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302. What Next for Mali? Four priorities for better governance in Mali
- Author:
- Nicolas Vercken and Surendrini Wijeyaratne
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- The 2013 elections helped to restore constitutional order in Mali and marked the start of a period of hope for peace, stability and development. The challenge is now to respond to the Malian people's desire for improved governance.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Development, Diplomacy, Gender Issues, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Africa
303. Afghanistan at a Crossroads: Recommendations for the UN Security Council on the 2014 UNAMA mandate
- Author:
- Steph Cousins and Liz Cameron
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- As Afghanistan prepares for Presidential elections and the withdrawal of international forces, insecurity is continuing to spread across the country with a devastating impact on civilians. UNAMA's role in advancing human rights, supporting humanitarian access and promoting peace and reconciliation efforts – particularly as they relate to the women, peace and security agenda in Afghanistan – must be strengthened in order to ensure the significant gains that have been made in the last decade are not lost.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Democratization, Development, Government, and Insurgency
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
304. Flexible Implementation: A Key to Asia's Transformation
- Author:
- Luke Simon Jordan and Katerina Koinis
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- Despite the region's economic growth over the last few decades, countries across Asia still face the complex challenge of structural transformation. Low-income economies must build formal industrial and service sectors from agricultural and informal bases; middle-income economies must move up the value chain; and high-income economies must continually generate new capabilities at the frontier of innovation.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Industrial Policy, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Asia
305. Central Bank Independence in North Africa
- Author:
- Bessma Momani and Samantha St. Amand
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Securing CBI has become best practice in global governance. Both the political and economic literatures suggest that CBI facilitates price stability, promotes transparency to citizens and provides accountability toward the public good. CBI is also credited with protecting the economic and financial system from the trappings of regulatory capture. In addition, a number of scholars have argued that CBI is correlated with positive policy outcomes, including balanced long- term economic growth, stable financial markets and a reduced likelihood of publicly funded financial institution bailouts. Moreover, some have suggested that CBI is important for fostering a healthy liberal democracy. As global markets have become increasingly integrated and interdependent, securing CBI is also considered a domestic, regional and global public good.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Globalization, Monetary Policy, Governance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Africa and North Africa
306. Regional concentration of FDI involves trade-offs in post-reform India
- Author:
- Peter Nunnenkamp, Wan-Hsin Liu, and Frank Bickenbach
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- P. Chidambaram, India's Minister of Finance, claimed that "FDI worked wonders in China and can do so in India." However, China's example may also point to the limitations of foreign direct investment (FDI) liberalization in promoting the host country's economic development. FDI in China is heavily concentrated in the coastal areas, and previous studies have suggested that this has contributed to the increasing disparity in regional income and growth since the late 1970s.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China, South Asia, and India
307. Why Afghanistan's Provincial Council Elections Matter
- Author:
- Noah Coburn and Anna Larson
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Afghanistan's Provincial Councils (PCs) represent one of the best hopes for the future of local democracy in Afghanistan. Yet since their shaky formation in 2005, they continue to be overlooked by international actors preferring to interact with parliamentarians, ministers and appointed governors. The significance assigned by Afghans to winning PC seats has steadily increased over the last decade. Indeed, for many, the April 5 PC elections will do more than the presidential poll to determine whether democratic practices continue to take root in local politics. PC elections offer a chance to build local, personal ties and accountability mechanisms connecting to increasingly centralized government resources, and, in particular, an opportunity for a new generation of young, motivated Afghans to begin their political careers. As the locally-visible manifestation of the Afghan political system, PCs are the immediate face of democracy—or a lack thereof—for many Afghans. In 2009, with most news stories covering the widespread fraud in the presidential contest, the uproar over the fraud and delay throughout the PC polling process rarely received coverage on newspaper front pages. Yet those problems contributed significantly to people's sense of alienation and disillusionment with their country's political actors and electoral institutions. In spite of these experiences, Afghans are once again preparing to go to the polls. Voters, candidates, parties and local organizations are putting greater emphasis than ever on the process of provincial council polling—expressing concern about the prospects for fraud, mobilizing around their candidates and campaigning in earnest. If due attention to the process is not paid by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and by international agencies, popular participation in future elections could drop. Prospects for Afghan democratization will depend much on how these and future provincial-level elections are conducted.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Democratization, Demographics, Development, Islam, Politics, and Youth Culture
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
308. Working for the Many: Public services fight inequality
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Economic inequality – the skewed distribution of income and wealth – is soaring. Oxfam's own research has found that the 85 richest individuals in the world have as much wealth as the poorest half of the global population. Economic inequality is also putting lives on the line – more than 1.5 million lives are lost each year due to high income inequality in rich countries alone. A recent study of 93 countries estimated that reducing the income share of the richest 20 per cent by just one percentage point could save the lives of 90,000 infants each year. Estimates also show that failing to tackle inequality will add hundreds of billions of dollars to the price tag of ending poverty, putting the achievement of any new post-2015 poverty goals in jeopardy.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Education, Poverty, Monetary Policy, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- India
309. Making Every Kilometre Count: Prioritising Road Infrastructure Spending
- Author:
- Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis & Research (ZIPAR)
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR)
- Abstract:
- There so many factors that influence road projects prioritisation. Considering the highly restrictive public resources at disposal and the huge cost requirements of road projects, cautious programme optimisation is essential. Projects must thus be prioritised according to their costs and net the benefit they are expected to provide. Our report presents an assessment of the relative importance of some road projects, most of them from the Link Zambia 8000 programme and the major trunk roads from Lusaka to major international destinations. In this brief we provide an alternative viewpoint project prioritisation based on transportation efficiency, accessibility and socio-economic factors. The result is a coherent projects evaluation framework that suggests the most feasible projects to invest our limited resources and thus making every kilometre count towards national development.
- Topic:
- Development, Infrastructure, Governance, and Public Spending
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Zambia
310. Aboriginal Self-Determination: A Comparative Study of New Zealand, Australia, and the United States of America
- Author:
- Katie Saulnier
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
- Abstract:
- Aboriginal groups present with sub-par outcomes in key indicators of well-being across the board. Increased capacity for self-governance presents one possibility for improving these outcomes, but its implementation is complicated by historically acrimonious relationships with federal governments and the larger context of attempting to rectify the complex harms done by colonialism. The solution involves finding the right balance between creating spaces for self-governance and providing the necessary federal assistance where appropriate. This paper discusses the structure of and approaches to Aboriginal self-determination and selfgovernance in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States, with a view toward assessing which approaches could prove effective in Canada. It does so through a variety of lens and by examining impact assessments in a number of key areas.
- Topic:
- Development, Education, Health, Infrastructure, Self Determination, Economy, History, Colonialism, and Indigenous
- Political Geography:
- Australia, New Zealand, and United States of America
311. Mali’s Public Mood Reflects Newfound Hope
- Author:
- Michael Bratton and Peter Penar
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afrobarometer
- Abstract:
- In an Afrobarometer survey in December 2012, three quarters of adult Malians were worried that the country was moving in “the wrong direction.” At that time, at the depths of a profound national crisis, most Malians thought the future looked bleak. A year later, however, a follow-up survey reveals newfound hope in the future. By December 2013, two thirds of all Malians now consider that that the country is headed in the “right direction.” What explains this remarkable turnaround in the public mood? The upswing in the country’s collective frame of mind within the space of a single year is traced to several positive developments. These include an improved security situation, the restoration of a freely elected government, and rising confidence in economic recovery.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, Public Opinion, Internal Displacement, and Economic Recovery
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Mali
312. Women in the Informal Economy: Experiments in Governance from Emerging Countries
- Author:
- Shyama V. Ramani, Ajay Thutupalli, Sutapa Chattopadhyay, Veena Ravichandran, and Tamás Medovarszki
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Women entrepreneurs in the informal economy need business engagements with other women (and men) that offer 'spaces' for dialogue to learn and build business capabilities. While formalization of entrepreneurial activity is favourable under some circumstances, it can be detrimental under others, necessitating a case-by-case evaluation. Many top-down actions for women's empowerment in the informal sector are only effective in gender-neutral economic development programmes. In this Policy Brief, we argue that although policy interventions may be favourable, they are neither necessary nor sufficient for change, as successful women role models are often the best agents for sweeping change.
- Topic:
- Development, Diplomacy, Gender Issues, and International Trade and Finance
313. Breaking the Standoff: Post-2020 climate finance in the Paris agreement
- Author:
- Tim Gore, Simon Bradshaw, Annaka Carvalho, Kiri Hanks, and Jan Kowalzig
- Publication Date:
- 12-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Negotiations are currently under way to develop a new international climate change agreement that will cover all countries and curb global warming to below the internationally agreed limit of 2 degrees. The new agreement will be adopted at the United Nations Climate Change Conference – Conference of the Parties 21, or COP21 – to be held in Paris in November/December 2015, and will be implemented from 2020.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Economics, and Environment
314. Government-held equity in foreign investment projects: Good for host countries?
- Author:
- Louis T. Wells
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- A recent Perspective concluded that, in countries given to sudden shifts in policy, "a host country government equity stake in a project may decrease project risk by giving the state a reason not to demand a renegotiation." An investor may benefit, but does the host country? In my experience, rarely.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
315. Delivering on a Data Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Author:
- Amanda Glassman and Alex Ezeh
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Despite improvements in censuses and household surveys, the building blocks of national statistical systems in sub-Saharan Africa remain weak. Measurement of fundamentals such as births and deaths, growth and poverty, taxes and trade, land and the environment, and sickness, schooling, and safety is shaky at best. The challenges are fourfold: (1) national statistics offices have limited independence and unstable budgets, (2) misaligned incentives encourage the production of inaccurate data, (3) donor priorities dominate national priorities, and (4) access to and usability of data are limited. The Data for African Development Working Group's recommendations for reaping the benefits of a data revolution in Africa fall into three categories: (1) fund more and fund differently, (2) build institutions that can produce accurate, unbiased data, and (3) prioritize the core attributes of data building blocks.
- Topic:
- Development
- Political Geography:
- Africa
316. The Quality of Official Development Assistance 2014
- Author:
- Nancy Birdsall, Homi Kharas, and Nabil Hashmi
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- The Quality of Official Development Assistance (QuODA) measures donors' performance on 31 indicators of aid quality to which donors have made commitments. The indicators are grouped into four dimensions associated with effective aid: maximizing efficiency, fostering institutions, reducing the burden on partner countries, and transparency and learning. The 2014 edition finds that donors are overall becoming more transparent and better at fostering partner country institutions but that there has been little progress at maximizing efficiency or reducing the burden on partner countries. The World Bank's concessional lending arm, the International Development Association (IDA), performs very well in QuODA, ranking in the top 10 of 31 donors on all four dimensions. The United States ranks in the bottom half of all donors on three of the four dimensions of aid quality and last on reducing the burden on partner countries. The United Kingdom ranks in the top third on three of four dimensions of aid quality and scores particularly well on transparency and learning. The Global Fund ranks in the bottom third on fostering institutions but ranks in the top third on the other three dimensions of aid quality, including the top spot in maximizing efficiency.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States and United Kingdom
317. The BRICS Development Bank: Why the world's newest global bank must adopt a pro-poor agenda
- Author:
- Lysa John
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- In July 2014, a new multilateral and Southern-led development bank is expected to be launched by the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – better known as the BRICS. The BRICS Development Bank will provide a fresh source of finance for developing and emerging economies to meet their development needs. Little has been made public regarding the proposed Bank's core mandate or activities but while governments negotiate the technicalities of the Bank, it is critical that they also provide a solid vision of the principles, priorities and objectives on which the Bank's activities and operations will be premised. This policy brief recommends that these include commitments to: ending extreme poverty and inequality, with a special focus on gender equity and women's rights; aligning with environmental and social safeguards and establishing mechanisms for information sharing, accountability and redress; leadership on the sustainable development agenda; the creation of mechanisms for public consultation and debate; and the adoption a truly democratic governance structure.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Gender Issues, International Cooperation, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Russia, China, Europe, India, Asia, South Africa, Brazil, and South America
318. Infrastructure and Sustainable Development Goals in the BRICS-Led New Development Bank
- Author:
- Kathryn Hochstetler
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- The BRICS countries held their annual meeting in Fortaleza, Brazil on July 15-17, 2014. While there, they formally launched their NDB, answering some of the many lingering questions about its function (BRICS 2014). The Shanghai based bank will have at least US$50 billion in initial capital, making it a significant new entrant into the sphere of global development finance. India will hold its first rotating presidency, but all five of the countries have particular roles to play. The lengthy presidential declaration gave little new information about the kinds of projects that will receive funding; however, simply repeating earlier statements that it will finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects. This policy brief examines how the NDB is likely to approach those two policy objectives, and notes a potential clash of these goals. There is already abundant evidence on this issue in the 2013 agreements and in the current financing patterns of the various national development banks of the BRICS member countries.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Climate Change, Development, and Environment
319. Education in Emergencies: The Case of the Dadaab Refugee Camps
- Author:
- Hayley Mackinnon
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Between 1991 and 2009, more than 2.5 million Somali citizens fled their homeland to Ethiopia, Djibouti and, most notably, Kenya, following the collapse of the Somalian government of Siad Barre. This led to violent clashes between various factional clan groups, and fighting to control land and resources ensued. This resulted in the displacement, starvation and slaughter of thousands of civilians, leading to a crisis that prompted international intervention during the 1990s.
- Topic:
- Development and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United Nations, and Ethiopia
320. Iran and the P5+1: Getting to "Yes"
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- That nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the UK, U.S. and Germany) were extended beyond the 20 July 2014 deadline was neither unexpected nor unwelcome. The parties ha d made enough headway to justify the extension, which was envisioned in the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) that was signed in November 2013 and came into force in January, but given the political and technical complexity, they remain far apart on fundamental issues. Unless they learn the lessons of the last six months and change their approach for the next four, they will lose the opportunity for a resolution not just by the new 24 November deadline but for the foreseeable future. Both sides need to retreat from maximalist positions, particularly on Iran's enrichment program. Tehran should postpone plans for industrial- scale enrichment and accept greater constraints on the number of its centrifuges in return for P5+1 flexibility on the qualitative growth of its enrichment capacity through research and development.
- Topic:
- Development, Diplomacy, Economics, Nuclear Weapons, and Nuclear Power
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Iran, Middle East, and France