Search

Begin New Search Topic Foreign Aid

211. Western Aid: The Missing Link for North Korea's Economic Revival?

Author:
Nicholas Eberstadt
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
As the leadership of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (hereafter DPRK, or North Korea) looks to the future, economic development figures centrally in its officially proclaimed agenda. This year, as it has done every year over the past decade, the government's joint New Year editorial stressed the imperative of economic construction, broadly outlining the sorts of improvements that are to be achieved over the remainder of the current calendar year, and intoned that "The present grand onward march for the improvement of the people's standard of living demands that a full-scale offensive be launched in the overall economic front." But economic growth and development has just taken on a whole new importance in North Korean policy, one that extends beyond rhetoric: this past January, for the first time in over two decades, Pyongyang has formally unveiled a new multi-year economic plan: a 10-year "strategy plan for economic development" under a newly formed State General Bureau for Economic Development. The new economic plan is intended not only to meet the DPRK's longstanding objective of becoming a "powerful and prosperous country" [Kangsong Taeguk] by 2012 (the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung), but also to promote North Korea to the ranks of the "advanced countries in 2020."
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Israel, South Korea, and North Korea

212. The European Union Training Mission in Somalia: Lessons Learnt for EU Security Sector Reform

Author:
Kseniya Oksamytna
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The European Union's mission to contribute to the training of the Somali Security Forces is the first military training mission launched by the EU. Deployed in April 2010, EUTM is nearing the end of its mandate: the training of the recruits will be completed by mid-July 2011. The mission was carried out in close coordination with the US, the African Union and the Ugandan army, and contributed to the EU's visibility in East Africa. However, given the overall feebleness of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and its inability to implement reform, the political effectiveness of the mission is doubtful. In the current context, EUTM should not be extended beyond its original mandate. The EU and other donors should instead support more functional local administrations and make future assistance to the TFG contingent upon tangible progress towards completing transitional tasks, a normalization of political life, and restoring the provision of public services.
Topic:
Security and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, United States, Europe, Somalia, and East Africa

213. President of the Republic of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga

Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
In the World Leaders Forum address titled, Kosovo\'s Road Ahead, President Atifete Jahjaga discusses the current state of the Republic of Kosovo and the plans for its future. Co-sponsored by The Harriman Institute.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Development, Economics, Ethnic Conflict, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Kosovo and Balkans

214. Regional Development Banks (ABCs of the IFIs Brief)

Author:
Jenny Ottenhoff
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
The regional development banks (RDBs) are multilateral financial institutions that provide financial and technical assistance for development in low- and middle-income countries within their regions. Finance is allocated through low-interest loans and grants for a range of development sectors such as health and education, infrastructure, public administration, financial and private-sector development, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management. The term RDB usually refers to four institutions:
Topic:
Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and Asia

215. International Finance Corporation (ABCs of the IFIs Brief)

Author:
Jenny Ottenhoff
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a multilateral financial institution that provides financial and technical assistance to the private sector in middle- and low- income countries. Unlike other international financial institutions, the IFC operates on a commercial basis and invests exclusively in for-profit projects that promote poverty reduction and development. Increasingly, the IFC is investing in the world's poorest countries and fragile states that have few private investors. IFC investments support a range of activities including agribusiness, manufacturing, health and education, microfinance programs, and infrastructure development.
Topic:
Development, Markets, Poverty, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment

216. International Monetary Fund (ABCs of the IFIs Brief)

Author:
Jenny Ottenhoff
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
The primary role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to promote stability of the international monetary system, the system of exchange rates and international payments that enables countries to transact with one another. To do so, the IMF provides financial assistance in the form of loans to help member countries address balance-of-payments problems, stabilize their economies, and restore sustainable economic growth. The IMF also carries out technical assistance and surveillance activities that help strengthen underlying economic fundamentals of member countries and the global financial systems at large.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Monetary Fund, Foreign Aid, and Financial Crisis

217. The ABCs of the General Capital Increase (ABCs of IFIs Brief)

Author:
Todd Moss, Sarah Jane Staats, and Julia Barmeier
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
The international financial institutions dramatically increased their lending in 2008–09 to help developing countries cope with the global financial crisis and support economic recovery. Today, these organizations are seeking billions of dollars in new funding. The IMF, which only a few years ago was losing clients and shedding staff, expanded by $750 billion in 2009. The World Bank and the four regional development banks for Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America have asked to increase their capital base by 30 to 200 percent. A general capital increase (GCI) for these development banks is an unusual request. A simultaneous GCI request is a oncein- a-generation occurrence.
Topic:
Development, Foreign Aid, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Ethiopia

218. World Bank (ABCs of the IFIs Brief)

Author:
Jenny Ottenhoff
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
The World Bank is a multilateral financial institution that provides financial and technical assistance for development in low- and middle-income countries. Finance is allocated through low-interest loans and grants for a range of development sectors such as health and education, infrastructure, public administration, financial and private-sector development, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management.
Topic:
Development, Education, Environment, Health, Foreign Aid, Infrastructure, and World Bank
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Indonesia, and India

219. Leadership Selection at the International Financial Institutions

Author:
Jenny Ottenhoff
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
The International Financial Institutions (IFIs) are multilateral agencies. The term typically refers to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which provides financing and policy advice to member nations experiencing economic difficulties, and the multilateral development banks (MDBs), which provide financing and technical support for development projects and economic reform in low- and middle-income countries. The term MDB is usually understood to mean the World Bank and four smaller regional development banks: African Development Bank (AfDB). Asian Development Bank (ADB). European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Monetary Fund, Foreign Aid, and World Bank
Political Geography:
Africa, America, Europe, and Asia

220. The Commander's Emergency Response Program in Afghanistan: Five Practical Recommendations

Author:
Vijaya Ramachandran, Gregory Johnson, and Julie Walz
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
The U.S. military has become substantially engaged in economic development and stabilization and will likely continue to carry out these activities in in-conflict zones for some time to come. Since FY2002, nearly $62 billion has been appropriated for relief and reconstruction in Afghanistan. The Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP), which provides funds for projects to address urgent reconstruction and relief efforts, is one component of the military's development operations. In this analysis, we take U.S. military involvement in development as a given and concentrate on providing recommendations for it to operate more efficiently and effectively. By doing so, we are not advocating that the U.S. military become involved in all types of development activities or that CERP be used more broadly; rather, our recommendations address the military's capacity to carry out what it is already doing in Afghanistan and other in-conflict situations.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Development, Economics, War, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and United States