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21. Poverty and wellbeing impacts of microfinance: What do we know?

Author:
Mathilde Maîtrot and Miguel Niño-Zarazúa
Publication Date:
11-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Over the last 35 years, microfinance has been generally regarded as an effective policy tool in the fight against poverty. Yet, the question of whether access to credit leads to poverty reduction and improved wellbeing remains open. To address this question, we conduct a systematic review of the quantitative literature of microfinance’s impacts in the developing world, and develop a theory of change that links inputs to impacts on several welfare outcomes. Overall, we find that the limited comparability of outcomes and the heterogeneity of microfinance-lending technologies, together with a considerable variation in socio-economic conditions and contexts in which impact studies have been conducted, render the interpretation and generalization of findings intricate. Our results indicate that, at best, microfinance induces short-term dynamism in the financial life of the poor; however, we do not find compelling evidence that this dynamism leads to increases in income, consumption, human capital and assets, and, ultimately, a reduction in poverty.
Topic:
Development, Poverty, Developing World, Finance, and Microeconomics
Political Geography:
Global Focus

22. The political economy of clean energy

Author:
Channing Arndt and Finn Tarp
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
In broad terms, the climate challenge is relatively straightforward. Global average temperatures are rising because of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Continuation of current levels of emissions or (worse) continued growth in emissions throughout the twenty-first century could result in warming far above the two-degree Celsius threshold with very dangerous implications for the environment of the planet and for human societies, particularly poor people.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Political Economy, and Renewable Energy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

23. Development assistance for peacebuilding

Author:
Rachel M. Gisselquist
Publication Date:
02-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Development assistance to fragile states and conflict-affected areas is a core component of peacebuilding. It includes support for the restoration of core government functions, delivery of basic services, the rule of law, and economic revitalization. Yet, while aid has been among the largest financial inflows to fragile states in recent years, its impact has been mixed. Better understanding of what works and why thus remains a core challenge for development researchers and practitioners.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

24. Aid, environment and climate change

Author:
Channing Arndt and Finn Tarp
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Development aid by itself cannot ‘save the planet’. Yet, development aid and institutions have the potential to remain important catalytic actors in achieving developmental and global environmental objectives. Developing countries must be crucial players in successful climate change mitigation as they are responsible for 88% of the growth in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since 1970. However, the current aid architecture — which was designed in the 1970s when environmental issues were a distant concern — is not well suited to support environmental challenges that extend beyond low-income countries.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Environment, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Global Focus

25. Aid for governance: How to support effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions for sustainable development?

Author:
Rachel M. Gisselquist and Danielle Resnick
Publication Date:
11-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Aiding government effectiveness in developing countries has been a priority issue for the international donor community since the 1990s. With the Paris Declaration in 1994, donors further committed to aiding government effectiveness in a manner consistent with local ownership and harmonization with national development objectives. These issues have received renewed attention in discussions surrounding the Sustainable Development Goals, which have highlighted the importance of effective governance and institutions.
Topic:
Development, Foreign Aid, Governance, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Global Focus

26. 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

27. Death Penalty Policy in Countries in Transition

Author:
Madoka Futamura
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Countries under transition from war to peace or from an authoritarian to a democratic regime face fundamental political and social transformations and difficulties in emerging from a problematic past. The transition presents challenges but also opportunities for countries to reconsider their death penalty policies. It is in such a context that some countries abolish, retain or even actively resort to the death penalty to tackle transitional needs. Those who are working for abolition of the death penalty need to go beyond the human rights approach and take a more holistic approach to understand the fragile and complex local situation and needs in which the death penalty becomes a highly political issue.
Topic:
Political Violence, Democratization, Development, Human Rights, Political Economy, Prisons/Penal Systems, and Reform

28. Multi-actor Approaches to Total Sanitation in Africa

Author:
Kei Otsuki, Weena Gera, and David Mungai
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Since the 2000s, African cities have witnessed a series of interventions to improve water and sanitation. This policy brief outlines key lessons learned from the intervention experience, drawing on the UNU research project Multi-level Urban Governance for Total Sanitation (2011-2013) under the Education for Sustainable Development in Africa (ESDA) Project. It highlights the importance of multi-actor approaches for promoting: (1) an institutional framework to coordinate civil society organizations, community-based organizations, and the state agencies across levels; (2) policy recognition of water and sanitation as socially embedded infrastructure with gendered dimensions; and (3) the relevance of scientific research and university education to ongoing policy interventions.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Health, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:
Africa

29. Democratic Trajectories in Africa: Unravelling the Impact of Foreign Aid

Author:
Danielle Resnick
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
When, why and how has foreign aid facilitated, or hindered, democracy in recipient countries? Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, this policy brief examines the impact of foreign aid on supporting transitions from one-party to multi-party regimes, preventing democratic breakdown and the erosion of civil liberties, enhancing vertical and horizontal accountability, and enabling competitive political party systems. Particular attention is given to the trade-offs and complementarities between different types of foreign aid, namely democracy assistance and economic development aid. Select policy recommendations are offered to improve aid effectiveness at bolstering democratic trajectories within the region.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Development, Economics, Human Rights, Political Economy, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Africa

30. Indicators of Resilience in Socio-ecological Production Landscapes (SEPLs)

Author:
Nadia Bergamini, Robert Blasiak, Pablo Eyzaguirre, Kaoru Ichikawa, Dunja Mijatovic, Fumiko Nakao, and Suneetha M. Subramanian
Publication Date:
04-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
The following policy report constitutes an important supplement to a set of 20 indicators for resilience in socio-ecological production landscapes (SEPLs) that was developed over the course of joint collaboration between Bioversity International and the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS). The indicators were disseminated widely in pamphlet form for the first time in March 2012. Subsequently, a need was identified for sharing a more in-depth overview of the considerations that went into creating this list of indicators as well as the outcomes of initial field-testing.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Environment, and Sociology

31. Development

Author:
David M. Malone and Rohinton P. Medhora
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Notions of development have varied over time, and so an account of the international organizations concerned with its advancement must be accordingly elastic. The roots of international organizations concerned with development lie in two aspects of global inter-connectedness. The first is the propagation and management of a nascent technology for the global good. Thus were born the International Telegraph Union (ITU, now the International Telecommunication Union) in 1865 and the General Postal Union (GPU, now the Universal Postal Union) in 1874.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Cooperation, International Organization, and Post Colonialism

32. Achieving Development Success: Strategies and Lessons from the Developing World

Author:
Augustin K. Fosu
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
What can the less well-off developing countries learn from the “successes” of other developing countries? This Policy Brief highlights successful development strategies and lessons from in-depth case studies of select countries from the developing world. The coverage includes East Asia and the Pacific, the emerging Asian giants, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa, along with respective regional syntheses. Although countries' experiences are not necessarily replicable, the recurrent themes across countries and regions provide the appropriate connectedness for a comprehensive global perspective on development strategies and lessons.
Topic:
Development, Emerging Markets, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, Israel, and Latin America

33. What is the (New) Deal with Fragile States?

Author:
Wim Naudé
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Some states lack the capability and/or the willingness to progressively promote the shared development of their citizens and are particularly vulnerable to external shocks and internal conflicts. They have been described as "fragile states". The poor governance and lack of state capabilities in around 45 fragile states pose a threat to global security and development. Effective international partnerships are necessary to pull them out of low-development–high-conflict traps. The "New Deal on Fragile States" announced on 30 November 2011 at the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan by the g7+ (see "The International Dialogue on Peace-building and State-building and the g7+" Box) is the most recent initiative to foster such partnerships.
Topic:
Security, Development, Political Economy, Terrorism, Foreign Aid, and Fragile/Failed State

34. Research Capacity Development for Environmental Management in Cambodia: Outlining a Multi-Sector Approach

Author:
Kei Otsuki and Shimako Takahashi
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Research capacity development at the higher education level in order to improve environmental planning and management has been considered invaluable in ensuring the sustainable development of developing countries. In least developed countries (LDCs), such as Cambodia, people are especially vulnerable to environmental changes and advanced knowledge is urgently needed to enhance their socio-ecological resilience; however, governments lack both the financial and human resources needed to ensure adequate academic infrastructure for knowledge generation and dissemination. Furthermore, the international aid community has rarely placed emphasis on investing in higher education in developing countries; instead, producing basically skilled labourers through primary and secondary education was considered more effective in bringing return on investment and enhancing economic development. Neither national nor international development agendas have so far resulted in a substantial commitment to research capacity development of academic institutions in LDCs.
Topic:
Development, Education, and Environment
Political Geography:
Cambodia and Southeast Asia

35. Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries

Author:
Wim Naudé, Adam Szirmai, and Micheline Goedhuys
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Nobody can be left in any doubt as to the importance of innovation for prosperity upon reading that “people living in the first decade of the twentieth century did not know modern dental and medical equipment, penicillin, bypass operations, safe births, control of genetically transmitted diseases, personal computers, compact discs, television sets, automobiles, opportunities for fast and cheap worldwide travel, affordable universities, central heating, air conditioning . . . technological change has transformed the quality of our lives.”
Topic:
Development, Economics, Globalization, and Markets

36. Reasoning about a distributed probabilistic system

Author:
J.W. Sanders and Ukachukwu Ndukwu
Publication Date:
08-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Reasoning about a distributed system that exhibits a combination of probabilistic and temporal behaviour does not seem to be easy with current techniques. The reason is the interaction between probability and abstraction, made worse by remote synchronisation. In this paper the recently proposed language ptsc (for probability, time and shared-variable concurrency) is extended by constructs for interleaving and local block. Both enhance a designer's ability to modularise a design; the latter also permits a design to be compared with its more abstract specification, by concealing appropriately chosen design variables. Laws of the extended language are studied and applied in a case study consisting of a faulty register-transfer-level design.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, International Organization, United Nations, and Political Theory
Political Geography:
United States

37. Managing the growing impacts of development on fragile coastal and marine ecosystems: Lessons from the Gulf

Author:
Hanneke Van Lavieren, John Burt, David A. Feary, Geórgenes H. Cavalcante, Elise Marquis, Lisa Benedetti, Charles Trick, Björn Kjerfve, and Peter F. Sale
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Like many other places in the world, the coastal region of the Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf, and hereafter referred to as 'the Gulf') faces continuous environmental degradation. The unprecedented rate and scale of development that has occurred poses numerous environmental challenges and may be the greatest threat facing the Gulf's marine communities in the coming decades as urban populations along it's shores continue to grow. Some Gulf countries have already developed more than 40% of their coastline during the last 20 years. Pressure on coastal ecosystems is especially high in the smaller Gulf countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, where residents either live entirely, or almost entirely within 100 km of the coast. Development has led to loss and severe degradation of important natural habitats, including mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. Coastal 'mega-projects' including artificial islands, waterfront cities, ports, marinas and man-made waterways have sometimes been poorly conceived from an environmental perspective, leading to severe pressure on natural environments. Because development has taken place so rapidly there has not been enough time to develop adequate regulatory, technical, and monitoring capacity to guide this growth appropriately. Present trends suggest that development will not be accompanied by appropriately sophisticated policies and mechanisms for minimizing and mitigating deleterious impacts on the environment.
Topic:
Development, Environment, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Arabia

38. Growth, Inequality, and Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries

Author:
Augustin Kwasi Fosu
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
The study presents recent global evidence on the transformation of economic growth to poverty reduction in developing countries, with emphasis on the role of income inequality. The focus is on the period since the early/mid-1990s when growth in these countries as a group has been relatively strong, surpassing that of the advanced economies. Both regional and country-specific data are analysed for the US$1.25 andUS$2.50 level poverty headcount ratios using the most recent World Bank data. The study finds that on average income growth has been the major driving force behind both the declines and increases in poverty. The study, however, documents substantial regional and country differences that are masked by this 'average' dominant growth story. While in the majority of countries growth was the major factor behind falling...
Topic:
Development, Economics, Poverty, and Third World
Political Geography:
United States

39. Thailand's Development Strategy and Growth Performance

Author:
Peter Warr
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Thailand's development strategy has been strongly market-oriented and open to trade and investment flows with the rest of the world. Since the late 1950s, its growth performance has been outstanding. Poverty incidence has declined dramatically, but economic inequality has increased. Economic progress has been reflected in very significant improvement in non-economic indicators of well-being such as life expectancy, infant and maternal morality, and literacy. Nevertheless, the performance of the education system is chronically poor. Environmental problems and institutional failures in resource management are ongoing. Reform is needed in several areas, including political and corporate governance, regulation of industry, and in the education and health systems.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Education, Emerging Markets, Poverty, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Asia and Southeast Asia

40. Sensitivity of Loan Size to Lending Rates

Author:
Samuel Kobina Annim
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This paper examines the combined effect of interest rates and poverty levels of microfinance clients on loan size. Cross section data on 2,691 clients and non-clients households from Ghana is used to test the hypothesis of loan price inelasticity. Quantile regression and variants of least squares methods that explore endogeneity are employed. We find the expected inverse relationship only for the 20th to 40th quantile range. The semi-elasticity of loan amount responsiveness to a unit change in interest rate is more than proportionate and significant for the poorest group only. Market segmentation based on poverty level is suggested in targeting and sustaining microfinance clients.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Markets, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Africa