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3931. African Diaspora and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Africa

Author:
Abdullah A. Mohamoud
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Diasporas are one of the contemporary global forces shaping the directions and trends in this 21st century. This makes it imperative to build up knowledge and insights about the long distance activities of the diaspora in order to influence the course of the direction. There are limited studies on some of the older diasporas which however focus disproportionately on negative practices of minority militants in them which do not reflect the total picture of their overall activities. For instance, most of the available studies on the subject are largely informed by the activities of Irish, Sri Lankan Tamils, Sikhs and Kurds in the diaspora. There is hardly any documented knowledge and information about the long-distance activities undertaken by the Congolese, Rwandese and Sudanese and others in the diaspora and their impacts on the course of political events in their respective countries of origin. One explanation is the comparatively late emergence of the African diaspora communities. The phenomenon of the contemporary African diaspora is of very recent origin. It is largely the result of violent conflicts and wars that have flared up in many African countries since the early 1990s. More importantly, it is because of their recent origin -- now just a decade old -- that we know very little about the activities of the African diaspora as compared with the older and well-established diaspora. This is an area which is still waiting to be explored as the interactions of the African diaspora with their homelands in Africa have not yet been sufficiently studied.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Development, and Migration
Political Geography:
Africa and Sri Lanka

3932. National Accountability Strategies for Developing Countries

Author:
Terry F. Buss and F. Stevens Redburn
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Abstract:
The National Planning Department (NPD), Office of the President, Republic of Colombia, contacted the Academy seeking technical assistance in crafting a national accountability strategy for Colombia under President Uribe.The Academy worked with NPD on the strategy which is being tested in Colombia as 2005. This paper is a review of the issues prepared for NPD.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, Governance, and Reform
Political Geography:
Colombia

3933. Challenges Facing Africa's regional Economic Comunities in Capacity Building

Author:
Soumana Sako
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
The concern for regional cooperation and integration in Africa predates independence. The period 1960-1980, however, witnessed the emergence of the major regional integration schemes that pushed forward the Continent’s economic integration agenda. Post-independence regional economic integration and cooperation efforts resulted in a variety of initiatives with overlapping membership and mandates, making Africa the region with the highest density of economic integration and cooperation arrangements. Yet, these arrangements failed to impact positively on the Continent’s economic performance. Inadequate political will and commitment to the process; high incidence of conflicts and political instability; poor design and sequencing of regional integration arrangements; multiplicity of the schemes; inadequacy of funding; and exclusion of key stakeholders from the regional integration process are factors accounting for the ineffectiveness. Despite Africa’s unsatisfactory track record in regional integration over the decades, the case for cooperation and integration has become much stronger in recent years, due to the fact that the continent is facing a number of major challenges, notably globalization and the changing global economic and political environments, to which enhanced cooperation and integration constitute an appropriate response.
Topic:
Development, Globalization, Regional Integration, Community, and Regional Economy
Political Geography:
Africa

3934. Export Diversification: Is it Really Necessary for Botswana?

Author:
Joel Sentsho
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:
Even though Botswana gained independence as a very poor country in 1966, over the last three decades the country has risen to the level of a middle income developing country. The country’s GDP growth averaged about 9 percent over the fi rst three decades of independence and was thus comparable to that of the East Asian Tigers. Perhaps the only disadvantage with this impressive growth is that it was and continues to be fuelled by the primary sector, particularly diamond mining, although copper/nickel and beef were also important in the earlier years. As early as 1982, the Government of Botswana recognized that dependence on a narrow range of exports was undesirable and could have adverse long-term consequences, and that export diversifi cation was necessary. However, despite numerous policies aimed at achieving export diversifi cation, it appears that there has not been much success, and while sustained high rates of economic growth have been achieved this has remained dependent upon the primary export sector, mainly diamonds. This raises fundamental questions: Is export diversification really necessary for Botswana? Could Botswana not continue into the future and achieve the ideals of Vision 2016 through continued primary export growth? These questions will form the focus of this policy brief. The main objective of this Policy Brief is to explore the reasons why Botswana continues to pursue the export diversifi cation strategy in spite of its limited success over the years. The Policy Brief is based on the BIDPA-World Bank study entitled “Diversifying Botswana’s Exports: An Overview”, fi nalized in July 2005, which argues strongly that export diversifi cation still needs to be pursued by Botswana. This policy brief will summarise the reasons advanced by the study for the pursuit of export diversification and make recommendations on the way forward.
Topic:
Development, Economy, Diversification, and Exports
Political Geography:
Africa and Botswana

3935. Labor Mobility in Bolivia: On-the-Job Search Behavior of Public and Private Sector Employees

Author:
Lykke E. Andersen and Bent Jesper Christensen
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:
Labor market frictions are even more pervasive in developing countries than in Western industrialized economies. In spite of this, stochastic models of frictional markets have rarely been applied to developing countries. In this paper, we estimate structural parameters of both a simple and an extended job separation model with the purpose of understanding constraints in the labor market in Bolivia. The results confirm the hypothesis that skilled labor is scarce in Bolivia, while unskilled labor is abundantly available. This implies that skilled employees shop around for alternative employment opportunities and quit their jobs when a better opportunity arises. The quit rate among skilled employees in the private sector is much higher than the quit rate among skilled employees in the public sector. The reverse is true for the lay-off rate, and together this suggests that the private sector has difficulties maintaining its skilled labor. The private sector might try to improve its capacity to retain skilled employees by increasing wages, but the wage sensitivity parameters estimated in this paper suggest that this is not going to work – skilled employees in the private sector do not seem to reduce their on-the-job search in response to higher wages.
Topic:
Development, Employment, Mobility, and Labor Market
Political Geography:
South America and Bolivia

3936. A Socioeconomic Evaluation of Alternative Development in the Tropics of Cochabamba, Bolivia: Findings, Observations and Policy Recommendations

Author:
Maggie Ball, Ramón Escóbar, Steven Grin, and Leslie MacKeen
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
The coca plant, from which the narcotic cocaine is derived, has been at the core of a destabilizing and often violent national debate in Bolivia for more than two decades. Between July and September 2005, a Columbia University research team conducted an evaluation of the Bolivian government’s Alternative Development programs in the Tropics of Cochabamba. The team’s fi ndings reveal that Alternative Development, which aims to eliminate coca production, has inadequately planned and developed viable markets for alternative goods, and has been implemented in a divisive manner that has provoked further tensions in this unstable region. This paper provides specifi c policy recommendations that aim to address defi ciencies in the current Alternative Development agenda and offer concrete suggestions for future development programs in the Tropics of Cochabamba.
Topic:
Development, Socioeconomics, and Destabilization
Political Geography:
South America and Bolivia

3937. Turning Pirates Into Proprietors: How and Why to Make Software Intellectual Property Work in Developing Countries

Author:
Steven Yarger
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
Intellectual property (IP) assets are of paramount importance in the developed world. Yet the regulations used to protect these assets artifi cially limit their application in developing countries that could benefi t from the ideas these assets utilize. In the software industry, and because of distinct characteristics of software IP, this paper offers a solution that shares the value of these assets among various parties to improve outcomes for all. Through a partnership between local government and software IP owners, the labor enhancing benefi ts of software can be spread throughout the developing world legally and effi ciently
Topic:
Development, Intellectual Property/Copyright, Regulation, and Software
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3938. Stadium Architecture and regional economic development: International experience and the plans of Durban

Author:
Wolfgang Maennig
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
For the FIFA World Cup 2010, South Africa plans to invest heavily. The positive economic effects that the country is hoping for stand in contrast to almost all statistical ex-post studies. This contribution emphasises that these results, usually from research under-taken in the USA, can only be generalised to a limited degree. The density of sports venues in developed countries is so high, that the marginal effects of new stadia are necessarily limited. We also emphasise that stadium design around the world was not hitherto adequately targeted towards positive economic effects. The example of Durban and its plans for a new “iconic” stadium is used to illustrate fundamental principles of stadium design and their embedding in a re-urbanisation process that have to be undertaken in order to consciously achieve positive regional economic effects.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Sports, Architecture, World Cup, Regional Economy, and Soccer
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, and Global Focus

3939. Derechos Humanos y Gobernabilidad Democrática. Oportunidades para la Cooperación Canadiense en el Perú

Author:
Carmela Chávez Irigoyen
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University (ISID)
Abstract:
Recientemente, Canadá ha anunciado que el Perú se encuentra entre los 20 países en los cuales va a enfocar su ayuda al desarrollo. Se contará con mayores recursos financieros y humanos y se continuará trabajando para un mayor enfoque programático y geográfico orientándolo a lograr una mayor efectividad de la ayuda en respuesta a los principios de la Declaración de París. Así mismo ACDI ha priorizado un enfoque de derechos humanos en el campo de la governanza del sector de industrias extractivas y continuar con los programas de mejoramiento de la calidad en la educación formal, con énfasis en educación intercultural. Así mismo, continuará siendo un importante donante para el fortalecimiento de la Defensoría del Pueblo.
Topic:
Development, Human Rights, Governance, and Democracy
Political Geography:
South America and Peru

3940. The Failure of Debt-Based Development: Lessons From Argentina

Author:
Eugenio Andrea Bruno
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
In this article I discuss the lessons one can learn from Argentina’s recent debt restructuring and the possible rules and practices of future restructurings. But I will also briefly describe the long and extremely problematic Argentine debt history, which started in 1824, to show the failure of the debt-based economic development model. I conclude that, regardless of any pyrrhic victory obtained from the restructuring process and the willingness of the international financial markets to lend new money, Argentina should not incur additional public debt.
Topic:
Debt, Development, Economics, and Debt Restructuring
Political Geography:
Argentina and South America