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4312. Sustainability of External Development Financing to Developing Countries
- Author:
- Matthew Odedokun
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- External development finance consists of those foreign sources of funds that promote or at least have the potential to promote development in the destination countries if delivered in the appropriate form. This rather broad definition qualifies all forms of external finance, and the quality and quantity of their inflows to developing countries are thus covered in the studies that form the background to this Policy Brief. These include official bilateral and multilateral, private commercial, and private noncommercial flows. A common characteristic is that all these types of flows are inadequate or becoming inadequate on the one hand and that their distribution is lopsided geographically and/or temporally, on the other.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Cooperation, and United Nations
4313. Beyond the Mountains: The Unfinished Business of Haiti
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Open Society Foundations
- Abstract:
- In early 2004, the 200th anniversary of Haiti's independence, violence once again burst into flame as rebel soldiers overran much of the country and forced President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to resign. The country the soldiers fought over is the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, one of the poorest anywhere. Its infrastructure—roads, electricity, water, sanitation—is deteriorating, almost to the point of nonexistence. The schools cannot make a dent in the illiteracy rate. The health care system cannot stop the spread of preventable diseases. The months of political violence, following years of government repression, have made living conditions worse—at least in the short term. The international community, which reduced its presence in Haiti several years ago in response to the corruption and mismanagement of the government, must now return to help Haiti recover, restore order and stability, and complete the job of establishing truly democratic values and institutions. The few bright spots in the chaos and dysfunction that have overwhelmed Haiti are a small number of successful civic organizations that desperately need funding to survive and expand. FOKAL, the Soros foundation in Haiti, is a leading force among these grassroots groups. FOKAL stands for the Fondasyon Konesans Ak Libète in Creole (in French, the Fondation Connaissance & Liberté). Its programs improve conditions for young people and rural communities, instilling optimism and hope and a commitment to work for the common good. Through civic organizations such as the ones described in this report, Haitians are tackling a mountain range of problems. A strong civil society offers the only lasting solution to political repression and violence. This report tells the story of FOKAL and some of the programs that deserve support because they work in a country where so much doesn't. It is a journey through the unfinished business of Haiti.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Civil Society, Development, Infrastructure, and Repression
- Political Geography:
- Haiti
4314. From Peace Making to Self Sustaining Peace - International Presence in South East Europe at a Crossroads -- 8th Workshop of the Study Group Regional Stability in South East Europe
- Author:
- Frederic Labarre and Predrag Jureković
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Austrian National Defence Academy
- Abstract:
- The fall of Communism in Europe, and the end of the bi-polar order put an end to the artificial and forced separation which had been keeping Hungary out of the mainstream of European development for the last 40-plus years. Once that obstacle was removed, a consensus was reached by all Hungarian political parties to become a modern European country in the quickest possible way and with the least sacrifice and develop an economy and culture, social and political structure bases on solid grounds by becoming part of the European and Euro-Atlantic co-operative institutions.
- Topic:
- NATO, Democratization, Development, International Cooperation, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Balkans, and Hungary
4315. An India-Pakistan Detente: What It Could Mean for Sustainable Development in South Asia and Beyond
- Author:
- Toufiq A. Siddiqi
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- India and Pakistan have had volatile relations ever since they became independent of Britain in 1947. Frequent hostility has stifled cooperation between the two countries and inhibited development in the region. Recently, however, tensions show signs of easing. In March 2004, India's then prime minister visited Pakistan to attend a South Asian regional summit. Flights, bus service, and cricket matches between the two countries have resumed; India's newly elected government continues to support the process. Peace could bring a wide range of benefits not only to India and Pakistan but to the wider region as well. For example, it could enable cooperation on importing energy via a natural-gas pipeline, which would support environmentally sound development. The improved road and rail system that would necessarily accompany a pipeline would also support the goal of building an Asian highway network and the resurgence of cross-border trade, another likely consequence of détente. These benefits could spread far beyond India and Pakistan into the wider west, central, and south Asian region.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, South Asia, and India
4316. The Politics of Environmental Policy with a Himalayan Example
- Author:
- Piers Blaikie and Joshua Muldavin
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- How we arrive at knowledge—and how we draw on knowledge to make policy—have been the subject of vigorous debate and analysis. Simple models of expertise and action are gradually yielding to a more complex vision of how truth speaks to power and power talks back. The Himalayan region—where scientists, statesmen, and citizens confront a unique set of environmental challenges and political legacies—provides a powerful case study. For more than a century, it was believed that over-use by local farmers and pastoralists threatened fragile mountain and river environments. Beginning in the colonial era and continuing into the present, governments have strictly curtailed traditional land-use practices. In the 1980s, scholars began to question the science on which those restrictive laws were based. But new science has not, in most cases, led to new policy. This disconnect inspires questions about the nature of both science and policy, their influence on each other, and whether each could benefit from greater openness to the insights of people who fall outside the narrow roles of expert and politician.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Development
- Political Geography:
- Asia, Australia/Pacific, and Southeast Asia
4317. Tourism in a 'Borderless' World: The Singapore Experience
- Author:
- T.C. Chang
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- The development of tourist destinations that transcend national borders, first envisioned in the 1950s, gained momentum in the 1990s. Whether facilitated by large regional organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or bilateral agreements, countries—especially smaller ones— have worked to identify and leverage their neighbor's strengths. Singapore, for example, adopted a national tourism plan based on the concept of "borrowed attractiveness." It has compensated for its limited natural resources and high costs by collaborating with Indonesia and Malaysia, which contribute cheaper labor and land in exchange for infrastructure, financing, and expertise. The city-state also aggressively sells its tourism expertise overseas and aspires to be Asia's tourism hub. But Singapore's experience demonstrates that regional tourism, while diversifying tourism development opportunities, can also perpetuate inequities between wealthier and poorer collaborators and present serious challenges to businesses operating in unfamiliar settings.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Development
- Political Geography:
- Asia, Australia/Pacific, Singapore, and Southeast Asia
4318. The Saudi Security Apparatus: Military and Security Services - Challenges and Developments
- Author:
- Anthony H. Cordesman and Nawaf Obaid
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Both Saudi Arabia's security situation, and the Saudi security apparatus, are undergoing major changes. Saudi Arabia no longer faces a major threat from Iraq, but must deal with the growing risk that Iran will become a nuclear power. This confronts Saudi Arabia with hard strategic choices as to whether to ignore Iran's efforts to proliferate, seek US military assistance in deterring Iran and possibly in some form of missile defense, or to acquire more modern missiles and its own weapons of mass destruction.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Development, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Iran, Middle East, and Arabia
4319. State Development Planning: Did it Create an East Asian Miracle?
- Author:
- Benjamen Powell
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Independent Institute
- Abstract:
- East Asian countries have recorded large increases in per capita GDP over the last fifty years. Some observers have referred to this growth as an “East Asian Miracle.” One popular explanation attributes the rapid growth to state led industrial development planning. This paper critically assesses the arguments surrounding state development planning and East Asia's growth. Whether the state can acquire the knowledge necessary to calculate which industries it should promote and how state development planning can deal with political incentive problems faced by planners are both examined. When we look at the development record of East Asian countries we find that to the extent development planning did exist, it could not calculate which industries would promote development, so it instead promoted industrialization. We also find that what rapid growth in living standards did occur can be better explained by free markets than state planning because, as measured in economic freedom indexes, these countries were some of the most free market in the world.
- Topic:
- Development, Industrial Policy, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Israel and East Asia
4320. Institutional Foundations of Economic Freedom: A time-series cross-section analysis
- Author:
- Xavier de Vanssay, Vincent Hildebrand, and Zane A. Spindler
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Independent Institute
- Abstract:
- Using time-series cross-section analysis, we provide additional empirical validation for the principal-agent model developed by Adserà, et al. (2003). In our innovation, efficient economic policy is proxied by “economic freedom” from the Fraser Institute database and “political institutions” are proxied by variables from the Database of Political Institutions. Our results suggest that the more credible the threat of removal from office, the more government officials will pursue efficient economic policies.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Government, and Political Economy