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1. The Human Right to Development and Global Partnerships

Author:
Sakiko Fukuda- Parr
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
This statement discusses the role of economic theory and global economic policies in articulating the Right to Development (RtD). RtD is unique in focusing attention to the extra-territorial aspects of rights; where state action impinges on the rights of people outside its national boundaries, and where people have claims on states other than their own. In particular, the statement argues for the importance of global economic policy, focusing on four main points: (i) the development economics basis for the RtD and for defining obligations under this right; (ii) economic policies and other public policies as the principal means for implementing the RtD ;(iii) a priority agenda for collective international responsibilities; and (iv) mobilizing civil society to move the RtD forward.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Economics, Globalization, and Human Rights

2. Constrained Autonomy and the Developmental State: From Successful Developmentalism to Catastrophic Failure

Author:
Jamee K. Moudud
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
As many authors have argued, the state has played a central role in capitalist development, both in developing and developed countries. The question is why have some states been more successful than others in promoting economic development? In this paper I propose a theoretical agenda to investigate the factors that have made some states more successful than others. I suggest that a complex set of historical, sociological, and political factors shape state formation and a country\'s international competitiveness; further international competitiveness itself shapes the ability to foster economic development. I argue that these factors determine the ways in which states and economies co - evolve. Additionally, since countries are embedded in a global system, an investigation of this co - evolution requires a very different theory of industrial organization and thus of international competition. Thus the state confronts a constrained autonomy in being able to obtain taxation revenue and foreign exchange so as to finance important developmental needs. Finally I conclude that the rationale for “bringing the state back in” has to not only critically examine the notion of “state failure” but also has to reject the notion of “market failure”.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment

3. Social Inclusion in Mumbai: Economics Matters Too

Author:
Robert M. Buckley
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
This paper questions the accuracy and validity of the criticisms made by Ananya Roy on the approach of a Mumbai based NGO, the Society to Promote Area Resource Centers (SPARC) and its partner grassroots federations in Mumbai. This includes the suggestion that the focus on sanitation rather than on land tenure is an appeal to middle-class values about cleanliness and that the support for relocating those who lived right next to the railway tracks made them agents of the state. But SPARC's support for community toilets was in response to what grassroots organizations asked for and these also have high social returns. SPARC's support for resettlement for those living along the railway tracks was for those who were going to be moved and this support allowed those who were to be resettled to have far more influence on where, when and how the resettlement took place. Here too, the social returns from faster, safer trains meant costs saved that were more than the costs of providing good quality accommodation for those who had to move.
Topic:
Development and Social Stratification
Political Geography:
India, Asia, and Mumbai

4. The United States Military as an Agent of Development: Counterinsurgency Doctrine and Development Assistance

Author:
Carol Messineo
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
The United States' national security objectives emphasize preventing terrorism through economic and social development in fragile states. Helping to create economic prosperity and legitimate and politically accountable institutions of governance in weak states poses many complex challenges that the international development community and US civilian aid agencies have struggled to address. New US military counterinsurgency doctrine defines “Phase Zero” non - combat development activities as a core military mission equal in importance to that of its combat missions. The US military lacks the development expertise to effectively engage fragile states, as demonstrated by its record in Iraq. The result is a narrow, instrumental understanding of the relationship between security and development that ironically undermines, rather than strengthens, a coherent and effective strategy for dealing with failed states.
Topic:
Security, Development, Terrorism, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
United States

5. Security of Property Rights for Whom?

Author:
Terra Lawson-Remer
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
Although protecting the entitlements of some requires preventing others from claiming and controlling those same resources, much recent research regarding property rights and economic development treats the level of property rights security in a country as homogeneous. Widely used cross-national indices of institutional quality—initially designed to assess the property security of foreign investors—fail to consider marginalized groups. Using a new indicator that measures the property insecurity of ethno-cultural minorities, this article finds significant variation in the risk of expropriation faced by different groups in the same country. Findings also show that although secure property rights for elites ma y be positively related to development, aggregate long-run growth occurs in the presence of significant property insecurity for marginalized minorities.
Topic:
Security, Development, Economics, Human Rights, and Social Stratification

6. Child Budget Initiatives in Latin America

Author:
Alberto Minujin, Louise Moreira Daniels, and Javier Curcio
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
Children in Latin American (LA) countries were among the most vulnerable groups that suffered from the adjustment policies promoted by the “Washington Consensus” in the 1980s and 1990s. In that context, several organizations started initiatives to ensure and promote resources allocated by public budgets to children and women. This paper describes and analyzes the characteristics and main activities of such initiatives in a dozen LA countries, with in-depth analysis provided for three countries: Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador. A number of lessons are enumerated, which can serve as orientation for other regions, in particular for Africa.
Topic:
Development and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Africa, Washington, Brazil, Argentina, Latin America, and Ecuador

7. Vulnerability and Resilience of the Middle Class in Latin America

Author:
Alberto Minujin and Guillermina Comas
Publication Date:
02-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
This paper analyzes the vulnerability of the middle class in Latin America in face of the neo-liberal policies implemented in the region during recent decades and discusses possible policies and programs that promote the building and strengthening of democratic processes throughout the region. Changes in the Latin American middle class are examined. An important part of the middle class can be active participants in the process of building democracy and developing inclusive and equitable societies. This will require the implementation of policies and programs that promote the participation of the middle class in the public sphere.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, and Social Stratification
Political Geography:
Latin America

8. From Master Plans to Stimulus Packages: Reflections on Urban Assistance to Rich and Poor Countries

Author:
Michael Cohen
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
The intensive efforts of the World Bank and other urban lending programs focused on the immediate physical needs of housing and urban services rather than considering cities as sites of value creation, income generation, or productivity—an urbanization model of high urban population growth shaped this focus. Such urban planning and policy need to be considered in terms of its intention and how objectives implicitly and explicitly address the issue of context. Moreover, lessons of policy and program assistance practice should be reflected in urban lending program design; their evolution and use suggest the need for more attention to context.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Poverty, and Third World

9. Why the Code of Conduct for Resolving Sovereign Debt Crises Falls Short

Author:
Barry Herman
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
The Institute of International Finance, a bankers group, has promoted its “Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring” as a code of conduct for debtor governments and their private creditors to avoid and if necessary resolve sovereign defaults. Although drafted with Brazil, Korea, Mexico and Turkey, I argue this purely voluntary code is excessively creditor friendly. Instead, a more balanced code should be developed in a broad, open and politically legitimate forum, and be coupled with an international disciplining mechanism that pushes creditors and debtor to a negotiated outcome under the code. A suggested approach concludes the paper.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Turkey, Brazil, Korea, and Mexico

10. Are Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs) being implemented in national development strategies and aid programmes? A review of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and development cooperation policy statements

Author:
Sakiko Fukuda-Parr
Publication Date:
07-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
Never before has there existed a stronger global consensus on a global development agenda, defined in the Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs) that include specific, quantitative and time bound targets and incorporate the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Yet it is often noted that the IADG endorsements have lacked action due to inadequate 'ownership'. This paper explores this issue empirically by analyzing Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers of 22 developing countries and policy frameworks of 21 bilateral programs. The paper finds that there is a high degree of commitment to IADGs/MDGs as overall policy objectives but that action programs are selective. These policy instruments prioritize narrowed down MDG agenda of economic growth for reducing income poverty, social investments and good governance such as the rule of law, but many neglect the broader agenda of equity, pro-poor growth, employment, hunger, democratic governance and human rights principles. Links with national and donor policy processes can be strengthened by use in programming and evaluation processes. Security is not an MDG but a clear donor priority. Establishing quantitative targets for these goals, especially equity, democratic governance and security should be considered.
Topic:
Security, Development, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and Foreign Aid