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12. Migration and Disaster-Induced Displacement: European Policy, Practice, and Perspective
- Author:
- Michael D. Cooper
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- Over the last decade, a series of devastating natural disasters have killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions, and decimated the built environment across wide regions, shocking the public imagination and garnering unprecedented financial support for humanitarian relief efforts. Some suggest that disaster migration must be supported by the international community, first as an adaption strategy in response to climate-change, and second, as a matter of international protection.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Environment, Humanitarian Aid, and Natural Disasters
- Political Geography:
- Europe
13. An Index of the Quality of Official Development Assistance in Health
- Author:
- Amanda Glassman and Denizhan Duran
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- Health is one of the largest and most complex aid sectors: 16 percent of all aid went to the health sector in 2009. While many stress the importance of aid effectiveness, there are limited quantitative analyses of the quality of health aid. In this paper, we apply Birdsall and Kharas's Quality of Official Development Assistance (QuODA) methodology to rank donors across 23 indicators of aid effectiveness in health. We present our results, track progress from 2008 to 2009, compare health to overall aid, discuss our limitations, and call for more transparent and relevant aid data in the sector level as well as the need to focus on impact and results.
- Topic:
- Development, Health, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and Foreign Aid
14. The Quality of Official Development Assistance Assessment 2009: Is Aid Quality Improving?
- Author:
- Nancy Birdsall, Homi Kharas, and Rita Perakis
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- This report presents the results of the second edition of the Quality of Official Development Assistance (QuODA) assessment, with a focus on the changes that have occurred in donor performance since the first edition. These results were released in summary form in November, 2011, just before the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Economics, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- South Korea
15. Haiti: Where Has All the Money Gone?
- Author:
- Vijaya Ramachandran and Julie Walz
- Publication Date:
- 05-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- Since the 2010 earthquake, almost $6 billion has been disbursed in official aid to Haiti, a country with a population of just under 10 million. An estimated $3 billion has been donated to NGOs in private contributions in addition to official aid. The United States Government alone has disbursed almost $2 billion of this total amount and has pledged over $3 billion for relief and reconstruction.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Humanitarian Aid, Non-Governmental Organization, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- United States, Caribbean, and Haiti
16. West African Experience with the World Rice Crisis, 2007–2008
- Author:
- Vijaya Ramachandran, Peter Timmer, Steven Block, and Jenny C. Aker
- Publication Date:
- 02-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- Rice production in Africa has tended to be low-yielding, geographically dispersed, and uncompetitive against low-cost Asian imports, even when protected by high freight costs and substantial trade barriers. Skyrocketing prices in world markets in 2007—08 were a shock to African consumers, producers, and governments alike. When international rice prices were relatively low, rice imports did not pose economic or political problems for West African governments. Extremely expensive imports reverse that equation. This paper addresses the response to that reversal first by presenting a historical review of trends in the West African rice sector and, second, by assessing the effect of world rice prices on domestic prices, primarily at the consumer level.
- Topic:
- Humanitarian Aid and Food
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Asia
17. TrAid+ Channeling Development Assistance to Results
- Author:
- Alex Ergo and Ingo Puhl
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- Development assistance is meant to improve the lives of poor people in developing countries, but the effectiveness of aid in meeting this goal is uncertain. Demonstrating failure—or success—is difficult because traditional donor financing mechanisms track inputs, not results. This is compounded by poor coordination between actors and a lack of transparency, accountability, and country ownership. Development assistance that is ineffective or has unknown outcomes wastes resources, erodes the constituency for aid, and most importantly fails to improve the lives of poor people as much as it could. TrAid+ is a new mechanism that aims to address these problems by creating a market for certified development outputs—outputs for which both the delivery and the quality have been verified. By ensuring that these outputs, such as safe deliveries or gas connections, meet certain standards, trAid+ acts as a third-party stamp of approval that donors, tax payers, recipient-country governments, service providers, and beneficiaries can trust to know that their aid is being used effectively and is contributing to the development objectives of the recipient country. And trAid+ makes all information accessible online, making it easier for funders to link with projects that are working and projects that are working to link with anyone interested in purchasing certified development outputs. TrAid+ can be tailored to any sector where outputs can be clearly defined and measured, whether health, education, infrastructure, or agriculture. This paper describes the trAid+ concept in detail and proposes practical steps to establish the trAid+ platform.
- Topic:
- Development, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
18. Beyond Aid: Migration as a Tool for Disaster Recovery
- Author:
- Michael Clemens and Kaci Farrell
- Publication Date:
- 06-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes can devastate people's lives and a country's economy, particularly in the developing world. More than 200,000 people perished when a catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, and Americans responded with an outpouring of private and public assistance. Those relief efforts, as they nearly always do, focused primarily on delivering aid. The United States barely used another tool for disaster relief: migration policy. This policy brief explores the various legal channels through which the U.S. government could, after future overseas disasters, leverage the power of migration to help limited numbers of people. We describe what could have been done for Haiti, but the lessons apply to future scenarios.
- Topic:
- Humanitarian Aid, Migration, Natural Disasters, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- United States
19. Migration as a Tool for Disaster Recovery: A Case Study on U.S. Policy Options for Post-Earthquake Haiti
- Author:
- Royce Bernstein Murray and Sarah Petrin Williamson
- Publication Date:
- 06-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- After a natural catastrophe in a developing country, international migration can play a critical role in recovery. But the United States has no systematic means to leverage the power and cost-effectiveness of international migration in its post-disaster assistance portfolios. Victims of natural disasters do not qualify as refugees under U.S. or international law, and migration policy toward those fleeing disasters is set in a way that is haphazard and tightly constrained. This paper comprehensively explores the legal means by which this could change, allowing the government more flexibility to take advantage of migration policy as one inexpensive tool among many tools for post-disaster assistance. It explores both the potential for administrative actions under current law and the potential for small changes to current law. For concreteness, it focuses on the case of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, but its policy lessons apply to future disasters that are sadly certain to arrive. The paper neither discusses nor recommends "opening the gates" to all disaster victims, just as current U.S. refugee law does not open the gates to all victims of persecution, but rather seeks to identify those most in need of protection and provide a legal channel for entry and integration into American life.
- Topic:
- Humanitarian Aid, Migration, Natural Disasters, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- United States
20. New SME Financial Access Initiatives: Private Foundations' Path to Donor Partnerships
- Author:
- Benjamin Leo
- Publication Date:
- 06-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- In recent years, a number of private foundations and organizations have launched ambitious initiatives to support promising entrepreneurs in developing countries, on both a for-profit and not-for-profit basis. Many of these programs have focused exclusively on building business capacity. While these tailored programs play an important role in supporting small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development, their overall effectiveness remains hamstrung in part by continuing constraints on entrepreneurs' access to expansion and operating capital. Simultaneously, the U.S. government, other bilateral donors, and international financial institutions (IFIs) have launched a series of initiatives that provide both financial and technical assistance to SMEs in developing countries. Surprisingly, collaboration or formalized partnerships between private foundations and donor agencies has been somewhat limited-particularly on a strategic or globalized basis. This paper is targeted for these private foundations, especially those focused on women entrepreneurship. First, it provides a brief literature review of the rationale for and against SME initiatives. Second, it presents an overview of existing targeted USG and IFI programs. Lastly, it offers several new, incremental options for private foundations to establish focused partnerships with donor agencies in support of their ongoing organizational goals.
- Topic:
- Development, Humanitarian Aid, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- United States