Search

Begin New Search Topic Economic Development

61. The Developmental State in the 21st Century: Calling for a New Social Contract

Author:
Giulio Regeni and Georgeta Vidican Auktor
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
German Development Institute (DIE)
Abstract:
The ‘developmental state’ is a highly debated notion in development literature, having evolved from the extraordinary experience of late industrialising countries in East Asia. In this Discussion Paper we join a growing number of scholars to argue that changing global conditions call for a revitalisation of the debate on the role of the state in social and economic transformation in the 21st century. We focus on three main global challenges for economic development in the 21st century: climate change and environmental degradation; increased digitalisation (the increasingly ‘bit-driven’ economy); and changed policy space for individual states as a result of globalisation. These evolve simultaneously and reinforce each other. We argue that the global context calls for a change in the social contract that underpins structural economic transformation, by placing a stronger emphasis on cultivating inclusive state-society relations oriented towards promoting economic growth within planetary boundaries. Such emphasis is, in our view, currently under-represented in the emerging literature on a developmental state in the 21st century. For this reason, we consider it relevant not only to elaborate on the historical conditions that shaped the role of the state in industrial policy in late industrialising countries, but also on current challenges that call for a changing perspective on the role of the state in emerging and developing countries.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Environment, Globalization, State, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus

62. LEBANON IS BECOMING A NEW OIL AND GAS PRODUCER UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYES OF ITS CIVIL SOCIETY

Author:
Laury Haytayan
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternative Politics
Institution:
Department of International Relations, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
Abstract:
This short article is an overview of the recent oil and gas developments in Lebanon with a focus on the role of civil society in holding the decision makers accountable. From one side, it highlights the governance challenges and political uncertainties facing Lebanon. Corruption, ineffective oversight bodies and political deadlocks are some of the many challenges facing the country. From the other side, it puts emphasis on the role of civil society as the alternative oversight body capable of overseeing the management of the sector. A strong and informed civil society has a role in taking a seat on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) multi-stakeholder group, in assisting the government in formulating policies and in informing the citizens about the many complex issues related to the oil and gas sector in the country.
Topic:
Civil Society, Oil, Gas, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Middle East, Lebanon, and Beirut

63. Trade under Attack And Necessary Remedies for Dislocation from Economic Change

Author:
Research and Policy Committee of the Committee for Economic Development
Publication Date:
08-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Conference Board
Abstract:
Research shows that engaging in global trade increases economic prosperity. Policymakers should aid U.S. workers adversely impacted by global trade instead of working to protect U.S. jobs. Trade Under Attack details trade’s immense contribution to the U.S. economy and warns that America risks forfeiting its leadership position if it retreats from trade.
Topic:
Leadership, Trade, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

64. The North Korean Economic System: Challenges and Issues

Author:
Bradley O. Babson
Publication Date:
04-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:
International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:
The North Korean economic system is the product of a variety of influences that have shaped its evolution. To understand this system and its challenges today, it is necessary to appreciate North Korea’s unique history and dynamics of change, both internally and externally. These factors have shaped national economic policies and behavior of state and non-state actors in ways that are different than has been the case in other transition economies following the collapse of the Soviet Union. This paper reviews the evolution of the North Korean economic system under the terms of its three leaders; assesses the impacts of recent developments on the system, including UN Security Council Resolution 2270, closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, and Seventh Party Congress; and discusses the fundamental challenges facing the economic system today and implications for future engagement policies by the international community. Despite its isolation and many difficult challenges, the North Korean economic system has proven more resilient and adaptive to changing circumstances than many outside observers have expected. A clearer understanding of the limits and opportunities for international economic engagement with North Korea should be a consideration in strategies to address the long-standing security challenges that North Korea poses to its neighbors and the world.
Topic:
Sanctions, Reform, Economic structure, Economic Development, and Engagement
Political Geography:
East Asia and North Korea

65. Starting strong Implementation of the social SDGs in Latin America

Author:
Gala Díaz Langou and José Florito
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for the Implementation of Public Policies for Equity and Growth (CIPPEC)
Abstract:
Despite significant progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, Latin America remains one of the most unequal regions of the world with many of the most vulnerable groups being left behind. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) propose not only the eradication of poverty by 2030, but also a reduction in these high levels of inequality.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Sustainable Development Goals, Green Technology, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Argentina and Latin America

66. Building Capacity for Domestic Resource Mobilization: The Role of Development Partners

Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
Africa’s ability to deliver on the ambitious post-2015 Agenda (also called the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals) and the African Union Agenda 2063 largely depends on the availability of adequate financial resources. But the funding sources for development programs have been neither stable nor predictable, particularly after the global financial crisis in 2008. It has become clear that while donor financing remains important, overreliance on donor funding will not sustainably drive the success of the two continental agendas, hence the need to focus on other development finance options such as domestic resource mobilization.1 If new sources of financing are not in place, Africa’s growth and industrialization strategies are likely to suffer an early setback. Agenda 2063 recommends that countries strengthen domestic resource mobilization, build continental capital markets and financial institutions, and reverse illicit financial flows for Africa to be self-reliant and finance its own development.
Topic:
Development, Natural Resources, Economic growth, Capacity, Economic Development, and Human Resources
Political Geography:
Africa

67. Sustainability Issues in the Cameroon Banana Supply Chain

Author:
Kingsly Awang Ollong
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
Banana cultivation has long been a key aspect of agricultural development in Cameroon, actually taking advantage of this incentive impetus created for agricultural development. In the late 1970s, the Office Camerounaise de Banane (OCB), a state parastatal was put in place to regulate the banana industry in Cameroon. It received the mandate to organize the marketing chain of Cameroonian bananas (UNECA 1981). To better realize this mission assigned to her by the State, OCB was endowed with financial autonomy guaranteed through the allocation of public subsidies, ensuring the channeling of production, supervision of producers and access to credit and agricultural inputs to operators in the banana sector in Cameroon. The attractive and enticing prospects of a booming banana market and opportunities for land acquisition in a banana field that was seen as terra nullius aroused the interest of many international operators for the Cameroon banana sector. Until 1988 the banana sector in Cameroon was organized around coexistence between food crops and industrial cultivation. Since 1988, the organization of the productive system changed with the dissolution of the OCB in 1993—effectively signaling the end of small banana farms (Anania 2014, 173). Consequently, the field was left free to banana agribusiness consisting of giant multinational corporations. Under the impetus of these large industrial groups, Cameroon’s banana industry experienced tremendous growth. Thus, the industry pointed to the first largest export crops in Cameroon, imposing itself as a crucial economic activity (Atanga 2006)
Topic:
Agriculture, Natural Resources, Economic Development, and Supply Chains
Political Geography:
Africa and Cameroon

68. Moving Towards More Socially-Connected Educational Systems: From Theory to Practice

Author:
Maxime Honigmann
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Education has long been viewed as a key component in the empowerment of individuals, communities, and nations alike. Study after study has highlighted how improvements in educational systems can lead to lasting development benefits, including decreased poverty, improved gender parities, and all-around better economic opportunities. Schooling can act as a societal equalizer, giving disadvantaged individuals the chance to improve their socioeconomic standing and end up better off than their predecessors. Education promotes self-determination on individual and collective levels, and as such is deeply intertwined with an individual’s empowerment, self-respect, and respect for their community (Khisty 2006, 438). Depending on how they are oriented, educational systems may support or subdue the identities of individuals and groups, with the identities of disadvantaged or minority groups particularly at risk of suppression. If incorrectly or insufficiently addressed by educational policies, the physical and socioeconomic differences of disadvantaged or minority groups can percolate through the educational process in a way that can add to pre-exiting disparities. When the performance standards of educational systems do not properly take these differences into account and concentrate resources on higher achieving groups early on, they create otherwise-avoidable learning gaps, which in the long-run contribute to isolating conditions such as higher instances of poverty (Kenny et al. 2002; Peters and Oliver 2009; Botezat 2016). For example, an analysis of household surveys from thirteen countries found that the well-noted link between disability and poverty in adulthood was negated when educational attainment was controlled for (Filmer 2008, 150).
Topic:
Education, Poverty, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus

69. Economic Policy Reforms in South Asia: An Overview and the Remaining Agenda

Author:
Pradumna B. Rana and Wai-Mun Chia
Publication Date:
03-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
In the past few years, the pace of economic growth in South Asia has slowed considerably for two reasons: unfavourable global economic environment and the slowing pace of economic reforms that once were the key drivers of the region’s dynamic economic performance and resilience. This paper focuses on the latter and following Rana (2011) and Rana and Hamid (1995), it argues that South Asian countries have not sequenced their reforms properly. The first round of reforms in South Asia that began in the 1980s and the early 1990s focused on macroeconomic reforms — monetary, fiscal, and exchange rate management, as well as reducing rigid government controls — which led to private sector driven economic growth. These should have been followed by the more microeconomic reforms — sectoral and the so-called “second generation” reforms to strengthen governance and institutions — to sustain the higher growth levels. But they were not and reforms ran out of steam because of, among others, lack of law and order, and corruption in the public sector. This paper finds a significant “governance gap” in South Asia that refers to how South Asia lags behind East Asia in terms of various governance indicators and how within South Asia some countries are ahead of others. The paper argues that in order to revive economic growth, South Asian countries must implement microeconomic reforms: it identifies the remaining policy agenda for each South Asian country. However, implementation of microeconomic reforms poses a difficult challenge as they require a wider consensus and political support and have a longer term focus. The recent election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India with a strong mandate for economic reform provides an environment of “cautious optimism” for all of South Asia.
Topic:
Governance, Reform, Global Political Economy, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Asia

70. Rwanda: Progress or Powder Keg?

Author:
Filip Reyntjens
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Democracy
Institution:
National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:
While post-genocide Rwanda’s decent technocratic governance has led to strong economic recovery and good public service provision, its political governance is deeply flawed and may destroy these achievements. The ruling RPF has solidly established hegemony by eliminating the political opposition and autonomous civil society, massively violating human rights, and killing well over hundred thousand of its own citizens, abusing the legal and justice systems, and deploying skillful information management. This article addresses the way in which this hegemonic project was conducted, how this relates to regime achievements in the economic sphere, and how tradeoffs between political and technocratic governance have kept the international community at bay.
Topic:
Civil Society, Governance, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Africa and Rwanda