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10992. Conflict and cooperation in local water governance – Inventory of local water-related events in Namwala District, Zambia
- Author:
- Mikkel Funder, Carol Emma Mweemba, Imasiku Nyambe, and Barbara Van Koppen
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- Recent years have witnessed an increasing focus on water as a source of conflict. So far, much of the focus has been on the risk for transboundary water conflicts. Our current knowledge on local water conflicts is however more limited, and tends to be based on sporadic accounts of local water conflicts rather than on systematic empirical evidence. At the same time, the extent and nature of local water cooperation is often overlooked, just as we know little about the particular role of the poorest in water conflict and cooperation.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Natural Resources, and Water
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Zambia
10993. Values Promotion and Security Management in Euro-Mediterranean Relations: 'Making Democracy Work' or 'Good-Enough Governance'?
- Author:
- Fabrizio Tassinari and Ulla Holm
- Publication Date:
- 07-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- EU policy towards the southern Mediterranean remains painfully fragmented across different lines: member state initiatives vs. EU initiatives; bilateral EU policies vs. multilateral frameworks. Underpinning these tensions is an ongoing 'securitization' of the Mediterranean debate which centres on threats emanating from the South, including Islamic fundamentalism, terrorism and immigration–or on challenges such as energy. On the other hand, the stated European goal in the region remains the advancement of EU norms and values–to be attained primarily through governance reforms aimed at improving the rule of law. This article will exemplify these discourses by focusing on the case of Italy's Mediterranean policy. In conclusion it sets out two competing scenarios for the future development of Euro-Mediterranean discourse: one based in normative logic termed 'making democracy work'; the other rooted in security logic and termed 'good enough governance'.
- Topic:
- Regional Cooperation and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Europe
10994. Are the Chinese in Africa More Innovative than the Africans? Comparing Chinese and Nigerian Entrepreneurial Migrants' Cultures of Innovation
- Author:
- Dirk Kohnert
- Publication Date:
- 07-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The remarkable influx of Chinese migrant entrepreneurs in West Africa has been met with growing resistance from established African entrepreneurs. Whether the former have a competitive edge over the latter because of distinctive sociocultural traits or whether the Chineseʹ s supposed effectiveness is just a characteristic feature of any trading diaspora is open to question. This comparative exploratory study of Chinese and Nigerian entrepreneurial migrants in Ghana and Benin provides initial answers to these questions. Apparently, the cultural stimuli for migrant drivers of change are not restricted to inherited value systems or religions, such as a Protestant ethic or Confucianism; rather, they are continually adapted and invented anew by transnational migration networks in a globalized world. There is no evidence of the supposed superiority of the innovative culture of Chinese entrepreneurial migrants versus that of African entrepreneurial migrants. Rather, there exist trading diasporas which have a generally enhanced innovative capacity vis‐à‐vis local entrepreneurs, regardless of the national culture in which they are embedded. In addition, the rivalry of Chinese and Nigerian migrant entrepreneurs in African markets does not necessarily lead to the often suspected cut‐throat competition. Often the actions of each group are complementary to those of the other. Under certain conditions they even contribute to poverty alleviation in the host country.
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, and Migration
- Political Geography:
- Africa and China
10995. Cargo Cult in Africa: Remittances and the State in Tanzania
- Author:
- Peter Hansen
- Publication Date:
- 07-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- This paper examines remittance and diaspora policy formation in Tanzania as cargo cult. Both migration-development policy formation and cargo cults express the belief in the miraculous transformation of the local by the arrival of wealth emanating from the outside. The paper is based on ethnographic research in Dares Salaam, and adds to our understanding of the links between migration and development in Tanzania, and to our understanding of the relationship between remittances and the state, where the underlying cultural values, ideas and imaginaries expressed in remittance policies and thinking have been ignored.
- Topic:
- Development and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Tanzania
10996. Concentrating Solar Power in China and India: A Spatial Analysis of Technical Potential and the Cost of Deployment
- Author:
- Kevin Ummel
- Publication Date:
- 07-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Coal power generation in China and India is expected to double and triple, respectively, over the next 20 years, increasing exposure to fuel price volatility, exacerbating local air pollution, and hastening global climate change. Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a growing source of utility-scale, pollution-free electricity, but its potential in Asia remains largely unexamined. High-resolution spatial data are used to identify areas suitable for CSP and estimate power generation and cost under alternative land-use scenarios. Total technical potential exceeds current coal power output by a factor of 16 to 23 in China and 3 to 4 in India. A CSP expansion program and attendant transmission requirements are simulated with the goal of providing 20 percent of electricity in both countries by midcentury. Under conservative assumptions, the program is estimated to require subsidies of $340 billion in present dollars; coal-associated emissions of 96 GtCO2eq are averted at an average abatement cost of $30 per tCO2eq. Estimated costs are especially sensitive to the assumed rate of technological learning, emphasizing the importance of committed public policy and financing to reduce investment risk, encourage expansion of manufacturing capacity, and achieve long-term cost reductions. The results highlight the need for spatially explicit modeling of renewable power technologies and suggest that existing subsidies might be better used through integrated planning for large-scale solar and wind deployment that exploits spatiotemporal complementarities and shared infrastructure.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy
- Political Geography:
- China and India
10997. The End of ODA (II): The Birth of Hypercollective Action
- Author:
- Jean-Michel Severino and Olivier Ray
- Publication Date:
- 07-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- The development business has become much more complex in the past decade, with actors proliferating and collaboration fragmenting. This trend is characteristic of the change from collective action to what the authors term hypercollective action. Such a shift brings new energy and resources to international development, but also more difficulty managing global public policy. Severino and Ray use the lessons of the Paris Declaration—the first large-scale effort to coordinate hypercollective action—as a starting point for envisioning a new conceptual framework to manage the complexity of current international collaboration. They offer concrete suggestions to improve the management of global policies, including new ways to share information, align the goals of disparate actors, and create more capable bodies for international collaboration.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Globalization, International Cooperation, and International Political Economy
10998. Bridging the Gap: Better, Faster, and Cheaper Clinical Trials for Health Products for Neglected Diseases
- Author:
- Thomas Bollyky
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- There has been tremendous progress over the last decade in the development of health products for neglected diseases. These include drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for malaria and tuberculosis, which kill millions of people annually, plus other diseases like chagas and dengue fever, which may less familiar, but nonetheless exact a large and often lethal toll in the world's poorest communities. Led by product development public private partnerships (PDPs) and fueled by the support of the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other donors, there are now dozens of candidate products in the pipeline.
- Topic:
- Development, Health, Humanitarian Aid, and Infectious Diseases
10999. Inside the World Bank's Black Box Allocation System: How Well Does IDA Allocate Resources to the Neediest and Most Vulnerable Countries?
- Author:
- Benjamin Leo
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- During the last few International Development Association (IDA) replenishment negotiations, several large donors have pressed for reforms to further increase the share of IDA resources provided to the neediest and most vulnerable countries. While the proposed reforms take different forms, the philosophical Thrust is the same—push IDA's focus further down the development chain. Against this backdrop, this paper explores just how well IDA's existing performance-based allocation (PBA) system actually addresses these issues. To achieve this, I examine how IDA allocations are distributed at each successive stage of the PBA methodology based upon a number of need and vulnerability measures. Next, I apply two simple measures to gauge IDA's performance: (1) whether per-capita allocations to the neediest and most vulnerable countries are equal to or greater than those for the best off countries and (2) whether allocations to the neediest and most vulnerable countries increase between the baseline and final allocation scenarios. Based on these criteria, IDA has a mixed track record. IDA's performance is very modest with respect to the relative share allocated to the neediest or most vulnerable countries. Of the eight measures examined, only two illustrate parity between final allocations to the bottom and top quartile of countries. However, the litany of PBA exceptions clearly helps to redistribute resources in absolute terms. Per-capita allocations to the neediest and most vulnerable countries more than doubles between the baseline and final PBA scenarios for every need and vulnerability indicator examined. Clearly, the existing system has several built-in biases to redistribute resources to these countries. However, these exceptions fall short from ensuring full parity that some IDA donors may wish to achieve. As such, the philosophical debate among key IDA donors likely will continue for the foreseeable future.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Financial Crisis
11000. Pulling Agricultural Innovation and the Market Together
- Author:
- Kimberly Elliott
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Feeding an additional three billion people over the next four decades, along with providing food security for another one billion people that are currently hungry or malnourished, is a huge challenge. Meeting those goals in a context of land and water scarcity, climate change, and declining crop yields will require another giant leap in agricultural innovation. The aim of this paper is to stimulate a dialogue on what new approaches might be needed to meet these needs and how innovative funding mechanisms could play a role. In particular, could “pull mechanisms,” where donors stimulate demand for new technologies, be a useful complement to traditional “push mechanisms,” where donors provide funding to increase the supply of research and development (R). With a pull mechanism, donors seek to engage the private sector, which is almost entirely absent today in developing country R for agriculture, and they pay only when specified outcomes are delivered and adopted.
- Topic:
- Security, Agriculture, Development, and Poverty