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1442. Development Cooperation after War and Violent Conflict: Debates and Challenges
- Author:
- Sabine Kurtenbach and Matthias Seifert
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Development and Peace
- Abstract:
- The report asks for the determining factors and specific challenges of development cooperation after war and violent conflict. Based on an extensive review of current literature, the report identifies six issue areas relevant to development cooperation. Furthermore, relevant actors and policies of select donors are analyzed. The report concludes that many links between the different issue areas in post-conflict/post-war situations have not been analyzed thoroughly enough and thus recommends further research.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Development, War, and Foreign Aid
1443. Reconstructing Haiti
- Author:
- Aimee Ansari
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- All actors should ensure that the people of Haiti have a central role in the process of reconstruction and that reconstruction is equitable. Those delivering assistance on the ground should immediately work to coordinate within the UN established system and with the Haitian government The UN and the US government are trying to ensure that there is adequate fuel to support the relief effort. Fuel supply will remain a concern for humanitarian agencies in the near term. In consultation with NGOs, the UN should establish a system to determine who receives fuel, for what purposes and in what priority. The Haitian government, UN and international military actors must work together to improve the security situation, pre-empting a potential deterioration of the situation, with increased patrols, transparency in operations and clear conjoined rules of engagement and chain of command. Protection, particularly for women and children, should be mainstreamed into the design of all programmes, including any camps for affected people or expansion of patrols, in consultation with affected people and local civil society. The government, UN, donors and other actors must ensure that efforts to restore and improve public services, infrastructure and economic activity prioritise poorer communities. In a socially divided society such as Haiti, there is a real danger that the better off and politically influential will secure their needs first. It is not too early to lay a new foundation for Haiti's reconstruction and development with complete debt forgiveness, aid in the form of grants not loans and a “pro-poor” approach that prioritises livelihoods and sustainable development led by Haitians from the start.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Development, and Disaster Relief
- Political Geography:
- United States and United Nations
1444. Rescuing Education for All: How reform of the Fast Track Initiative should lead to a Global Fund for Education
- Author:
- Katie Malouf Bous
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- The first decade of our new millennium was poised to go down in history as a hopeful turning point for the world's children. Remarkable progress was being forged across the developing world, spurred by a new global commitment to the Education For All (EFA) goals. These goals were answered by substantial increases in aid during the first half of the decade, extensive debt relief, and a growing political commitment to education in developing countries. The EFA Fast Track Initiative was also establ ished in 2002 as a global partnership to support national efforts to reach universal primary education.
- Topic:
- Development, Education, Globalization, and Financial Crisis
1445. Behind the Curtain: Assessing the Case for National Curriculum Standards
- Author:
- Neal McCluskey
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The argument for national curriculum standards sounds simple: set high standards, make all schools meet them, and watch American students achieve at high levels. It is straightforward and compelling, and it is driving a sea change in American education policy.
- Topic:
- Development, Education, and Culture
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
1446. Globalization: Curse or Cure? Policies to Harness Global Economic Integration to Solve Our Economic Challenge
- Author:
- Jagadeesh Gokhale
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Globalization holds tremendous promise to improve human welfare but can also cause conflicts and crises as witnessed during 2007–09. How will competition for resources, employment, and growth shape economic policies among developed nations as they attempt to maintain productivity growth, social protections, and extensive political and cultural freedoms?
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
1447. Technologies, Rules, and Progress: The Case for Charter Cities
- Author:
- Paul Romer
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Non-resident fellow Paul Romer argues that the principal constraint to raising living standards in this century will come neither from scarce resources nor limited technologies. Rather it will come from our limited capacity to discover and implement new rules—new ideas about how to structure interactions among people, such as land titles, patents, and social norms. The central task of reducing global poverty is to find ways for developing countries to adopt new rules that are known to work better than the ones they have. Economists who advise leaders on policy have often overlooked why some good rules get adopted and others do not. But a better understanding of rules-that-change-rules could lead to breakthrough thinking about development policy. The special rules of China's Special Economic Zones, where new cities like Shenzhen could grow up, created small laboratories through which rules from Hong Kong spread to the mainland, helping unleash the largest and fastest reduction of poverty on record. Romer concludes that a new type of development policy would be to voluntarily charter new cities for the purpose of changing rules, using a range of new legal and political structures analogous to the ones that made Hong Kong and Shenzhen possible. The essay is adapted from a talk presented in Mexico City on October 2009, at the conference, “Challenges and Strategies for Promoting Economic Growth,” organized by Banco de México.
- Topic:
- Development, Poverty, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, Mexico, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen
1448. The Economics of Adaptation to Extreme Weather Events in Developing Countries
- Author:
- David Wheeler, Susmita Dasgupta, Benoit Laplante, and Brian Blankespoor
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Without international assistance, developing countries will adapt to climate change as best they can. Part of the cost will be absorbed by households and part by the public sector. Adaptation costs will themselves be affected by socioeconomic development, which will also be affected by climate change. Without a better understanding of these interactions, it will be difficult for climate negotiators and donor institutions to determine the appropriate levels and modes of adaptation assistance. This paper contributes by assessing the economics of adaptation to extreme weather events. We address several questions that are relevant for the international discussion: How will climate change alter the incidence of these events, and how will their impact be distributed geographically? How will future socioeconomic development, notably an increased focus on education and empowerment for women and girls, affect the vulnerability of affected communities? And, of primary interest to negotiators and donors, how much would it cost to neutralize the threat of additional losses in this context?
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Third World, and Foreign Aid
1449. Peace-Building without External Assistance: Lessons from Somaliland
- Author:
- Nicholas Eubank
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Since its secession from Somalia in 1991, the east-African nation of Somaliland has become one of the most democratic governments in eastern Africa. Yet Somaliland has never been recognized by the international community. This paper examines how this lack of recognition—and the consequent ineligibility for foreign financial assistance—has shaped Somaliland's political development. It finds evidence that Somaliland's ineligibility for foreign aid facilitated the development of accountable political institutions and contributed to the willingness of Somalilanders to engage constructively in the state-building process.
- Topic:
- Development and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Somalia
1450. Who Are the MDG Trailblazers? A New MDG Progress Index
- Author:
- Benjamin Lee and Julia Barmeier
- Publication Date:
- 08-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- In September, world leaders will assemble in New York to review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Ahead of the ensuing discussions, we examine how individual countries are faring towards achieving the highly ambitious MDG targets. We outline a new MDG Progress Index, which compares country performance against the core MDG targets on poverty, hunger, gender equality, education, child mortality, health, and water. Overall, we find evidence of dramatic achievements by many poor countries such as Honduras, Laos, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Nepal, Cambodia, and Ghana. In fact, these countries' performance suggests that they may achieve most of the highly ambitious MDGs. Moreover, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for many of the star MDG performers. Interestingly, poor countries perform nearly on par with middle-income countries. Not surprisingly, the list of laggards largely consists of countries devastated by conflict over the last few decades, such as Afghanistan, Burundi, the DRC, and Guinea-Bissau. Most countries fall somewhere in between, demonstrating solid progress on some indicators and little on others.
- Topic:
- Development, Human Welfare, Poverty, Third World, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Uganda, Africa, New York, Cambodia, Nepal, United Nations, and Ethiopia