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2. Furthering Democracy through the European Union's Development Policy: Legal Limitations and Possibilities
- Author:
- Morten Broberg
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- This working paper provides an analysis of the efforts by the European Union to support democracy building in developing countries. It focuses on the specific question of the legal obligations of, and limits for, the European Union in seeking to further democracy through its policies directed at developing countries. The core of the paper is an examination of the legal framework governing the Union's relations with developing countries and the possibilities for furthering democracy. The paper considers the European Union's determination of whether a third country complies, in legal terms, with its 'democratic obligations', and how it is able to control and sanction non-compliance. On the basis of these examinations the possibilities of furthering democracy and the rule of law in the Union's development cooperation legislation are analysed.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, International Law, Third World, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Europe
3. The Multiplicity of Climate and Rural Risk
- Author:
- Ian Christoplos
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper looks at rural risk in relation to climate change, globalisation and other factors, with a focus on how these risks are perceived and managed with-in different policy frames and among local institutions involved with agriculture and rural development. The changing and multidimensional landscape of risk is analysed in terms of how it impacts on natural resource management governance, strategies and decision-making. Pro-poor growth and community-based risk reduction policies are contrasted so as to highlight their implications for local actors struggling to deal with climate variability and market volatility. Food security is presented as an example of an area where policy coherence in responding to these multiple challenges is lacking, but where rural people and institutions are adapting in their own ways. The study suggests a number of entry points for further research that could be used to better align climate change efforts with the perceptions and priorities of rural populations at risk.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Globalization, Poverty, and Third World
4. European Food Safety Regulation and the Developing Countries: Regulatory problems and possibilities
- Author:
- Morten Broberg
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the European Community's food safety regime in order to identify those legal measures that cause the most problems for developing countries' exporters of food products and to point to possible solutions. It is shown that barriers ma y arise due to an array of requirements, some of which may appear to be rather minor legal amendments, such as changing a sampling plan. There is no easy solution to this problem, but three specific measures are proposed: Firstly, improved harmonisation of food safety measures in the industrialised countries. Secondly, when proposing new food safety measures the European Commission should identify the proposal's likely consequences on developing countries – and should explain how alternative measures will affect both food safety and the developing countries. And lastly, the European Community should strengthen its provision of development assistance to enable the developing countries to comply with the food safety standards.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, International Trade and Finance, Third World, and Food
- Political Geography:
- Europe
5. Using Indicators to Encourage Development? Lessons from the Millennium Development Goals
- Author:
- Richard Manning
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The Millennium Declaration included a highly significant innovation – universal, support by the world's governments for a short list of development results to be, achieved by a set date. As the target year of 2015 approaches, the paper compares the, MDG framework that emerged from the Declaration with other ways of measuring, and incentivising progress, sets out some initial hypotheses about its impact and addresses issues about its structure and coverage. This leads to proposals about how to, get the best value from the MDGs over the years to 2015 and five hypotheses about, how the world might approach the issue of what framework, if any, to put in place, to measure and incentivise development progress after 2015.
- Topic:
- Development, Health, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation, International Political Economy, Third World, and United Nations
6. Whither aid? Financing development in Mozambique
- Author:
- Sam Jones
- Publication Date:
- 03-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- Careful consideration of the appropriate level and composition of aggregate public spending is vital in low income countries, especially in the presence of large volumes of foreign aid. Not only can expansion of the public sector weaken economic growth, but also provision of public services may be difficult to retrench. These issues are relevant to Mozambique as the share of government in GDP already is comparatively high and strategic management of aggregate public spending historically has been weak. A new long-term macroeconomic model quantifies the implications of alternative aggregate spending profiles. It shows that small increases in minimum levels of government spending correspond to large increases in the duration to aid independence. Sharp reductions in aid availability would necessitate significant fiscal and economic adjustments, including cuts in real public spending per capita. For this reason, there is no room for complacency as regards the future of development finance to Mozambique.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Humanitarian Aid, International Political Economy, Poverty, and Third World
- Political Geography:
- Africa
7. Ownership and the Donor-Recipient Relationship
- Author:
- Lindsay Whitfield
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- At the centre of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness is the idea of country ownership. It is meant to change the situation in many aid dependent African countries where donors dominate decision-making over which policies are adopted, how aid is spent, and what conditions are attached to its release. This article assesses the impact of recent aid reforms to put ownership into practice.
- Topic:
- Foreign Exchange, Poverty, Third World, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa
8. The role of freight transport in economic development: An analysis of the interaction between global value chains and their associated transport chains
- Author:
- Poul Ove Pedersen
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this paper is first to discuss the paradox that freight transport, which so clearly is an important prerequisite for the processes of regional development and economic internationalisation and globalisation, since the 1970s has almost vanished from mainstream economic geography and development studies, and is most often hardly mentioned in studies of international industrial development and global commodity or value chains. Secondly, the paper discusses the consequences of leaving freight transport out of the value chain analyses and argues that it has had serious consequences for economic development especially in the peripheral parts of the world, not least in Africa, and for our understanding of rural poverty.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Globalization, and Third World
- Political Geography:
- Africa
9. The changing context for small farms and implications for their future
- Author:
- Peter Hazell
- Publication Date:
- 06-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The majority of farms in the developing world are small (less than 2 hectares) and they are home to the majority of the rural poor. Their future will have an important bearing on whether poverty and hunger can be halved by 2015. However, small farms are seriously challenged today in ways that make their future precarious. Globalization and rising per capita incomes in many countries are changing the nature and composition of demand for agricultural products. At the same time, marketing chains are changing and are becoming more integrated and more demanding of quality and food safety. This is creating new opportunities for higher value production for farmers who can compete and link to these markets, but for many other small farms the risk is that they will simply be left behind. In developing countries, small farmers also face unfair competition from rich country farmers in many of their export and domestic markets, and they no longer have adequate support in terms of basic services and farm inputs. And the spread of HIV/AIDS is further eroding the number of productive farm family workers, and leaving many children as orphans with limited knowledge about how to farm. Left to themselves, these forces will curtail opportunities for small farms, overly favor large farms, and lead to a premature and rapid exit of many small farms. If most small farmers are to have a viable future, then there is need for a concerted effort by governments, NGOs and the private sector to create a more equitable and enabling economic environment for their development. This must include assistance in forming effective marketing organizations, targeted agricultural research and extension, revamping financial systems to meet small farm credit need s, improved risk management policies, better education and training for nonfarm jobs and where all else fails, targeted safety net programs. These interventions are possible and could unleash significant benefits in the form of pro-poor agricultural growth. For many countries, the alternative is a dramatic increase in rural poverty and waves of migrants to urban areas that could overwhelm available job opportunities, urban infrastructure and support services.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, Globalization, and Third World
10. Staff Management and Organisational Performance in Tanzania and Uganda: Public Servant Perspectives
- Author:
- Ole Therkildsen and Per Tidemand
- Publication Date:
- 03-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- How can a government in a poor country with a limited budget increase the performance of its public sector organizations through better Human Resources Management practices (HRM)? And how may donors assist? These questions are addressed in this comparative study of HRM practices and organisational performance in public sector organizations in Tanzania and Uganda. Specifically, as stated in the terms of reference (appendix D), the study aims to: Enhance knowledge about the rules and practices of hiring, firing, transfers and promotion. (HFTP) in central and local government, including executive agencies, in the two countries – as seen from the perspective of public servants themselves. Assess how and how much HFTP-practices affect motivation at individual and organisational level. Contribute to inform policy making on non-pay incentives among development partners. Suggest relevant further work.
- Topic:
- Development, Regional Cooperation, and Third World
- Political Geography:
- Uganda and Africa