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52. Dial "A" for Agriculture: A Review of Information and Communication Technologies for Agricultural Extension in Developing Countries
- Author:
- Jenny C. Aker
- Publication Date:
- 09-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Agriculture can serve as an important engine for economic growth in developing countries, yet yields in these countries have lagged far behind those in developed countries for decades. One potential mechanism for increasing yields is the use of improved agricultural technologies, such as fertilizers, seeds and cropping techniques. Public-sector programs have attempted to overcome information-related barriers to technological adoption by providing agricultural extension services. While such programs have been widely criticized for their limited scale, sustainability and impact, the rapid spread of mobile phone coverage in developing countries provides a unique opportunity to facilitate technological adoption via information and communication technology (ICT)-based extension programs. This article outlines the potential mechanisms through which ICT could facilitate agricultural adoption and the provision of extension services in developing countries. It then reviews existing programs using ICT for agriculture, categorized by the mechanism (voice, text, internet and mobile money transfers) and the type of services provided. Finally, we identify potential constraints to such programs in terms of design and implementation, and conclude with some recommendations for implementing field-based research on the impact of these programs on farmers' knowledge, technological adoption and welfare.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, Poverty, Science and Technology, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
53. Measuring the Quality of Aid: QuODA Second Edition
- Author:
- Nancy Birdsall, Homi Kharas, and Rita Perakis
- Publication Date:
- 11-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- As demonstrated by the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and Accra Agenda for Action, the development community has reached a broad consensus on what constitutes good practice for the delivery of development assistance. But since these high-level agreements were made, there has been almost no independent quantitative analysis of whether donors are meeting the standards they have set for themselves.
- Topic:
- Development, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, Treaties and Agreements, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Paris
54. Achieving an AIDS Transition: Preventing Infections to Sustain Treatment
- Author:
- Mead Over
- Publication Date:
- 11-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- An unprecedented surge in donor support for HIV/AIDS treatment over the last decade has lengthened and improved the lives of millions of people living with HIV/AIDS. But because the rate of new infections outpaces the rate of AIDS-related deaths, the number of people living with AIDS—and therefore the number of people needing treatment—is growing faster than the funding needed to treat them. In 2009, about 1.8 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses while about 2.6 million were newly infected with HIV, increasing the total number of people living with HIV/AIDS by more than three-quarters of a million.
- Topic:
- Development, Health, and Foreign Aid
55. More Money or More Development: What Have the MDGs Achieved?
- Author:
- Charles Kenny and Andy Sumner
- Publication Date:
- 12-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- What have the MDGs achieved? And what might their achievements mean for any second generation of MDGs or MDGs 2.0? We argue that the MDGs may have played a role in increasing aid and that development policies beyond aid quantity have seen some limited improvement in rich countries (the evidence on policy change in poor countries is weaker). Further, there is some evidence of faster-than-expected progress improving quality of life in developing countries since the Millennium Declaration, but the contribution of the MDGs themselves in speeding that progress is—of course—difficult to demonstrate even assuming the MDGs induced policy changes after 2002. The paper concludes with reflections on what the experience of MDGs in terms of global goal setting has taught us and how things might be done differently if there were to be a new set of MDGs after 2015. Any MDGs 2.0 need targets that are set realistically and directly link aid flows to social policy change and to results.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
56. Where Have All the Donors Gone? Scarce Donor Funding for Non-Communicable Diseases
- Author:
- Rachel Nugent and Andrea B. Feigl
- Publication Date:
- 01-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Health conditions in developing countries are becoming more like those in developed countries, with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) predominating and infectious diseases declining. The increased awareness of changing health needs, however, has not translated into significant shifts in resources or policy-level attention from international donors or governments in affected countries. Driven by changes in lifestyle related to nutrition, physical activity, and smoking, the surging burden of NCDs in poor countries portends painful choices, particularly for countries with weak health systems that are struggling to manage persistent infectious disease burdens and to protect the poor from excessive out-of-pocket expenses.
- Topic:
- Development, Health, Poverty, Third World, and Foreign Aid
57. Quantifying Vulnerability to Climate Change: Implications for Adaptation Assistance
- Author:
- David Wheeler
- Publication Date:
- 01-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- This paper attempts a comprehensive accounting of climate change vulnerability for 233 states, ranging in size from China to Tokelau. Using the most recent evidence, it develops risk indicators for three critical problems: increasing weather-related disasters, sea-level rise, and loss of agricultural productivity. The paper embeds these indicators in a methodology for cost-effective allocation of adaptation assistance. The methodology can be applied easily and consistently to all 233 states and all three problems, or to any subset that may be of interest to particular donors. Institutional perspectives and priorities differ; the paper develops resource allocation formulas for three cases: (1) potential climate impacts alone, as measured by the three indicators; (2) case 1 adjusted for differential country vulnerability, which is affected by economic development and governance; and (3) case 2 adjusted for donor concerns related to project economics: intercountry differences in project unit costs and probabilities of project success. The paper is accompanied by an Excel database with complete data for all 233 countries. It provides two illustrative applications of the database and methodology: assistance for adaptation to sea level rise by the 20 island states that are both small and poor and general assistance to all low-income countries for adaptation to extreme weather changes, sea-level rise, and agricultural productivity loss.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- China
58. TrAid+ Channeling Development Assistance to Results
- Author:
- Alex Ergo and Ingo Puhl
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Development assistance is meant to improve the lives of poor people in developing countries, but the effectiveness of aid in meeting this goal is uncertain. Demonstrating failure—or success—is difficult because traditional donor financing mechanisms track inputs, not results. This is compounded by poor coordination between actors and a lack of transparency, accountability, and country ownership. Development assistance that is ineffective or has unknown outcomes wastes resources, erodes the constituency for aid, and most importantly fails to improve the lives of poor people as much as it could. TrAid+ is a new mechanism that aims to address these problems by creating a market for certified development outputs—outputs for which both the delivery and the quality have been verified. By ensuring that these outputs, such as safe deliveries or gas connections, meet certain standards, trAid+ acts as a third-party stamp of approval that donors, tax payers, recipient-country governments, service providers, and beneficiaries can trust to know that their aid is being used effectively and is contributing to the development objectives of the recipient country. And trAid+ makes all information accessible online, making it easier for funders to link with projects that are working and projects that are working to link with anyone interested in purchasing certified development outputs. TrAid+ can be tailored to any sector where outputs can be clearly defined and measured, whether health, education, infrastructure, or agriculture. This paper describes the trAid+ concept in detail and proposes practical steps to establish the trAid+ platform.
- Topic:
- Development, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
59. The Post-Washington Consensus: Development after the Crisis
- Author:
- Francis Fukuyama and Nancy Birdsall
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- A clear shift in the development agenda is underway. Traditionally, an agenda generated in the developed world was implemented in—and, indeed, often imposed on—the developing world. The United States, Europe, and Japan will continue to be significant sources of economic resources and ideas, but the emerging markets will become significant players. Countries such as Brazil, China, India, and South Africa will be both donors and recipients of resources for development and of best practices for how to use them. In fact, development has never been something that the rich bestowed on the poor but rather something the poor achieved for themselves. It appears that the Western powers are finally waking up to this truth in light of a financial crisis that, for them, is by no means over.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, Europe, India, South Africa, and Brazil
60. The New Bottom Billion: What If Most of the World's Poor Live in Middle-Income Countries?
- Author:
- Andy Sumner
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Most of the world's poor no longer live in low-income countries. An estimated 960 million poor people—a new bottom billion—live in middle-income countries, a result of the graduation of several populous countries from low-income status. That is good news, but it has repercussions. Donors will have to change the way they think about poverty alleviation. They should design development aid to benefit poor people, not just poor countries, keep supporting middle-income countries, think beyond traditional aid to craft coherent development policies, and work to help create space for more inclusive policy processes in new and old MICs.
- Topic:
- Development, Poverty, and Foreign Aid