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71. Who will feed the World? The production challenge

Author:
Lucia Wegner and Gine Zwart
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Against a background of increasing food insecurity, agriculture in developing countries must undergo a significant transformation in order to increase production and respond to climate change. It is estimated that feeding 8.2 billion people – an additional 1.4 billion – in 2030 would require raising overall food production by some 50 per cent between 2005/07 and 2030. Feeding a larger urban population in a context of increasing scarcity of land and water, while also adopting more sustainable production methods, is a daunting challenge. In Africa, where it is predicted that population levels will double during the same period, the challenge will be even more acute.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Poverty, Science and Technology, Food, and Famine
Political Geography:
Africa

72. Exploring Food Price Scenarios Towards 2030 With a Global Multi-Region Model

Author:
Dirk Willenbockel
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This report is a contribution to the Oxfam report: 'Growing a Better Future'. It explores a range of scenarios for food price increases to 2030 through the GLOBE model. Over and above providing a global perspective, the research provides disaggregated results for a range of countries and country groups identified by Oxfam.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Economics, Poverty, and Food
Political Geography:
Africa

73. Time's Bitter Flood: Trends in the number of reported natural disasters

Author:
Steve Jennings
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This report analyses the number of reported disasters in those regions where the majority of the world's poor and vulnerable people live: sub-Saharan Africa, South and South-East Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. It presents analysis of the trends in the number of reported disasters, assesses what country-level factors influence the reported number of disasters, and compares the findings with independent published studies.
Topic:
Poverty and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Africa, South Asia, and Caribbean

74. Optimizing Africa's Security Force Structures

Author:
Helmoed Heitman
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
There is much happening in Africa that is positive— economically, socially, and politically. But a large share of the continent remains fragile, putting those gains at risk. The most pressing challenges facing many African states are paramilitary threats— threats that are beyond the ability of most police forces and frequently transcend national borders. Organized crime, rural banditry, piracy, local warlords, guerrillas, ethnic and religious violence, and extremist Islamist groups are just a few of an array of such threats.
Topic:
Security, Political Violence, Crime, Ethnic Conflict, Poverty, Insurgency, and Piracy
Political Geography:
Africa

75. Why and how least developed countries can receive more FDI to meet their development goals

Author:
Ken Davies
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
The 48 least-developed countries (LDCs), most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and a few in Asia, need foreign direct investment (FDI) to help meet their development targets. The FDI they now receive, although inadequate, is enough to demonstrate that investors see potential in them. It is therefore realistic for LDCs to seek more FDI, but they need to enhance their investment environments to attract it in the much greater quantities required. Donors can help by targeting official development assistance (ODA) on investment in human capital and supporting governance improvements. Meanwhile, LDCs should establish effective investment promotion agencies (IPAs).
Topic:
Development, Economics, Poverty, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Africa and Asia

76. Elections in Africa: Mixed Blessings for Growth and Poverty Alleviation

Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Good governance and free elections are often described as preconditions for growth and poverty alleviation. But recent research tells a different story. Although elections motivate political elites to be responsive to popular demands the effects are ambiguous. This has implications for how donors should support policy initiatives in the productive sectors.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Africa

77. Why Did Abolishing Fees Not Increase Public School Enrollment in Kenya?

Author:
Tessa Bold, Mwangi Kimenyi, Germano Mwabu, and Justin Sandefur
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
A large empirical literature has shown that user fees signicantly deter public service utilization in developing countries. While most of these results reflect partial equilibrium analysis, we find that the nationwide abolition of public school fees in Kenya in 2003 led to no increase in net public enrollment rates, but rather a dramatic shift toward private schooling. Results suggest this divergence between partial- and general-equilibrium effects is partially explained by social interactions: the entry of poorer pupils into free education contributed to the exit of their more affluent peers.
Topic:
Education, Government, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

78. Stress-Testing South Africa: The Tenuous Foundations of One of Africa's Stable States

Author:
Assis Malaquias
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy in 1994 was expected to usher in a new era of peace, stability, and accelerated development. However, despite widespread optimism, political violence has persisted. Although a fraction of that experienced under apartheid, levels of political violence are worsening and indicative of the country's potential fragility. They also map out the fault lines along which South Africa may yet stumble.
Topic:
Political Violence, Apartheid, Democratization, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Africa

79. Pro-poor Growth through Export Sector Support: What Works Where and Why

Author:
Peter Gibbon and Henrik Nielsen
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This report reviews international experiences with pro-poor development assistance to export sectors. Such support has become more common in the last decade and a half, following the emergence of widespread consensus amongst policymakers that export growth can be a key poverty reduction mechanism – since it should increase both national income and formal employment. This contributes to poverty reduction directly through increased employment and indirectly through creating additional resources for governments to pursue pro-poor policies. Nevertheless, policymakers normally also agree that some types of export growth are more (potentially) pro-poor than others, especially but not only in their employment effects. It is initiatives to respond to this challenge that will be treated in this report.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, Poverty, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Africa

80. Perceptions of (Micro)Insurance in Southern Ghana: The Role of Information and Peer Effects

Author:
Lena Giesbert and Susan Steiner
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This article investigates the understandings and perceptions of (micro)insurance among low income people in southern Ghana, using evidence from four focus group discussions. It analyzes how the focus group participants think about various types of insurance – among them a micro life insurance product – and how their negative and/or positive evaluations have come about. The evidence indicates that (micro)insurance is mostly positively perceived by the participants of the focus group discussions. However, it is also found that many people's image of insurance is based on incomplete (and sometimes erroneous) information, or even on intuition. In addition, the experiences or opinions of peers turn out to be critical in shaping an individual's perception of insurance. These two factors potentially have a contagious effect, which can lead to unreasonably positive or overly negative ideas about (micro )insurance. Such ideas, in turn, can become detrimental to the further distribution of microinsurance.
Topic:
Health, Political Economy, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana