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351. A Development Approach to a Protracted IDP Situation: Lessons from Azerbaijan

Author:
Jennifer S. Wistrand
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal on Migration and Human Security
Institution:
Center for Migration Studies of New York
Abstract:
This article highlights the realities facing Azerbaijan’s internally displaced persons (IDPs), living in a state of protracted displacement. It argues that the World Bank’s development approach to the IDP population in Azerbaijan and to IDP populations elsewhere has likely done more for these populations’ long-term welfare and prospects than exclusively humanitarian approaches could have accomplished, even though displaced peoples have traditionally been presumed to be the responsibility of the humanitarian community. The article begins with a brief discussion of the differences between refugees and IDPs and between humanitarian and development approaches. It then outlines a history of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh which, in the early 1990s, produced upward of a half-million Azerbaijani IDPs. Next, the article discusses some of the realities (economic, social, and mental health, among others) that confronted Azerbaijan’s IDPs 15 years into their displacement. It focuses on a community of IDPs who lived in a temporary-turned-long-term “collective center” on the outskirts of Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku. Finally, the article discusses one of the World Bank’s projects in Azerbaijan with IDPs. The article concludes with policy recommendations on the way future scholars, practitioners, and policymakers should be trained to understand and approach IDPs. More broadly, it recommends that combined humanitarian and development approaches to IDP situations should become the norm. This seems imperative given that the number of IDPs displaced by conflict and violence world-wide has increased each year for more than a decade, while the ability of IDPs to avail themselves of traditional durable solutions has not kept pace.
Topic:
Development, Humanitarian Aid, Refugees, and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP)
Political Geography:
Central Asia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh

352. Gender Integration in Multilateral Development Banks’ COVID-19 Response Efforts

Author:
Shelby Bourgault, Megan O'Donnell, and Mia Griffin
Publication Date:
05-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
Research demonstrates that the COVID-19 pandemic has had differential effects by gender, with women experiencing higher job and income loss, increased rates of domestic violence, and mounting care burdens globally. While governments and civil society organizations were pivotal to mitigating the impacts of the pandemic, international institutions, and multilateral development banks (MDBs) in particular, also played a role in financing and informing the design and implementation of COVID-19 response programs. MDBs are institutions with significant financial resources and policy leverage, but relatively little is known about their impact on narrowing gender gaps in their partner countries, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. This paper examines the extent to which MDB COVID response projects incorporated gender elements. Using project data from the World Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank, this paper presents descriptive statistics on the presence of gender-related indicators and gender-dedicated projects across MDBs in projects focused on health, social protection, and other areas of COVID response and recovery. We analyze data across institutions, geographies, and project sectors—and highlight the main gaps in MDB response efforts.
Topic:
Development, COVID-19, Gender, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), and Gender Integration
Political Geography:
Global Focus

353. Adaptive Management in Refugee Programming: Lessons from Re:Build

Author:
Helen Dempster and Nicol Herbert
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
Humanitarian and development crises are increasingly protracted and complex, lacking clear solutions and paths to reach the most-affected individuals and communities. Those working in such crises must be creative, adaptive, and supported by frameworks that promote efficient and effective responses. Adaptive management is a learning-oriented project management approach that centralizes proactive and ongoing reflection on what is and is not working, adapting the program design or operational delivery based on this new information. This approach is being implemented by a five-year program—Refugees in East Africa: Boosting Urban Innovations for Livelihoods (Re:Build)—aiming to achieve economic self-reliance for urban refugees and other vulnerable residents of Kampala, Uganda and Nairobi, Kenya. The evidence for how to best support refugee economic self-reliance is limited; even less is known about what is effective for urban refugees specifically. Re:Build is utilizing adaptive management principles to navigate this uncertainty with the goal of achieving sustained outcomes for clients and more information about what works. While adaptive management offers a range of potential benefits, it requires implementers and donors to operate in new ways. After summarizing the existing adaptive management literature, this paper outlines lessons from the first two years of Re:Build’s attempts to implement an adaptive program. It concludes by sharing practical recommendations, for both implementers and donors, on how to better live out these principles.
Topic:
Development, Humanitarian Aid, Refugees, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa and Global Focus

354. What Counts as Climate? Preliminary Evidence from the World Bank’s Climate Portfolio

Author:
Guido Núñez-Mujica, Vijaya Ramachandran, and Scott Morris
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
The World Bank is one of the largest providers of development finance to poor countries. In recent years, it has been under immense public pressure, mostly from its richest shareholders, to expand its climate portfolio. We examine the World Bank’s climate portfolio at the project level for the period 2000-2022 and find that financing is skewed towards mitigation projects. These projects lack estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, and there is no standardized reporting on GHG estimates across the portfolio. Further, hundreds of projects tagged climate—many in poorer countries—appear to have little to do with climate change mitigation or adaptation. We recommend that projects labeled climate should be accompanied by a clear explanation of why they mitigate emissions (with estimates of GHG reductions) or how they help increase resilience to climate-related events. Likewise, the World Bank must do more to identify outputs and verify outcomes for climate projects.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, World Bank, and Sustainable Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus

355. What Would the Ideal Development and Climate MDB Look Like?

Author:
Nancy Lee, Valerie Laxton, and Samuel Matthews
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
If we could reinvent MDBs to respond to urgent development and climate needs and to benefit from 70 years of experience with the model, what would they look like? Many are focused on the scale of MDB finance. This paper focuses on how the model needs to change to effectively deploy more finance. A central question for the model is how country investment priorities are set. This paper advocates that countries should chart their own low-carbon climate resilient development and growth paths, with robust analytical support from MDBs that integrates climate and development challenges, including cross-border challenges, and helps countries set priorities for investments and policies. MDBs should work together as a coherent system to support one country-owned strategy, rather than individually creating their own separate strategies and policy conditions. This approach will help overcome fears by borrowing countries that rich shareholders are compelling them to abandon their own development priorities in favor of other countries’ climate priorities. It will also help break down the silos within and across MDBs that thwart collaboration and diminish their effectiveness. The country strategies should go deep rather than broad, aiming for transformative outcomes in a few priority sectors selected for their importance for achieving the country’s sustainable development and climate goals. Success should be measured based on achievement of targeted outcomes, not by the size of financial inputs. Governments, MDBs, and other development partners should all make finance and other commitments under the strategy and be held accountable for their performance. Governments that meet their policy and finance commitments should be assured of consistent, predictable budget support from MDBs, along with investment project and pay-for-results lending. Beyond their own lending, MDBs should focus on improving the terms of market borrowing for sustainable development, making more use of their guarantee and insurance products. And MDB boards should spend less time on individual project approvals and more on monitoring outcome progress at the country level and country contributions to cross-border goals. A second critical challenge is how to boost MDB performance in mobilizing private finance for climate and development goals. The paper advocates putting mobilization at the center of MDB institutional strategies, setting ambitious mobilization targets, and implementing institutional changes needed to achieve those targets. Two core changes are critical: (1) changing financial product offerings to better match instruments to private capital market gaps, which means less emphasis on senior loans and more deployment of subordinated financial products; and (2) focusing more on creating portfolios of sustainable finance assets to offer private investment opportunities at scale. Partnerships with institutional investors and more risk- tolerant investors are both essential to achieve scale and manage increased risk.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), and Sustainable Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus

356. Taking Stock of Organizations with Impact Evaluation Capacity Headquartered in sub-Saharan Africa: A New Database and Landscaping Analysis

Author:
Julia Kaufman, Justin Hurley, Janeen Madan Keller, and Erin Collinson
Publication Date:
08-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
The evidence-informed policy ecosystem has evolved significantly over the past two decades. Alongside an increase in the number of impact evaluations, the community of researchers and organizations in low- and middle-income countries conducting these studies continues to grow. Locally immersed researchers can help increase the policy use and utility of impact evaluation and related evidence, bringing critical insight on the priorities of policymakers and windows of opportunity to inform decision-making. Still, despite their vital role, many locally immersed research organizations encounter chronic funding challenges and other institutional and professional barriers. CGD conducted a landscaping exercise to better understand the current landscape of organizations headquartered in sub-Saharan Africa that boast impact evaluation capacity. The resulting database is intended as a resource for funders looking to advance locally led development; to help facilitate coordination and networking; and to advance opportunities for collaboration among researchers, program implementers, policymakers, and funders. We found that the number of organizations headquartered in sub-Saharan Africa with impact evaluation capacity has increased over recent years. We identified 181 unique African organizations with impact evaluation capacity, representing a 26 percent increase since 2019. These organizations are distributed across the region, with the largest concentration in East Africa. A significant portion has received or currently receives US government support, though often indirectly, providing potential openings for deepening partnerships with locally led organizations. Finally, a wide range of types of organizations have impact evaluation capacity—independent think tanks/NGOs, academic institutions, and government-embedded or adjacent entities.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Development, USAID, Aid Effectiveness, and Evaluation
Political Geography:
Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

357. The Post-COVID Consensus

Author:
Shahid Yusuf
Publication Date:
10-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
Development economics is turning a full circle with a difference. This paper addresses the circling back to the policies in vogue during the 1980s and earlier, including industrial policies, coupled with protectionism; accounts for the regression to earlier certitudes after an extended spell of globalization underpinned by market fundamentalism; and indicates how a transforming global environment has enlarged the policy agenda. There is a new policy consensus in the making, which borrows some elements of the Washington Consensus but goes beyond to encompass a broader policy agenda.
Topic:
Development, Markets, Poverty, Inequality, Economic Development, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

358. Haiti’s Failed Quest for Stability and Development after the 2010 Earthquake: Why Did It Go Wrong?

Author:
Koldo Echebarria
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
Haiti is once more experiencing a severe crisis of instability and political unrest. The devastating 2010 earthquake catastrophe was seen as a chance to break with the past and steer the nation in a new direction. Although some progress was made, it was only short-lived, insufficient to establish a growth path, uneven across sectors, and, as we have since learned, politically unsustainable. The analysis identifies several reasons the effort was insufficient to bring stability and growth: (i) objectives spanned reconstruction and development while resources were limited; (ii) the approach taken to build up security was unsustainable, leaving an underfunded and institutionally weak police force; (iii) divisive and confrontational politics was recognized as the critical challenge but it was not dealt with as such; (iv) coordination between Haitian authorities and international actors suffered from a deep sense of mistrust, never achieving a shared and clear action plan; (v) state-building efforts failed and institutions deteriorated further; and, (vi) the project-by-project approach followed by international donors dispersed effort, limited adaptation to a complex reality and increased transaction costs. Policy recommendations follow the analysis, arguing for a more focused strategy from the international community with a long-term programmatic approach. Until a reasonable level of stability is reached, security and social protection should take precedence. A final reflection will be offered on how lessons learned in Haiti can be useful in other fragile contexts.
Topic:
Development, Natural Disasters, Earthquake, Instability, and Aid Effectiveness
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

359. The Future of UK Global Health Policy: Challenges and Opportunities

Author:
Pete Baker
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
Since 2019, the UK’s strong reputation in global health has been undermined by a series of deep cuts and a distracting departmental reorganisation. 2024 may, however, represent a turning point, with new Foreign and Development Ministers, both with a strong track record on development, the implementation of a new development white paper, and a possible election which may bring a new government with new priorities. In this paper, we summarise the challenges and opportunities in global health on which the UK will need to act if it wishes to restore its reputation. We review UK global health aid expenditure data up to 2022, current UK global health policies, and major external global trends. We find that in 2018, the UK reported spending £2.17 billion (0.1 percent of Gross National Income (GNI)). By 2022, this fell to £1.73 billion (0.07 percent of GNI). If the UK had continued at 0.1 percent of GNI level, it would now have an additional £844 million to spend on global health annually. Bilateral programmes, Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office-managed aid programmes, and reproductive health programmes were particularly hard hit by the cuts. We identify three global trends that the UK must accommodate: an acute-on-chronic health financing crises in low- and middle-income countries; changing demographics, burden of disease, and increasing global threats; and the inadequacy of global health architecture. Finally, we recommend a five-point plan for the UK government to take forward: 1) Champion debt relief and “health taxes” to increase resources for health; 2) Support countries to strengthen health system efficiency; 3) Prioritise limited UK financing on key, measurable objectives in a few low-income countries. 4) Conduct a multilateral aid review that focuses on developing country priorities; and 5) Direct UK health system strengthening funding through the World Bank and long-term bilateral programmes.
Topic:
Development, Foreign Aid, and Global Health
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

360. Working Class Formation in China Since 1920

Author:
Marc Blecher
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
China Studies Centre, The University of Sydney
Abstract:
Chinese workers have been the subjects of a great deal of analysis by scholars, documentation by journalists and activists, and portrayal by writers, filmmakers and artists. Light has been shone on the rich tapestry of economic, social, cultural and political forces driving them into low-paid, dangerous, degrading, alienating, mind-numbing, transient employment, on the obstacles to improvement, on workers’ understandings of their world and their lives in it, on their passivity and resistance, and on the effects of their responses. A World to Lose seeks the foundation for all this in three questions: what kind of class is the Chinese working class? What are the historical forces and processes that have formed it and how does the pattern of class formation help explain the working class’s reactions historically, presently and even prospectively? It approaches these questions through the lenses of hegemony theory and political development/path (in)dependence.
Topic:
Development, History, Labor Issues, and Workers
Political Geography:
China and Asia