS may constrain the capacity of local agencies to extend the supply of clean water to those most in need.
Abstract: This paper considers the implications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services for the delivery of water to low-income residential customers in the South. The specific feature of the GATS is the liberalization of water supplies. The paper argues that the GATS may, depending on national government commitments, limit the ways in which the water market can be developed and structured by the state. With a focus on the implications for access for the poorest, the discussion explores three possible ways in which the GATS may constrain the capacity of local agencies (state and civil society) to extend the supply of clean water to those most in need.
TL;DR: Progress in Development Studies has its origins in a one day symposium held at Loughborough University on 13th April 2005 which brought together a wide range of participants to discuss the potential implications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for water supply across the countries of the South as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: This special edition of Progress in Development Studies has its origins in a one day symposium held at Loughborough University on 13th April 2005 which brought together a wide range of participants to discuss the potential implications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for water supply across the countries of the South. Participants in that symposium included representatives from major water companies, water sector professionals and academics/students from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, together with representatives from major UK nongovernmental organizations, activists and campaigning organizations. This special edition contains revised and extended versions of the papers that were presented that day, together with this short introductory editorial which connects the various contributions and places them within the context of the continuing arguments surrounding both the future of the GATS negotiations and the contributions of public and private sector provision to meeting the water needs of the poor. Within an effort to encourage refl ection and collaboration between the worlds of ‘development’ practitioners, social movements/activists and the academy, we have, along with the more traditional academic papers, also included a couple of shorter refl ections from some of the actors (activists,
TL;DR: In this paper, the development planning process in Bangladesh is used as an example to demonstrate how that process enables the deployment of endless institutions and strategies for development to bring the general masses under disciplinary control.
Abstract: One may observe a fundamental disjuncture that occurred in the operation of power by the West in governing the Third World population since the Second World War. Pre-war management was based on exercise of sovereign power by the former colonial masters; post-colonial or contemporary power is exercised through the production of self-governing docile subjects, who internalize Western ideals as their own. This form of subjugation is more subtle and effective than colonial governance. This article uses the development planning process in Bangladesh as an example to demonstrate how that process enables the deployment of endless institutions and strategies for development to bring the general masses under disciplinary control.