Topic: Development - CIAO Search Results

301. Are Development Finance Institutions Good Value for Money?

Author:: Paddy Carter
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: Finance institutions take money from foreign aid budgets to invest in private enterprises. How much should they be given? We can make some progress on that question by looking at the return on investment in the form of higher real incomes for workers and customers, and comparing that to a cash transfer benchmark. There is considerable uncertainty, but what evidence we have suggests returns on investment are in a range that compares well to that benchmark. There is also a diversification argument that because we don’t know which of the things that aid can finance will ultimately prove most important for poverty eradication, aid allocation should hedge its bets. A low single digit percentage of aid allocated to increase the quantity and quality of private investment in low- and middle-income countries seems reasonable.
Topic:: Development, Foreign Aid, Finance, Investment, and Institutions
Political Geography:: Global Focus

302. Some Unpleasant ODA Arithmetic

Author:: Ranil Dissanayake and Atousa Tahmasebi
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: Official development assistance is supposed to be designed to prioritise the economic development and welfare of developing countries. The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee is a club of wealthy donor countries which collaborate to set rules and norms to this effect. However, digging into the official data submitted by donors to the OECD reveals some unpleasant truths. We use data on every funding line reported by donors to the OECD between 2006 and 2019 to investigate the pattern and distribution of commitments and disbursements of ODA to developing countries, and discover that ODA is targeted poorly within the group of eligible developing countries; that this group of eligible countries is gradually expanding to include more relatively wealthy places; that aggregate ODA flows are organized and structured sub-optimally; and that ODA responds more to arbitrary income classifications than it should. We suggest informational and incentive reforms in response. These findings also suggest limits to what realistic reform of ODA can achieve, and, consequently, the importance of non-aid development policy for outcomes in developing countries.
Topic:: Development, International Cooperation, Foreign Aid, and Welfare
Political Geography:: Global Focus

303. Convergence, Development, and Energy-Intensive Infrastructure: Getting Africa to High-Income Status

Author:: Vijaya Ramachandran
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: The structural changes in an economy that accompany its growth to high-income status have been predictable in Europe, the United States, and Asia, characterized by declining employment in agriculture and rising levels of urbanization driven by jobs in the modern industrial sector. As agricultural productivity rises, the share of people employed in agriculture declines, and both urbanization and employment in manufacturing increase. Food prices fall relative to wages, causing the share of income spent on food to decline to very low levels. Asian countries have followed a similar path, although at a much faster pace. Africa, however, is different. Despite a high share of the population in urban areas, most African countries have yet to see significant increases in agricultural productivity that might drive industrial growth and jobs. In most African countries, the rising share of urban population has not been matched by increases in agricultural productivity, falling food prices, or the emergence of a viable industrial sector. Available evidence shows that agricultural yields in Africa are low and food is costly, while the share of employment in agriculture remains high. For the process of structural transformation to get underway, African countries must manufacture of fertilizer, develop better methods of water control, improve transportation, and invest in cold storage. Each of these interventions requires significant amounts of energy, including energy from fossil fuels. And they are not replaceable—countries have managed structural transformation in different ways but, to date, none have leapfrogged the process.
Topic:: Agriculture, Development, Energy Policy, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:: Africa

304. Rethinking Humanitarian Reform: What Will it Take to Truly Change the System?

Author:: Patrick Saez, Jeremy Konyndyk, and Rose Worden
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: This brief summarizes three years of research under the project, “Rethinking Humanitarian Reform,” led by Jeremy Konyndyk, Patrick Saez, and Rose Worden, and funded by the aid departments of the United Kingdom and Australia. The project aimed to understand the incentives behind the humanitarian system and shift them to better prioritize the needs of affected populations.
Topic:: Development, Humanitarian Aid, Reform, and Institutionalism
Political Geography:: United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and Global Focus

305. The Commitment to Development Index 2021

Author:: Ian Mitchell, Lee Robinson, Beata Cichocka, and Euan Ritchie
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: The Commitment to Development Index (CDI) ranks 40 of the world’s most powerful countries on policies that affect more than five billion people living in poorer nations. Because development is about more than foreign aid, the CDI covers eight distinct policy areas: Development Finance Investment Migration Trade Health Environment Security Technology
Topic:: Security, Development, Environment, Health, Migration, Science and Technology, Finance, Investment, and Trade
Political Geography:: Global Focus

306. How Effectively Is the Asian Development Bank Responding to COVID-19? An Early Assessment

Author:: Azusa Sato, Rakan Aboneaaj, and Scott Morris
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: In 2020, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) joined efforts by other multilateral development banks (MDBs) to rapidly scale up support to developing countries to address COVID-19. Beyond headline numbers, there has been less focus on how ADB’s support was distributed by country income group, sector, modality, and product. Using an updated dataset on commitments and disbursements between 2018 and end of December 2020, we compare “pre-crisis” and “crisis period” trends. We overlay ADB data on other publicly available datasets reflecting population size, mobility levels, and government fiscal stimulus to evaluate the responsiveness and size of ADB support vis-à-vis other MDBs. Our findings show ADB’s response was most significant in the countries that most needed support—low income economies with sharp GDP declines and limited fiscal response capacity. The health and public sector management sectors had significant surges in commitments, and impacted the modality used. While there was a rise in grant and concessional financing in 2020, non- concessional loans and sovereign operations still dominated during the crisis period. We suggest further work on how these changes impact development outcomes, with a view to recalibrating the bank’s strategies in some sectors and products in the medium term.
Topic:: Development, Finance, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Banking
Political Geography:: Asia

307. A Review of Multilateral Development Banks’ Investments in Childcare

Author:: Megan O'Donnell, Kelsey Ross, and Shelby Bourgault
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented increase in unpaid care work all over the world, causing women to leave the workforce, reversing decades of progress on gender equality, and resulting in increased focus and empathy around the global childcare crisis. Recognizing a gap in the evidence regarding multilateral development banks’ current (and historical) investments in childcare solutions, in this paper we seek to establish a baseline, exploring the extent to which MDBs have invested in childcare over time, across geographies, and through various sectors and activities. Using project data from eight multilateral development banks’ project databases, we compiled all projects with a childcare component from 2000 to June 2021. Our analysis explores best practices across institutions, identifies gaps and areas for improvement, and makes recommendations for how MDBs can increase and improve investments in childcare.
Topic:: Development, Multilateralism, Banks, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Childcare
Political Geography:: Global Focus

308. Do Evolving Digital Trade Rules Create an Uneven Playing Field? Understanding Global Perspectives

Author:: Michael Pisa and Ugonma Nwankwo
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: This brief is based on a roundtable hosted by CGD as part of the Governing Data for Development project, which explores how governments can use data to support innovation, development, and inclusive growth while protecting citizens and communities against harm.
Topic:: Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Digital Economy
Political Geography:: Global Focus

309. Are Current Models of Data Protection Fit for Purpose? Understanding the Consequences for Economic Development

Author:: Michael Pisa and Ugonma Nwankwo
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: This brief is based on a roundtable hosted by CGD as part of the Governing Data for Development project, which explores how governments can use data to support innovation, development, and inclusive growth while protecting citizens and communities against harm.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Privacy, and Models
Political Geography:: Global Focus

310. Binding Constraints on Digital Financial Inclusion in Indonesia: An Analysis Using the Decision Tree Approach

Author:: Firman Witoelar, Teguh Yudo Wicaksono, and Carlos Mangunsong
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: Despite the concerted efforts of the Indonesian government to increase financial inclusion and the e-commerce–led growth of digital payment services, a large proportion of the country’s population remains financially excluded. Much of the growth and innovation has mainly benefited those already financially included. To understand this outcome, we use the decision tree approach developed by Claessens and Rojas-Suárez (2020), focusing on one of the products with the largest potential to increase financial inclusion in the country: e-money. Our analysis finds that a crucial binding constraint on the expansion of e-money services is a regulatory framework that creates an unlevel playing field between banks and nonbank providers of digital financial services. Regulatory restrictions applied to nonbanks on cashout services, agent recruitment, and know-your-customer processes are at the core of the problem. In addition, a perception of low benefits from the usage of formal financial services results in a lack of the critical mass of customers necessary to ensure the profitability of agents, particularly in remote and rural areas, and thus the expansion of e-money services. We also find other constraints that are not binding at the national level but are binding for some specific groups. The low provision of digital infrastructure in rural areas outside Java is one of them. In addition, constraints such as low trust in providers, though not binding, should be addressed in order to maximize the gains that could be obtained from relaxing the binding constraints.
Topic:: Development, Finance, Digitalization, and Digital Finance
Political Geography:: Indonesia and Oceania

311. Exploring How the US International Development Finance Corporation Can Support Health Sector Investments: Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

Author:: Julia Kaufman, Janeen Madan Keller, and Rachel Silverman
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: Health sector investments present an opportunity for the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), under the Biden-Harris administration, to demonstrate meaningful global leadership and refocus on its development mandate, driving broader health benefits and contributing to global economic recovery. DFC’s early days have been defined by a mixed record, notably in the health sector. Still, in the context of the pandemic’s health and economic impacts, the agency is well positioned to help strengthen pandemic preparedness and expand equitable access to health products and innovation in low- and middle-income countries. Through investments to build private sector manufacturing and delivery capacity, DFC can help stem and reverse these losses and insure against future health crises. This policy paper explores how DFC can strategically invest in health while balancing sometimes competing policy imperatives related to health equity, commercial viability, and foreign policy interests. We first provide an overview of the development finance landscape in the health sector and select DFC health-focused investments to date. We then suggest three high-impact engagement opportunities in the health sector for DFC to consider, including building regional manufacturing hubs for health supplies; providing R&D incentives for biotechnology; and supporting robust supply chains for health-adjacent services and delivery models. Lastly, we outline key principles to guide future DFC health sector investments, such as compatibility with long-term universal health coverage goals, a learning agenda for development effectiveness, and health-specific considerations for additionality and co-financing.
Topic:: Development, Health, Finance, and Investment
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

312. Identifying Binding Constraints on Digital Payment Services in Ethiopia: An Application of a Decision Tree Framework

Author:: Getnet Alemu, Tadele Ferde, and Alejandro Fiorito
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: While several comparable countries in sub-Saharan Africa have seen a significant increase in financial inclusion, mainly driven by digital financial services, Ethiopia still performs poorly. Even digital payment and transfer services, which lower-income and less literate segments of the population could benefit from, are rarely used. Given the low development level of Ethiopia, numerous supply and demand factors could explain this disappointing outcome. We use a decision tree framework to isolate and analyze potential constraints to find which are binding—that is, which constraints limit the expansion of digital payment services in Ethiopia. Our analysis indicates that supply-side problems are pervasive, and we find that competition problems in the essential digital infrastructure market and in the financial sector are responsible for the inadequate provision of digital payment services in Ethiopia. However, the root cause of inadequate competition, and therefore of low financial inclusion through digital payment services, is institutional deficiencies. The two key institutional deficiencies are the lack of capacity of regulatory and supervisory institutions, and the unwillingness of the central government to enable and promote competition. The dominance of public enterprises, Ethio Telecom and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, has kept the prices of digital payment services high, particularly for low-income populations, as fees charged for undertaking low-value transactions are very high and the cost of digital infrastructure (mobile phones and plans) is also substantial. Unless these institutional binding constraints are removed, digital payment services in Ethiopia, and digital financial services more generally, will hit a very short ceiling that limits their enormous potential to improve livelihoods in the country.
Topic:: Development, Finance, Digital Economy, and Digitalization
Political Geography:: Africa and Ethiopia

313. The Quality of Official Development Assistance

Author:: Ian Mitchell, Rachael Calleja, and Sam Hughes
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: The Quality of Official Development Assistance (QuODA) measures and compares providers of official development assistance (ODA) on quantitative indicators that matter most to development effectiveness and quality. It aims to encourage improvements to the quality of ODA by highlighting and assessing providers’ performance. QuODA considers the agency-level measures and characteristics in areas that evidence suggest matters to development and where providers have made commitments. It is a dashboard of key indicators rather than a full assessment of how effective ODA has been, which depends on a wider set of actors and factors. This is the fifth edition of QuODA; it has been substantially revised since the last iteration. The indicators are based on the evidence of what matters to ODA impact and the principles agreed by 161 counties following a series of international meetings leading up to Busan in 2011 and taken forward by the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation.
Topic:: Development, International Cooperation, Humanitarian Intervention, and Development Assistance
Political Geography:: Global Focus

314. Incentivising Investment in Human Capital through the European Fund for Sustainable Development

Author:: Mikaela Gavas and Samuel Pleeck
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: As the EU prepares to significantly scale up its deployment of blended finance, guarantees, and other risk-sharing tools aimed at stimulating investment in developing countries, and, in the face of spiralling needs as a result of COVID-19, this paper analyses how the EU could use its development budget to incentivise private investment in human capital. The paper provides three contributions. First, it gives an overview of the allocation of the EU’s external investment to date. Second, based on interviews with stakeholders, it documents cases of private investment in health and education while exploring some of the barriers to a higher share of investment in these sectors by the EU and its development finance partners. Finally, it puts forward a set of proposals for how to steer greater European external investment through the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) toward human capital.
Topic:: Development, Regional Cooperation, European Union, Investment, Human Capital, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Europe

315. An Analysis of the Binding Constraints on Digital Financial Inclusion in India Using a Decision Tree Methodology

Author:: Nandini Harihareswara and Howard Miller
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: The past decade has seen significant innovation and growth in the volume and value of digital payments in India. However, we find that the associated gains have been heavily concentrated in favor of wealthier and urban customers and have had less impact on lower income and rural populations. While some customers now have a far greater selection of quick, cheap, and convenient digital payments methods, as much as 65 percent of the population remains effectively excluded. Using a decision tree framework, we test a range of factors on the supply and demand sides that could be binding constraints on further digital finance penetration. We find that an unlevel playing field in favor of the (primarily state-owned) banking sector results in a lack of effective competition that could be inhibiting greater innovation and outreach in favor of lower-income and marginalized people. This unlevel playing field is potentially a function of institutional weakness combined with the nexus of control of the government and the banking sector, which is reinforced by the position of the National Payments Corporation of India. This control may also be viewed by the government as necessary to protect economic stability in a very dynamic market. To the extent that institutional deficiencies are the root cause of regulatory barriers to the entry of new providers and the scope of digital financial services offered, they are a binding constraint on advancing digital financial inclusion. Under this market structure, the outreach and inherent business models of digital payments and transfers do not provide sufficient perceived benefits to attract large segments of the population. Further, a lack of trust in providers combines with the perception of low benefits to generate an additional binding constraint, preventing the market from reaching a critical mass at which the bulk of the population would have the means and the incentives to use the system. Therefore, the market remains at an equilibrium below its potential.
Topic:: Development, Governance, Finance, and Digitalization
Political Geography:: India and Asia

316. How Do Development Agencies Support Climate Action?

Author:: Rachael Calleja
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: This paper explores how development agencies are integrating climate action into development portfolios in response to calls to scale-up climate engagements in alignment with both the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. Using data compiled on all 30 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC), this paper maps and analyzes trends in both the scale and usage of official development assistance allocated to support climate activities and the tools and approaches used to integrate climate across development activities. This paper shows that while climate has become a key priority for development agencies, there remains scope for deepening integration by improving monitoring and reporting of climate and development results, integrating climate considerations across the life cycle of projects, and searching for complementarities across agencies.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Environment, and Green Transition
Political Geography:: Global Focus

317. American Statesmanship: Contrasting Views of Leadership

Author:: Michael P. Federici
Publication Date:: 02-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Humanitas
Institution:: The Center for the Study of Statesmanship, Catholic University
Abstract:: As George Washington contemplated attending the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he worried that if the meeting failed it would stain his reputation and jeopardize his place as father of the American republic. Given the support for and failures of the Articles of Confederation, Washington had good reason to worry that either the convention would not produce an alternative to the Articles or that it would produce one that was as ineffective and short-lived. However much Washington may have been motivated by vanity, he was predisposed to expect that failure was a common outcome of politics, in some cases because providence or fate controlled the outcome, not human agency. In instances when and to the degree that outcomes depended on human agency, Washington knew that human beings were prone to vices that were contrary to the higher ends of politics. Thus, he was not inclined to overestimate the possibilities of politics even though he had reasons to believe that providence was on his side
Topic:: Security, Development, Governance, and Leadership
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

318. The Reform of the Brazilian Anti-Dumping Regime: A Partial Review of the Determinants and the Implications of Degree 8,058/2013

Author:: Rafael Pentiado Poerschke, Helio Henkin, and Ricardo Dias da Silva
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: This study considers the development and reform of the anti-dumping regime in Brazil as a ratification example of the multilateral trading system proposed by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Brazil's history of leadership in the WTO Rounds, as well as its emergence among users of temporary barriers illustrates the fact that developing countries participate, with some success, in the endorsement and strengthening of the multilateral system itself. Using the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement (ADA) as a model for its own regulatory framework, this practice ensures that domestic legislation will have greater compliance to international obligations and avoid constraints via the Dispute Settlement Body. Finally, the case of Decree 8,058/2013 highlighted the importance that specialized agents in the middle management of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) have in the management and improvement of the Brazilian public policy.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Development, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and World Trade Organization
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

319. The US Strategy for Short-Term Military Artificial Intelligence Development (2020-2030)

Author:: Daniel Barreiros and Italo Barreto Poty
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: This article analyses the US Department of Defense initiative formalized in the Summary of the 2018 Department of Defense Artificial Intelligence Strategy. The conclusion is that the US emphasis on the use of artificial intelligence to expand C4ISR capabilities (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance) and the denunciation of “ethical risks’’ involving Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) are narrative strategies aimed at dealing in the short term with the inability of the US technology agencies to master autonomous military platform technologies and with the Russian resolve on the development of these lethal autonomous military platforms.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Development, Military Strategy, Innovation, Artificial Intelligence, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

320. Pork, infrastructure and growth: Evidence from the Italian railway expansion

Author:: Roberto Bonfatti, Giovanni Facchini, Alexander Tarasov, Gian Luca Tedeschi, and Cecilia Testa
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:: This paper studies the role played by politics in shaping the Italian railway network, and its impact on long-run growth patterns. Examining a large state-planned railway expansion that took place during the second half of the 19th century in a recently unified country, we first study how both national and local political processes shaped the planned railway construction. Exploiting close elections, we show that a state-funded railway line is more likely to be planned for construction where the local representative is aligned with the government. Furthermore, the actual path followed by the railways was shaped by local pork-barreling, with towns supporting winning candidates more likely to see a railway crossing their territory. Finally, we explore the long-run effects of the network expansion on economic development. Employing population and economic censuses for the entire 20th century, we show that politics at a critical juncture played a key role in explaining the long-run evolution of local economies.
Topic:: Development, Political Economy, Infrastructure, and Railways
Political Geography:: Europe and Italy

321. Can the Arab Region meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030?

Author:: Mourad Wahba
Publication Date:: 02-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: There are multiple challenges which need to be confronted in both data collection and public policy so that the SDGs can be attained.
Topic:: Development, Sustainable Development Goals, Public Policy, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Africa, Middle East, and Arab Countries

322. The UAE Art Scene: Challenges and Opportunities

Author:: Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: Sustainability and longevity of a thriving cultural sector in the Gulf must be treated as a priority, which is why long-term planning is essential in order to ensure the ability of the art field to meet with both current and future challenges.
Topic:: Development, Arts, Culture, and Cultural Diplomacy
Political Geography:: United Arab Emirates and Gulf Nations

323. A New Water Paradigm for Sub-Saharan Africa

Author:: Djiby Thiam
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: To make clean water and sanitation truly accessible to local communities across the continent, African institutions must take the lead in understanding the specific challenges and opportunities they face.
Topic:: Development, Regional Cooperation, Water, Infrastructure, Sanitation, Sustainability, and Africa Union
Political Geography:: Africa

324. Shaping Africa’s New Normal

Author:: Amina Abdel-Halim
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, African nations are working through the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development to set the continent back on track with its developmental Agenda 2063.
Topic:: Development, Regional Cooperation, Peace, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Africa

325. The U.N. Climate Summit and Its Aftermath

Author:: Nabil Fahmy
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: Developing countries see the call for equal actions with their richer counterparts as serving the interests of the latter.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Environment, International Cooperation, and United Nations
Political Geography:: Global Focus

326. A Climate Crisis in Africa: The Case of South Sudan

Author:: Nhial Tiitmamer
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: The African continent will be the most severely affected by climate change. Within Africa, the least developed and politically unstable nations like South Sudan are likely to be the hardest hit. What can be done, and who should be at the forefront of these changes?
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Environment, Infrastructure, and Health Crisis
Political Geography:: Africa and South Sudan

327. Great Britain and Africa: Boris Johnson's Strategic Reversals

Author:: François Gaulme
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI)
Abstract:: In 2020-2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson undertook to fundamentally change the operational mode and strategy of relations between the United Kingdom and the African continent bequeathed by his predecessors since 1997. Great Britain and Africa : Boris Johnson's Strategic Reversals He first put an end to the autonomy and power of the great Department for International Development (DfID), by merging it with the Foreign Office. Deciding to make the granting of aid political, he also reduced its amount on the grounds of the recession hitting the country but against British legislation itself. His strategy for external deployment, adopted in March 2021 and based primarily on an “Indo-Pacific tilt”, has marginalised the relationship with Africa to which Theresa May had wanted to give new impetus in the perspective of the Brexit in 2018. While taking up her concept of “Global Britain”, her successor now seems to want to limit ties with Africa to business relations, highly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as minimal participation in security efforts on the continent. This note analyses such reversals in a historical perspective of the end of a relational cycle. It concludes that Boris Johnson’s very personal policy towards Africa is too reductive not to be amended. In particular on aid and fundamental rights, it neglects the complexity of British positions towards this continent. By reaffirming the strength of the strategic relationship with the United States, it will also have to adapt to the new African policy of the Biden administration.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, Foreign Aid, and Boris Johnson
Political Geography:: Britain, Africa, and Europe

328. Preventing Violent Islamic Radicalization: Experimental Evidence on Anti-Social Behavior

Author:: Pedro C. Vicente and Inês Vilela
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:: Violence perpetrated by radicalized Muslims is a major problem around the world. We collaborated with the main Islamic authority in Mozambique, which sponsored two randomized interventions to prevent violence related to youth radicalization: a religious campaign against extremist views of Islam, targeting change in beliefs; and a training module on entrepreneurship and employment, aiming to increase the opportunity cost of conflict. Our measurement focuses on anti-social behavior in a Joy-of-destruction lab game. We find that only the religious treatment decreased the propensity to destroy the payoffs of others. Consistently, surveys show increased trust in the state and decreased support for extremism.
Topic:: Development, Political Economy, Religion, Economic Growth, Youth, Conflict, Violence, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:: Africa and Mozambique

329. Toxic Conflict: Understanding Venezuela's Economic Collapse

Author:: Juan Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez
Publication Date:: 11-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:: This paper discusses the causes of Venezuela’s recent economic collapse, the largest in modern Latin American economic history and one of the largest in modern world history outside of wartime. I argue that Venezuela’s economic implosion is a combination of two crises. The first one reflects the standard unraveling of a populist macroeconomic cycle fed by overspending during a resource boom, while the second one reflects the severing of the country’s trade and financial links with the global economy. This severing is the consequence of the decision by political actors to adopt “scorched earth” strategies with large negative aggregate economic spillovers in their fight for power. I argue that the inability of Venezuela’s high-stakes, winner-take-all political system to deal with the large negative 2014–16 trade shock precipitated the change in political strategies and the descent into economically destructive political conflict.
Topic:: Development, Political Economy, Democracy, Economic Growth, Conflict, Institutions, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:: South America and Latin America

330. Iraqi diaspora mobilization and the future development of Iraq

Author:: Oula Kadhum
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: Iraqi diaspora mobilization and the future development of Iraq – authored by Dr. Oula Kadhum, explores Iraqi diaspora mobilization before and after the 2003 invasion and fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein. It looks at the ways members of the diaspora sought to help in the rebuilding of their country of origin, at both the elite and grassroots levels, as well as investigating changes over time. Importantly, it analyses the obstacles that have hindered diaspora mobilization since 2003 and argues that the Iraqi diaspora is a valuable, yet largely untapped resource for Iraq.
Topic:: Development, Diplomacy, Politics, Diaspora, Resilience, and Society
Political Geography:: Iraq and Middle East

331. MIT X TAU Series: Africa’s Future Governmen

Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: The eleventh webinar in an eleven-part series focused on various aspects of sustainable development in Africa.
Topic:: Development, Governance, State Building, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Africa

332. MIT X TAU Series: Africa’s Agricultural Reinvention with Sara Menker

Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: The tenth webinar in an eleven-part series focused on various aspects of sustainable development in Africa.
Topic:: Agriculture, Development, Innovation, Sustainability, and Farming
Political Geography:: Africa

333. MIT X TAU Series: Africa’s Innovation in Education

Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: The ninth webinar in an eleven-part series focused on various aspects of sustainable development in Africa.
Topic:: Development, Governance, Innovation, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Africa

334. The Savings and Growth Nexus in Bangladesh

Author:: Sultan Hafeez Rahman and Md. Nahid Ferdous Pabon
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:: The paper investigates the causal relationship between Bangladesh’s gross domestic savings (GDS) and gross domestic product (GDP) in the years 1980 to 2018. Using yearly time series data from the period, the authors employ one long-run and two short-run causality tests to identify the direction of causality between the two variables. Bangladesh experienced stellar GDP growth between 1990 and 2019, averaging 6.5 percent per year. In the latter years, this rate was over 7 percent per year. Despite that, its GDS rate only increased to 22 percent from 15 percent in the same period. This is in stark contrast to the scenario in countries like India, China, Indonesia, and Thailand. The Philippines, however, had a low savings rate like Bangladesh. A common feature of both countries is their large remittances and the broad-based growth effects in the economies. In both Bangladesh and the Philippines, gross national savings (GNS) rather than GDS caused greater investment. Thus, domestic savings were clearly not the key driver of growth in Bangladesh, which is inconsistent with the view of capital fundamentalists and neoclassical growth theory. The findings suggest that, in the short run, the direction of causality between savings and economic growth is unidirectional from economic growth to savings. And in the long run, there is no evidence of statistically significant causality in either direction. In other words, higher economic growth induced savings in Bangladesh in the studied period of time.
Topic:: Development, GDP, Economic Growth, and Savings
Political Geography:: Bangladesh and South Asia

335. Transforming the Systems that Contribute to Fragility and Humanitarian Crises: Programming across the triple nexus

Author:: Vittorio Infante
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Conflicts and shocks linked to climate change are more frequent and intense, leading to poverty and inequality, exacerbating these phenomena and people’s vulnerability. In this context, humanitarian relief, development programmes and peacebuilding are not serial processes; they are all needed at the same time to tackle the systemic inequalities that trap people in poverty and expose them to risk. The triple nexus, or programming across humanitarian-development-peace pillars, thus means creating synergies and common goals across short-term emergency response programmes and longer-term social change processes in development, as well as enhancing opportunities for peace so that individuals can enjoy the full spectrum of human rights. This briefing paper aims to identify the tensions and dilemmas that Oxfam faces when programming across the nexus and sets out new policy to address these dilemmas, building upon Oxfam’s 2019 discussion paper on the triple nexus.
Topic:: Development, Inequality, Humanitarian Intervention, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:: Global Focus

336. Still Treading Water: Reviewing six years of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism and the dire water situation in the Gaza Strip

Author:: Laila Barhoum
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Six years after the establishment of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), people in Gaza continue to live on the brink of disaster as a result of 13 years of the Israeli blockade. The water, sanitation and health (WASH) sector remains significantly damaged, with Gaza facing the complete collapse of its wastewater treatment system. The reconstruction process is ongoing, but it is slow, costly, and hampers the humanitarian response. Six years after the establishment of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), people in Gaza continue to live on the brink of disaster as a result of a 13 year blockade imposed by Israel. The water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector remains significantly damaged, with Gaza facing a stark deterioration of available WASH services at the community and household level. The reconstruction process is ongoing, but it is slow, costly, and hampers the humanitarian response. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely aggravated existing vulnerabilities, including access to water and sanitation. This strongly impacts the daily lives of over 2 million people living in the coastal enclave, of whom 1.5 million – or 75% – have been identified as being in need of humanitarian assistance. Oxfam has recently reviewed the challenges associated with the GRM and its impact on the WASH sector in Gaza. Its findings reveal that these challenges are an obstacle to the reconstruction of WASH infrastructure (including operation and maintenance), hindering efforts to address the increased needs of people in Gaza. Donors and UN agencies should consider the needs of people in Gaza today. Rather than continuing with the GRM, they should explore how they can improve their engagement to be able to challenge the Israeli access restrictions, work towards economic development, ensure accountability within access mechanisms, and facilitate inclusive Palestinian participation to access mechanisms and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Topic:: Development, Infrastructure, Conflict, COVID-19, and Humanitarian Response
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

337. In Our Own Words: Perspectives from local actors in the Horn, East, and Central Africa

Author:: Elizabeth Deng
Publication Date:: 02-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Oxfam is committed to supporting the participation of local actors in humanitarian and development responses. This includes ensuring their opinions and perspectives about priorities, needs, and appropriate ways of addressing issues are part of public debate. Oxfam advocates for their presence and participation in coordination meetings and other spaces for decision-making. We also provide support to local actors to write and publish their opinions and perspectives. This paper is a compilation of eight opinion pieces written by local actors in the Horn, East, and Central Africa region, with editing and publishing support from Oxfam. The pieces were originally published by Devex, Citizen Digital, Media Congo, IPS News, African Arguments, Nile Post, and WeInformers.
Topic:: Development, Local, Humanitarian Crisis, and Participation
Political Geography:: Africa

338. North Africa 2030: What the Future Holds for the Region

Author:: Karim Mezran and Armando Sanguini
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
Abstract:: More than ten years after the “Arab Spring”, the turmoil that swept across North Africa has taken many forms. But the Arab uprisings have also brought about a surprising amount of “more of the same”, as the problems that plagued the region have not gone away. This report, produced in collaboration between ISPI and the Atlantic Council, looks at the future of the region by asking: what will North Africa be in 2030? Which direction could the region as a whole, and specific countries, take? And what are the implications for Europe and the US?
Topic:: Development, Arab Spring, Future, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:: North Africa

339. Climate-related Security Risks in the 2020 Updated Nationally Determined Contributions

Author:: Elise Remling and Amar Causevic
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:: Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are the central instrument for states to communicate their contribution to the 2016 Paris Agreement on climate change and reflect their wider approach to climate mitigation and adaptation. This SIPRI Insights paper analyses how the 2020 updated NDCs (16 submissions as of October 2020) discuss climate-related security risks and compares them with 2015. It finds that climate change is mainly seen as a risk to socio-economic development and human security and almost never as a risk to societal stability or the functioning of the state. The assessment of risks in NDCs largely focuses on direct climate impacts. This suggests that countries are currently not considering the risks from indirect climate impacts, including those that cross national borders, or the unintended adverse consequences of adaptation or mitigation responses. Going forward, countries will need to take account of the multifaceted and transboundary character of climate risks in their NDCs in order to meet global expectations and goals.
Topic:: Security, Climate Change, Development, Risk, and Peace
Political Geography:: Global Focus

340. Supporting Small Arms and Light Weapons Controls through Development Assistance: The Case of sub-Saharan Africa

Author:: Giovanna Maletta and Lucile Robin
Publication Date:: 02-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:: The proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) has had a negative impact on conflict, security and development. In order to help states to address the multifaceted challenges posed by the proliferation of these weapons, some states as well as regional and international organizations have established a series of funding instruments and assistance programmes that support or provide SALW control-related assistance. In view of the recognized linkages between SALW proliferation, security and development, official development assistance (ODA) has progressively become an eligible source of funding in this field. However, there remains limited clarity on which assistance activities have been supported through development spending. A comprehensive assessment of the use of ODA to support SALW control-related assistance could help donors, policymakers and interested stakeholders to understand how assistance policies have adjusted to the recognition of the link between conventional arms control and sustainable development made in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Focusing on SALW control-related assistance provided in sub-Saharan Africa as a case study and comparing information included in separate data sets compiled by SIPRI and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, this report attempts to provide information on which relevant activities have been supported through ODA in this region. It shows that only a limited number of donors have used ODA to support SALW control-related assistance and that they have different practices in the way they report on the use of these funds. It also outlines the challenges that make mapping this assistance a particularly difficult exercise.
Topic:: Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Development, and Development Assistance
Political Geography:: Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

341. Updating the European industrial strategy for the post-pandemic world

Author:: Marta Pilati and Frederico Mollet
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: European Policy Centre (EPC)
Abstract:: On 27 April, the European Commission is expected to publish an update to their 2020 Industrial Strategy, a blueprint for an assertive European industrial policy that drives the digital and green transitions. While the current strategy’s broad principles continue to hold, it must now adapt to the post-pandemic world’s challenges. Furthermore, the original strategy only provided a high-level roadmap, with many areas requiring further development. Frederico Mollet and Marta Pilati break down European industry’s weaknesses and potential areas of success, the effects of COVID-19 this past year, key points of the 2020 Industrial Strategy and its relevance for Europe and beyond. They outline 16 recommendations which would strengthen the design and implementation of the programmes outlined in the current strategy, across four themes: finance, industrial ecosystems and alliances, technology transfer, and strategic autonomy.
Topic:: Development, Political Economy, European Union, Digital Economy, Green Technology, Industry, COVID-19, Strategic Autonomy, and European Commission
Political Geography:: Europe

342. Snakes, rats and drug addicts used to dwell here – analysis of the narrative utilised to capture the state

Author:: Luka Steric
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Belgrade Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:: Foreign direct investments are the cornerstone of the current government’s economic policy. In their statements, the officials call them drivers of development, saying that they have enabled the revival of the economy and turned Serbia into the “economic tiger of Southeast Europe.”1 The fact that the value of the investments Serbia has managed to attract is greater “than what was achieved by all the countries of the Western Balkans put together” 2 is often mentioned as the key measure of success. However, the story of brilliant success quickly loses its lustre when one considers the long-term effects and all-encompassing consequences of this policy. Due to the way they are contracted and implemented, foreign direct investments represent one of the key mechanisms for capturing the state. Hiding behind the stories of a better future and new jobs, the government is breaking down the system of legal regulations and statutory procedures, promoting private interest to the detriment of the public one, and using foreign investments as propaganda ammunition to legitimise unlimited power. The results of such policy are a number of negative consequences for the state and the citizens, such as the increase of public debt, dramatic violation of workers’ rights and alarming problems with environmental pollution. In order to mask the negative consequences and legitimise the policy of attracting foreign investors based on the above described pattern, a complex narrative has been developed presenting foreign investments as a successful, and the only possible, model for state development. This meta-narrative about progress, which media are building up every day, is based on four basic component narratives: on the economic revival, on the efficiency of personal rule, on transparent contracts and on the opponents of Serbia’s development who ‘unfoundedly’ criticise the government’s economic success. In the analysis of the narrative we will focus on the statements of officials made since 2012, which is when the regime led by the Serbian Progressive Party came to power. Many of the described mechanisms, such as non-transparent, harmful contracts and unjustifiably high subsidies, also existed during the previous government.3 However, the capture of the state, carried out - among other things - with the help of foreign direct investments, has reached completely new dimensions under the current regime, while the narratives that accompany it have been significantly ‘improved’.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Foreign Direct Investment, and Drugs
Political Geography:: Europe and Serbia

343. The Link Between Global Value Chain Activity and Local Human Capital: Evidence from Indonesia’s Manufacturing Sector

Author:: Rashesh Shrestha and Deborah Winkler
Publication Date:: 02-2021
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:: For developing countries, participation in global value chains (GVCs) provides an opportunity to expand domestic human capital. Since GVC firms require qualified workers to meet high production standards, they have an incentive to invest directly in their workers’ skills or to raise the demand for skilled workers, which indirectly creates an incentive for workers to enrol in vocational education. This paper explores the relationship between GVC activity and workers’ skills in Indonesia. It combines National Labor Force Survey (SAKERNAS) data with the Large/Medium Industry Survey (IBS) to construct a pooled cross-sectional data set of Indonesian manufacturing workers which takes into account measures of GVC activity at the district-sector-year level. The findings suggest that higher GVC activity in a worker’s district-sector-year is linked to a higher likelihood of vocational education of individual workers. A separate panel data analysis at the district level confirms the positive relationship between GVC activity and human capital. Finally, the results indicate that the wage premium for vocational education is higher in districts with greater intensity of GVC activity.
Topic:: Development, Education, Training, Manufacturing, Industry, and Global Value Chains
Political Geography:: Indonesia, Asia, and Southeast Asia

344. Understanding Quality Energy-Related Infrastructure Development in the Mekong Subregion: Key Drivers and Policy Implications

Author:: Han Phoumin, Sopheak Meas, and Hatda Pich An
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:: Many players have supported infrastructure development in the Mekong Subregion, bridging the missing links in Southeast Asia. While the influx of energy-related infrastructure development investments to the region has improved the livelihoods of millions of people on the one hand, it has brought about a myriad of challenges to the wider region in guiding investments for quality infrastructure and for promoting a low-carbon economy, and energy access and affordability, on the other hand. Besides reviewing key regional initiatives for infrastructure investment and development, this paper examines energy demand and supply, and forecasts energy consumption in the subregion during 2017–2050 using energy modelling scenario analysis. The study found that to satisfy growing energy demand in the subregion, huge power generation infrastructure investment, estimated at around $190 billion–$220 billion, is necessary between 2017 and 2050 and that such an investment will need to be guided by appropriate policy. We argue that without redesigning energy policy towards high-quality energy infrastructure, it is very likely that the increasing use of coal upon which the region greatly depends will lead to the widespread construction of coal-fired power plants, which could result in increased greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions.
Topic:: Development, Energy Policy, Infrastructure, Renewable Energy, and Carbon Emissions
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Laos, and Myanmar

345. Aviation Market Development in the New Normal Post the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Air Connectivity and Business Travel

Author:: Xiaowen Fu, David A. Hensher, Nicole T. T. Chen, and Junbiao Su
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:: This study quantifies the effects introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic on air connectivity and passenger travel behaviour. Our analysis suggests that the pandemic has led to significant connectivity loss at all airports, especially at large hubs and tourism destinations. Low-cost carriers’ operations at these airports, whose main targets are price-sensitive, non-business travellers, have been significantly reduced, too. There is preliminary evidence that network carriers at hub airports played more important roles amid the pandemic, likely due to the benefits associated with their hub-and-spoke networks. Connectivity losses at the smallest airports tended to be temporary and limited. These airports had limited aviation services to start with and, thus, it was not too costly to maintain the minimum connectivity. Empirical results obtained from a passenger preference study indicate that traveller subgroups are impacted in different ways. When there is no online meeting option, nearly 80% of the respondents prefer, and are willing to pay for, pandemic control measures. These ‘pro-control’ passengers perceive such measures and the associated high costs/fares as valuable and necessary to lower the health-related risks during air travel. When there is an online meeting option, the share of such passengers decreases to 44.5%, with the remaining 55.5% exhibiting disutility for the increased price and time associated with pandemic control measures. The average willingness-to-pay for pandemic control measures decreases significantly, whereas the value of time saved at health checkpoints increases significantly. The aviation industry thus faces a ‘double-hit’ problem: operation costs will increase due to pandemic control measures, and the resultant inconvenience and extra time and costs further reduce travel demand. Unlike previous short pandemics, business travel is likely to suffer with an extended decline until the pandemic is fully controlled. These results call for financial and operational support for aviation services, especially at major airports and tourism destinations. Because these large airports are expected to be profitable post the pandemic, they may resort to low-cost finance from the capital market in the short term. Because the value of time saved at checkpoints is very high, it is more important for government agencies to make the pandemic control and health measures efficient and smooth. For operations such as vaccination records, stakeholders in different countries should cooperate to facilitate seamless control and pleasant air travel experiences.
Topic:: Development, Financial Markets, Business, Public Health, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Travel
Political Geography:: Asia and Southeast Asia

346. China's Ties with Southeast Asia : From Green Shoots to Sustained Recovery

Author:: Kensuke Tanaka
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:: China's rebound happened relatively quickly owing to a large extent to timely macroeconomic policy responses to the crisis. Lagging somewhat behind China, most Southeast Asian countries have now entered the transition from recession to recovery. Some export-dependent Southeast Asian countries shifted their export destination to China to benefit from its early recovery. This switch of export destination to China illustrates China's important role in leading the recovery of the region. Enhancing regional macroeconomic co-operation would help reduce vulnerability of the region and ensure a sustained recovery. Regional macroeconomic co-operation remains at an early stage in Southeast Asia, but possibilities for further co-operation should be explored.
Topic:: Development, Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and Economic Recovery
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Southeast Asia

347. Cybersecurity Policy Dev elopement and Capacity Building - Increasing Regional Cooperation in the Western Balkans

Author:: Drazen Maravic
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:: Increased cooperation between Western Balkan economies in the face of continuously increasing cyberattacks, cybercrime and hybrid threats present a key goal of numerous recent European declarations and initiatives. The Declaration of the 2020 Zagreb Summit between the European Union and Western Balkan leaders notes that so-called hybrid activities originating from third-state actors, including disinformation around COVID-19, have become increasingly prevalent in the Western Balkans and calls for increased cooperation to address such threats. Additionally, The Digital and Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, the Regional Cooperation Council, the Regional School of Public Administration and other regional initiatives provide a general framework for enhanced cooperation. In addressing these important issues, this paper identifies the ways in which closer regional collaboration is beneficial for building resilience, enhancing regional cybersecurity and enhancing strategic communication, collaboration and partnerships. The cybersecurity workforce shortage, skills gap and slow progress in public administration reforms are significant concerns for economic development and national security in the region, especially given the rapid digitization of global and regional economies.
Topic:: Security, Development, Regional Cooperation, and Cybersecurity
Political Geography:: Europe and Balkans

348. The Contribution of Parliament's to Sustainable Development Goal 16 Through Security Sector Governance and Reform

Author:: Merle Jasper
Publication Date:: 11-2021
Content Type:: Case Study
Institution:: Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:: The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda is a global action plan for sustainable development and a key priority for the UN and its member states. Within the 2030 Agenda, SDG 16 has a pivotal role highlighting the security-development nexus and emphasizing the need for strong institutions which adhere to good governance principles. The achievement of SDG 16 requires that national security sectors are well governed, subject to civilian oversight, and respectful of human rights and the rule of law. Against this background, this case study compilation circles in on parliaments, as key oversight actors, and questions how they contribute to SDG 16 through their role in security sector governance and reform. It is based on an explorative review of four country studies on Colombian, Georgia, Nigeria and the Philippines, written by regional experts. Their observations form the foundation for a comparative analysis of common challenges and effective practices of parliaments contributing to the achievement of SDG 16.
Topic:: Security, Development, Governance, Reform, Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainability, and Parliamentarism
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, Asia, Philippines, Colombia, South America, Georgia, Nigeria, and Oceania

349. Manifestations of Chinese Development Aid and Its Hidden Meanings

Author:: Anna Kobierecka
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: The People’s Republic of China is one of the states focusing intensively on building its soft power and shaping its international image. However, China’s image is still negative and primarily based on stereotypes. In recent years, this country is willing to change such perceptions and present itself as an efficient, intensively developing, capable country that is much more than just a global production plant. The article aims to review China’s different manifestations of development aid regarding changing this type of public diplomacy and its meaning to the Chinese government. Is it only motivated by good intentions, or maybe its goal is to only provide an advantage to China? It is evident that owing to significant development, China needs to expand its economic contacts. However, the tested hypothesis states that behind Chinese development aid, political motivation is hidden as well. The research is based on content analysis of official documents and Foreign Ministry’s statements referring to development aid.
Topic:: Development, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, and Development Aid
Political Geography:: China and Asia

350. Poland's Reason of State in the Creation of a New International Order. Foreign Policy as Poland's Reason of State in the 21st Century

Author:: Piotr Lewandowski
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: The article analyzes the Polish reason of state in changing international order understood as the loss of hegemon position by the United States. The author defines the reason of state as an analytical operant and relates it to the security and sovereignty of a state in the international environment. The text also outlines possibilities of development of Poland's reason of state in the region and global geopolitics.
Topic:: Security, Development, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:: Europe and Poland

351. United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the Most Important Utilitarian Values. Social Security Approach

Author:: Paweł Gromek and Tadeusz Keson
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: 2030 Agenda constitutes a comprehensive framework for sustainable development. Nevertheless, not all sustainable development goals properly match the most important utilitarian values (human life and health). It is especially noticeable in terms of disasters and crises, which commonly determine social security. The research objective is to indicate the placement of the values in the particular goals. The systematic literature review indicates 47 information sources. That enables an in-depth analysis of the goals and social security specification elements, highlighting the direct or indirect character of relevant relations. The gaps can be identified considering the social character of the goals, characteristic hazards, danger to human life, and health and urgency of the response. In most cases, the relations between the goals and the values are indirect. They can be improved with a potentially positive influence on sustainable development in all circumstances (including the most dangerous ones). The goals specification states many references for the improvement in a synergistic way respecting the most important utilitarian values, especially in zero hunger, good health and well-being, sustainable cities and communities, climate action, partnership for the goals.
Topic:: Development, United Nations, Social Security, Social Services, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Global Focus

352. The Impact of Conflicts on Natural Resources – The Case of Sudanese Darfur Region

Author:: Nagmeldin Karamalla-Gaiballa
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: This research paper explores the impact of sociological perspectives on the relationship between natural resources and conflicts. From these theoretical perspectives, many fundamental sources of conflict over natural resources are identified and defined. This research takes the approach of a case study in which the researchers investigate and analyze the sources of conflict happening in the Darfur region of Sudan. This case study explores the demographic changes, economic development, and social inequality among some factors contributing to conflict over resources in this region. The research findings demonstrated that various factors play a vital role in the availability of natural resources, which is the main reason sides other reasons flaring conflict in the Darfur region in Sudan. These factors are related to climate change, destruction of ecosystems, immigration, demographic change, and political changes. Even though various factors could impact the conflict of resources in the Darfur region in Sudan, these researchers focused in this research paper on the sociological perspective only.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Natural Resources, Inequality, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Africa and Sudan

353. Cultural Security in Shaping the Generation of Civilizational Advancement Within the Universalization of Cultural Transformations. Based on Research Conducted in Samoa

Author:: Mirosława Jaworowska
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: The Author has demonstrated that Samoan youth is not indifferent to cultural universals, despite attempting to co-create them in the course of a multi-cultural dialogue and globalization processes. The study was founded on research results conducted through local observations and a questionnaire distributed among students of the Faculty of Education at the National University of Samoa in Apia. The research aimed to learn about the opinions, aspirations, attitudes, and value systems of Samoan students as they represent the educated elite of the 21st-century generation. The interviewed approve of contemporary civilizational novelties, as long as those do not harm the traditional culture. The socialization process in the Samoan youth has been occurring on a borderland between upbringing, traditional family-tribal, and the modern state-citizen education in schools and social life. Family and traditional customs are still vivid despite being more open to contemporary civilization and state developments. Although cautious towards novelties that might threaten the Samoan culture, these attitudes may be assessed as a reformatory. Based on the results obtained in Samoa, it is justifiable to state that the process of cultural transformation universalization has been occurring there in many areas of reality.
Topic:: Security, Development, Culture, and Civilization
Political Geography:: Asia-Pacific and Samoa

354. Growth Perspective on Western Australia

Author:: Ricardo Hausmann, Douglas Barrios, Ana Grisanti, Semiray Kasoolu, Tim O'Brien, Eric Protzer, Rushabh Sanghvi, Nikita Taniparti, and Jorge Tapia
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: The Government of Western Australia (WA), acting through its Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), invited the Growth Lab of the Center for International Development at Harvard University to partner with the state to better understand and address constraints to economic diversification through a collaborative applied research project. The project seeks to apply growth diagnostic and economic complexity methodologies to inform policy design in order to accelerate productive transformation, economic diversification, and more inclusive and resilient job creation across Western Australia. As its name implies, this Growth Perspective Report aims to provide a set of perspectives on the process of economic growth in WA that provide insights for policymakers toward improving growth outcomes. This Growth Perspective Report describes both the economic growth process of Western Australia — with a focus on the past two decades — and identifies several problematic issues with the way that growth has been structured. In particular, this report traces important ways in which policies applied during the boom and subsequent slowdown in growth over the last twenty years have exacerbated a number of self-reinforcing negative externalities of undiversified growth. The report analyzes three key channels through which negative externalities have manifested: labor market imbalances, pro-cyclicality of fiscal policy, and a misalignment of public goods. The report includes sections on each of these channels, which provide perspectives on the ways in which they have hampered the quality of growth and explore the reasons why problematic externalities have become self-reinforcing. In some cases, new issues have emerged in the most recent iteration of WA’s boom-slowdown cycle, but many issues have roots in the long-term growth history of WA.
Topic:: Development, Employment, Economic Growth, and Diversification
Political Geography:: Australia

355. Economic Complexity Report for Western Australia

Author:: Ricardo Hausmann, Eric Protzer, Jorge Tapia, and Ana Grisanti
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: The Government of Western Australia (WA), acting through its Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), invited the Growth Lab of the Center for International Development (CID) at Harvard University to partner with the state to better understand and address constraints to economic diversification through a collaborative applied research project. The project seeks to apply growth diagnostic and economic complexity methodologies to inform policy design in order to accelerate productive transformation, economic diversification, and more inclusive and resilient job creation across Western Australia. This Economic Complexity Report is organized in six sections, including this brief introduction. Section 2 explains the methodology of economic complexity, including its theoretical foundations and main concepts, as well as the adjustments that were required to obtain the required export data at a subnational level and incorporate the service sector to the analysis. Section 3 describes the structure of the WA economy, identifying its productive capacities and exploring its complexity profile. This is done at the state, regional, and city levels. Section 4 identifies industries with high potential and organizes them into groupings to capture important patterns among the opportunities. Section 5 contextualizes the opportunities further by identifying relevant viability and attractiveness factors that complement the complexity metrics and consider local conditions, as well as a criterion for regional participation in the state-wide diversification strategy. Finally, Section 6 summarizes the main findings of this report and discusses implications for Government of WA strategy and policy toward capitalizing on these revealed opportunities.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Economic Complexity, and Job Creation
Political Geography:: Australia

356. National Development Delivers: And How! And How?

Author:: Lant Pritchett
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: Core dual ideas of early development economics and practice were that (a) national development was a four-fold transformation of countries towards: (i) a more productive economy, (ii) a more responsive state, (iii) more capable administration, and (iv) a shared identity and equal treatment of citizens and (b) this four-fold transformation of national development would lead to higher levels of human wellbeing. The second idea is strikingly correct: development delivers. National development is empirically necessary for high wellbeing (no country with low levels of national development has high human wellbeing) and also empirically sufficient (no country with high national development has low levels of human wellbeing). Three measures of national development: productive economy, capable administration, and responsive state, explain (essentially) all of the observed variation in an omnibus indicator of wellbeing, the Social Progress Index, which is based on 58 distinct non-economic indicators. How national development delivers on wellbeing varies, in three ways. One, economic growth is much more important for achieving wellbeing at low versus high levels of income. Two, economic growth matters more for “basic needs” than for other dimensions of wellbeing (like social inclusiveness or environmental quality). Three, state capability matters more for wellbeing outcomes that depend on public production than on private goods (and for some wellbeing indicators, like physical safety, for which growth doesn’t matter at all). While these findings may seem too common sense to be worth a paper, national development--and particularly economic growth—is, strangely, under severe challenge as an important and legitimate objective of action within the development industry.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:: Global Focus

357. Let’s Take the Con Out of Randomized Control Trials in Development: The Puzzles and Paradoxes of External Validity, Empirically Illustrated

Author:: Lant Pritchett
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: The enthusiasm for the potential of RCTs in development rests in part on the assumption that the use of the rigorous evidence that emerges from an RCT (or from a small set of studies identified as rigorous in a “systematic” review) leads to the adoption of more effective policies, programs or projects. However, the supposed benefits of using rigorous evidence for “evidence based” policy making depend critically on the extent to which there is external validity. If estimates of causal impact or treatment effects that have internal validity (are unbiased) in one context (where the relevant “context” could be country, region, implementing organization, complementary policies, initial conditions, etc.) cannot be applied to another context then applying evidence that is rigorous in one context may actually reduce predictive accuracy in other contexts relative to simple evidence from that context—even if that evidence is biased (Pritchett and Sandefur 2015). Using empirical estimates from a large number of developing countries of the difference in student learning in public and private schools (just as one potential policy application) I show that commonly made assumptions about external validity are, in the face of the actual observed heterogeneity across contexts, both logically incoherent and empirically unhelpful. Logically incoherent, in that it is impossible to reconcile general claims about external validity of rigorous estimates of causal impact and the heterogeneity of the raw facts about differentials. Empirically unhelpful in that using a single (or small set) of rigorous estimates to apply to all other actually leads to a larger root mean square error of prediction of the “true” causal impact across contexts than just using the estimates from non-experimental data from each country. In the data about private and public schools, under plausible assumptions, an exclusive reliance on the rigorous evidence has RMSE three times worse than using the biased OLS result from each context. In making policy decisions one needs to rely on an understanding of the relevant phenomena that encompasses all of the available evidence.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Education, and Public Policy
Political Geography:: Global Focus

358. “Reformed Multilateralism” at the United Nations

Author:: Asoke Mukerji
Publication Date:: 02-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: American Diplomacy
Institution:: American Diplomacy
Abstract:: Editor’s note: The author was the Indian Ambassador to the UN 2013-2015. Calls for “reformed multilateralism”[1] at the UN’s 75th anniversary session in September 2020 stressed the need for equal participation by member-states in UN decision-making. Five years earlier, when adopting Agenda 2030, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) acknowledged the inter-linkage between peace, security, and development.[2] With its universal scope, Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development has become the central focus of the United Nations (UN) for the foreseeable future. Agenda 2030 requires a paradigm shift in the approach of UN member-states to global issues and underscores the imperative for an inclusive human-centric approach through the participation of multiple stakeholders in UN activities. This would enable the UN to pool resources through partnerships to meet the major challenges in all its three “pillars” – political, human rights, and socio-economic development.
Topic:: Development, Human Rights, Politics, United Nations, Reform, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:: Global Focus

359. Harnessing Inland Waterways for Inclusive Trade Among Bay of Bengal Countries

Author:: Veena Vidyadharan
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: East-West Center
Abstract:: The transboundary rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna along with their tributaries and distributaries create a vibrant water grid connecting their riparian countries. Historically, these rivers have played a prominent role in shaping the economy of the Indian sub-continent as a major means of trade and transportation. In the post-colonial era, new political boundaries between countries mostly cut off these riverine networks because the priority of the newly-established countries and their governments was to develop road and rail networks for internal consolidation and integration more efficiently. Hence, waterways connectivity among new regional countries was comparatively neglected. India and Bangladesh, for example, share 54 transboundary rivers. Despite existing bilateral agreements for using designated riverine routes for trade and transit, only in the past few years have infrastructural development initiatives started in India for constructing river terminals, multimodal terminals as well as fairway development. And there are other opportunities.
Topic:: Development, Infrastructure, Regional Integration, and Ecology
Political Geography:: Bangladesh, South Asia, India, Indo-Pacific, and Bay of Bengal

360. Making BIMSTEC a Regional Vehicle for Nepal’s Economic Growth

Author:: Sunil KC
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: East-West Center
Abstract:: Recently, the government of Nepal, led by Nepal Communist Party Chairman KP Sharma Oli who ascended to power in 2018, came up with an integrated foreign policy that reflects rapid changes in both the domestic and geopolitical spheres. The new foreign policy has shifted from a traditional course to a modern one with “Economic Diplomacy” as the main driver. With the slogan of “Happy Nepali, Prosperous Nepal”, Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has prioritized engagement with regional groupings. It is in this context that the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation or (BIMSTEC), established in 1996, with a permanent secretariat in Dhaka, Bangladesh, could serve as an important platform in achieving Nepal’s foreign policy goals of development and prosperity. Nepal became a member of BIMSTEC in 2004.. BIMSTEC acts as a vital bridge for Nepal to connect with South and Southeast Asia to expand its trade, economy, business, investments, and cultural connections. However, due to an unstable domestic political environment, Nepal has not been utilizing regional forums in advancing the nation’s interest. Now, with a stable government in power, Nepal must look at regional forums as important gateways for conducting business and national development.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, Geopolitics, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:: South Asia, Nepal, and Southeast Asia

361. Rebuilding the Midwest's infrastructure: Driving equitable economic recovery in a world reshaped by COVID-19

Author:: John Austin and Alexander Hitch
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Abstract:: In the midst of a national discussion about the need to update our infrastructure, the Midwest is primed for a new round of investment. The agenda for the country and for the Midwest must reflect the realities of an economy and society shaped by longstanding structural, economic, racial, and geographic inequities, accentuated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, this moment offers a clear opportunity to ensure that a new infrastructure development plan capitalizes on the unique assets and economic opportunities inherent to each region to accelerate economic growth and spread its benefits to more people and places. In the Midwest, this agenda includes several core components. It must adapt to the economic realities of the post-COVID-19 world. It must also contribute to innovation in a host of sectors—from manufacturing to product-delivery systems to health care—while enhancing the ability to organize state- and local-level infrastructure initiatives. Finally, it must dovetail with the urgent need and newfound political will to close gaps in equity and opportunity based on race, income, and geography.
Topic:: Development, Infrastructure, Economy, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

362. The Future Africans Want: When Optimism Is Power

Author:: E. Gyimah-Boadi and Joseph Asunka
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:: The middle of a pandemic that has stopped the world in its tracks may seem like a surprising time to focus our attention on Africa’s future. Covid-19 has triggered lockdowns and school closures, caused job losses, postponed elections (1) and forced us to fix our gaze on the here and now: on staying healthy today, on putting food on the table today, on protecting people’s rights and dignity today. However, a shock like this pandemic also creates an imperative for strategic foresight. As Africa prepares for a post-Covid world, we must take stock of people’s lived experiences and expectations if we are to build back better. What are Africans’ aspirations for their lives and those of their children? How are they thinking about the future and what can they do to shape it? What assets are citizens willing to invest to further their collective ambitions, and how can governments and development actors best harness them? This policy Brief taps into Afrobarometer (2) survey data to map people’s aspirations for the next decade and their willingness to take action to achieve their goals (detailed information on Afrobarometer surveys and methods can be found in endnote 2). Rather than using abstract scenarios or models to build a vision of the future, we asked people directly where they want to go and how they think they can get there (3). Our analysis is grounded in the perspectives of ordinary citizens, their views on the interactions they have with their governments and their reports of the actions they take to participate in policy processes and influence their governments, defined as ‘citizen engagement’. The responses to the surveys show that Africans’ aspirations go well beyond economic and social security: they evince a desire for self-sufficiency and autonomy as well as democratic, accountable and responsive governance. Citizens are largely ready and willing to take action and even to put their own financial resources into the pot in order to realise their ambitions. Examples abound of citizens joining together to do everything: from fighting corruption in the management of local natural resources in Ghana (4), to initiating local awareness-raising and relief campaigns in response to Covid-19 in Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa and South Sudan. (5) Yet too often, governments resist and fail to listen to citizen voices, respond to popular expectations and build the governance systems their people demand. This leaves an enormous resource— the energy and will of millions of citizens — untapped, a luxury that African governments cannot afford as they look to the future and consider how to achieve the ambitious targets of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. If they are to make effective use of their people’s assets, decision-makers will need to increasingly engage with their publics by opening doors to information sharing and real collaboration. By expanding the space for African voice and agency in all arenas, from problem-solving to policymaking, the power of citizen actions can be unleashed across the continent. In this opening Brief of the Imagine Africa series, we consider what Africans want their future to look like 10 years down the road and then review current trends in what they say they are getting. The growing gap between ambition and reality discussed in the second and third sections highlights the need for changes in how governments and citizens interact. The fourth section showcases what African citizens can bring to the table in terms of resources, energy, activism and engagement, but also reveals that African governments are not always receptive to these inputs. We conclude with a discussion of what African decision-makers and international supporters can do to more effectively leverage the power of citizen action and engagement.
Topic:: Development, Domestic Policy, COVID-19, and Future
Political Geography:: Africa, Sahel, Horn of Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa

363. Artificial Intelligence, Globalization, and Strategies for Economic Development

Author:: Anton Korinek and Joseph E. Stiglitz
Publication Date:: 02-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
Abstract:: Progress in artificial intelligence and related forms of automation technologies threatens to reverse the gains that developing countries and emerging markets have experienced from integrating into the world economy over the past half century, aggravating poverty and inequality. The new technologies have the tendency to be labor-saving, resource-saving, and to give rise to winner-takes-all dynamics that advantage developed countries. We analyze the economic forces behind these developments and describe economic policies that would mitigate the adverse effects on developing and emerging economies while leveraging the potential gains from technological advances. We also describe reforms to our global system of economic governance that would share the benefits of AI more widely with developing countries.
Topic:: Development, Globalization, Science and Technology, Inequality, Artificial Intelligence, and Redistribution
Political Geography:: Global Focus

364. The Political Economy of India’s Transition to Goods and Services Tax

Author:: Chanchal Kumar Sharma
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:: What kept the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from becoming a reality in India for a quarter of a century after the adoption of the structural adjustment programme in 1991? What made it possible in 2016? To what extent the Indian model of GST reflects a compromise between the need to keep fiscal federalism intact and to respond to a more global economic imperative? To what extent India’s transition to a concurrent dual GST has brought about a change in the principles, rules, frameworks, and institutions guiding intergovernmental fiscal interactions? This paper investigates these issues and shows that the shifts in the indirect tax regime in India since independence have taken place within the structural context of constitutional rules, the economic policy paradigm and political dynamics. Party congruence after 2014 helped to facilitate the introduction of the GST, but the shape thereof was strongly marked by path-dependent logics and the role of state governments as institutional veto players. In addition, the paper examines the ways in which India’s transition to a concurrent dual GST has brought about a fundamental change in the principles, rules, frameworks, and institutions guiding intergovernmental fiscal interactions.
Topic:: Development, Political Economy, Governance, Tax Systems, Institutions, and Services
Political Geography:: India and Asia

365. Afghanistan: Before Time Runs Out

Author:: Owen Kirby
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Council on International Policy (CIP)
Abstract:: The withdrawal of remaining U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan is nearly complete. As they go, the country begins a new, uncertain chapter in a long uncertain history. With the U.S. and our allies having made significant investments and great sacrifices in an attempt to develop self-sustaining Afghan institutions – and the Taliban now rampaging through the countryside – this is the moment of truth for the country’s government and post-9/11 political order. Whether Afghanistan’s institutions, security forces, and civil society prove sufficiently resilient to meet current challenges is not solely a matter of local capacity and resolve (or wisdom of previous donor decisions). Nor is it a matter of free choice between competing political views, as Afghans are not going to the voting booth to decide the outcome. It is equally about the commitment of the U.S. and our allies to continue supporting the equality of Afghan women and minorities, rule of law, free speech, and basic human rights. These are not foreign impositions, as some might argue, but rather vital weapons, absent U.S. troops, in the Afghan people’s own struggle against extremism and political regression. For many, there is justifiable fatigue with America’s “forever war” and its costs; but the Taliban’s repressive rule and its consequences are not a specter of another lifetime. It has only been 20 years since Afghan girls were banned from going to school; women barred from the workforce and life outside the home; and summary justice, including stoning and decapitation, for transgressions against the Taliban’s medieval code meted out in the national stadium. It has only been 17 years since Afghans were first given the constitutional right to choose their leadership at the ballot box. Progress is recent, and the Taliban is determined to make it reversible.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, Military Strategy, Transition, and Foreign Interference
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Middle East, North America, and United States of America

366. The Belarusian Revolution of 2020: Afterword

Author:: Arkady Moshes and Ryhor Nizhnikau
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:: The Belarusian Revolution challenged the Lukashenka regime but did not bring it down. It is, however, clear that the structural factors behind the revolution have been sustained. The West should increase efforts to achieve political and economic transformation in the country.
Topic:: Development, International Cooperation, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Revolution, and State Building
Political Geography:: Europe and Belarus

367. China and Geoeconomic Dynamics in Central Asia: Balancing Global Strategies, Local Interests and Multiple Partners

Author:: Aliya Tskhay
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:: Central Asia is at the core of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which promises to bring connectivity, trade, and improved infrastructure, as well as overall economic development to the states of the region. Yet beyond the official rhetoric, China is promoting its power through geoeconomic means. This paper looks at areas of cooperation (energy, infrastructure, trade, and finance) and identifies the ways in which China is involved with the region. Through a combination of loans, investments, and infrastructure projects, the research shows how China ‘binds’ the region closer to itself and ‘wedges’ out alternative partners. It also shows how Central Asian states utilise the funding within the BRI framework for national development programmes, whilst navigating avenues for mitigating the establishment of a dependent relationship with China. The paper concludes with some policy implications for China, Central Asia, and the wider region.
Topic:: Development, International Trade and Finance, Infrastructure, Hegemony, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:: China and Asia

368. Sustainable Development of Chitral: A CPEC Perspective

Author:: Asif Ali and Khalid Manzoor Butt
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: South Asian Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: The vision of sustainable growth of any community or region cannot be materialized unless provided with equitable socio-economic opportunities with environmentally friendly conditions. In the mountains of Hindukush, Chitral has remained significantly important from a geographic and strategic perspective. The piece of land in the extreme north of Pakistan is blessed with numerous natural resources and it is also a gateway to Central Asia. This valley is surrounded by rugged mountains, due to neglect and lack of land connection with the main country it has been deprived of the required development. The construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an alternative passage through Chitral will bring economic opportunities through investment in different sectors. With the materialization of the CPEC route, the potential in the valley will be explored and utilized for the betterment of the country in the broader spectrum and the local economy will strengthen as well. The opening of this trade route will not only change the economic landscape of the valley but will change the sociology of the area. This mega venture along with economic opportunities will also generate challenges for the indigenous community. Expected opportunities will attract more businessmen and investors from outside. This migration process will open the door to social transformation along with challenges not only from an economic perspective but an indigenous cultural heritage of the society will be endangered. Only an inclusive and integrated development stratagem with the involvement and support of all stakeholders will lead to the sustainable economic growth of the valley. Further, the people-centric development approach will bring economic opportunities for the people, otherwise, there will be more challenges than opportunities. This research work has been conducted to investigate the expected challenges threatening sustainable growth of the community and region. Furthermore, it suggests policy guidelines based on empirical evidence for curtailing those challenges.
Topic:: Development, Energy Policy, Inequality, Green Technology, Renewable Energy, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Pakistan, China, and Asia

369. Climate of cooperation: How the EU can help deliver a green grand bargain

Author:: Alex Clark, Susi Dennison, and Mats Engström
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
Abstract:: The global transition away from carbon will fundamentally alter the EU’s dependencies on energy, raw materials, and new technologies. The bloc needs to manage these dependencies while maintaining the fragile consensus between member states on the European Green Deal and fulfilling its ambitions for global climate leadership. The EU should help deliver a green grand bargain by making use of all its sources of economic, multilateral, and soft power. The bloc should reframe the international debate on energy security to focus on clean energy resources and efficiency, engaging in the market reforms needed to incentivise this shift. The EU should make every effort to reassure countries in the global south that the green transition will not leave them behind. The Global Gateway provides a strong framework for doing this – as would an EU Co-innovation and Green Tech Diffusion Fund. The EU also needs to place European sovereignty at the centre of its internal narrative on the European Green Deal. This could help win support for the agreement from member states that are concerned about the economic and social effects of the green transition.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Science and Technology, European Union, Partnerships, Multilateralism, and Trade
Political Geography:: Europe and Global Focus

370. Is EU leading the way to becoming a global change in business and human rights?

Author:: Leonor Tavares
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:: In the latest EU Monitor Leonor Tavares examines how human rights issues are reflected in the European Union's negotiations and what kind of development could be expected in this area. The pandemic has exposed even more the vulnerabilities of our economic model and underlined the precarious nature of global value chains, demanding us to create better solution. We reached the point, where there is no other option, besides changing the system, meaning that EU has a major responsibility to stop importing human rights and environment violations through the consumption of goods hailing from areas where European standards/values are not respected, and this proposal is a recognition of that reality.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Environment, Human Rights, and European Union
Political Geography:: Europe

371. How Can Anticorruption Actors Use EITI Disclosures?

Author:: Sebastian Sahla, Alexandra Gillies, and Matthieu Salomon
Publication Date:: 02-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:: Corruption in the extractive industries represents one of the main obstacles to ensuring that natural resources contribute to sustainable development. The heightened corruption risks across the sector are well documented, with many of the most prominent global corruption cases in recent years involving actors in oil, gas and mining. High-profile corruption scandals have occurred in several EITI countries. In Colombia, a former EITI supporting company has faced investigations over alleged illegal political campaign financing. Two large oil companies and their executives face criminal trial in Italy over a controversial oil deal in Nigeria. In Iraq, a “fixer” company bribed officials to help its clients secure oil industry contracts. EITI reports are silent on these and many other alleged cases of corruption. This has raised critical questions, particularly among civil society actors and academics, about the relevance of EITI in addressing the sector’s most pressing challenges. Although EITI reports rarely speak directly about corruption, they are nevertheless an important resource for anticorruption actors. As the EITI considers how it can more effectively play a role in addressing corruption, the authors of this report aim to shed light on how EITI’s current reporting can help oversight actors understand and address corruption risks. The authors identify best practices in how EITI countries disclose corruption-related information, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the initiative and providing insights that can help EITI maximize its relevance to future anticorruption efforts. Based on a review of EITI documents from 17 countries, the authors identify trends in how reporting presents corruption-related information.
Topic:: Corruption, Development, Oil, Natural Resources, Gas, and Industry
Political Geography:: Global Focus

372. Democracy in a Post-Covid World

Author:: Madeleine Albright
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:: The SIPRI Lecture is an annual event focusing on major themes in peace and security. The event provides a platform for prominent global thought leaders sharing the values underpinning SIPRI, its research and other activities. The third SIPRI Lecture, which was held virtually on 24 May 2021, was delivered by HE Dr Madeleine Albright and focused on the theme of ‘Democracy in a Post-Covid World’. The lecture highlighted ways in which the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftershocks have transformed the world. It also stressed the importance of placing democratic values and international cooperation at the centre of any post-pandemic strategy to create a more secure, stable, healthy and prosperous world.
Topic:: Security, Development, Democracy, Peace, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Global Focus

373. Advancing the Role of the OSCE in the Field of Climate Security

Author:: Niklas Bremberg and Anniek Barnhoorn
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:: This SIPRI Policy Brief assesses the role of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in the field of climate security, in terms of its current and possible future commitments. Despite growing political momentum among most OSCE participating states about the need to address the issue of climate security, there appear to be divergent views on how to move forward on this important issue. Based on an assessment of recent OSCE activities linked to climate-related security risks and interviews with representatives from OSCE participating states, this policy brief suggests four avenues for the OSCE to advance its role in the field of climate security: (a) agree to new commitments; (b) engage in agenda setting; (c) strengthen the mandate of institutions; and (d) develop existing resources.
Topic:: Security, Climate Change, Development, Risk, and Peace
Political Geography:: Europe

374. Food Systems in Conflict and Peacebuilding Settings: Pathways and Interconnections

Author:: Caroline Delgado, Vongai Murugani, and Kristina Tschunkert
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:: Failing food systems and the resultant increasing world hunger are among the most pressing issues of our time. With 155 million people acutely food insecure and nearly 30 million people on the verge of starvation in 2020, the world is far off track to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) by 2030. Violent conflict remained the main driver of global hunger in 2020. Conflict has a direct negative impact on food systems and resultant levels of food security. Moreover, heightened food insecurity may create grievances that can escalate into instability and violent conflict. The increases in both acute food insecurity and violent conflict demand urgent and decisive action. The objectives of this three-part policy paper series are to emphasize the urgency of addressing the relationship between conflict and food insecurity and to point out existing opportunities to do so. This paper, the first in the series, aims, firstly, to inform policymakers of the intricate relationships between food security and violent conflict, secondly, to alert policymakers to the potential ability of food systems to contribute to peace, and then to highlight the action required to enhance this potential. The paper concludes with four recommendations intended to help guide more effective preventative and mitigating action to limit (and ultimately avoid) the long-term adverse consequences of violent conflict for food security and exploit food security’s potential to foster peace.
Topic:: Security, Development, Food, Conflict, Peace, and Resilience
Political Geography:: Global Focus

375. The Effect of Exchange Rate and Oil Price on BIST Industrial Index: Cointegration and Causality Analysis

Author:: Serpil Sumer
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Bilgi
Institution:: Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:: Industry is important for development and sustainability. Countries attach importance to industrialization in order to reduce their foreign dependency and gain competitiveness. It is expected that companies which competitiveness has increased with industrialization will have a positive effect on the national economy and financial markets. The raw materials used in the production process of the enterprises whose main activity is based on industry and the supply of these raw materials are among the issues that should be taken into consideration in industrial production. In this study, the relationship between oil price, exchange rate and Borsa Istanbul Industrial Production Index has been examined. In the study, Johansen co-integration and Granger causality tests were carried out using secondary data for the period January 2000 - September 2020. As a result of the Johansen co-integration test, it is concluded that there is a co-integration relationship between variables. As a result of Granger causality test; It was concluded that there is a bidirectional causality relationship between Borsa Istanbul industrial production index and exchange rate, and a racket effect causality relationship between Borsa Istanbul industrial production index and oil price. In addition, it is concluded that there is no causality relationship between exchange rate and oil price. The research of the relationship between the oil price and exchange rate of the industry, which has an important place in terms of economic growth and competition, is a feature that sets this study apart from other studies in the same field.
Topic:: Development, Oil, Industry, and Exchange Rates
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

376. Neo-liberal Challanges and the Demise of Keynesian-Weberian State

Author:: Aziz Tuncer
Publication Date:: 11-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Bilgi
Institution:: Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:: Following the II. World War, there was a huge devastation and without state intervention it was not probable to reconstruct infrastructure and reinvigorate industry. Under these conditions in order to rejuvenate the economy and heal the havoc of the war, state intervention was pleased by large parts of society. Keynesian-Weberian structures accordingly were associated with development until mid 1970’s but in that time Weberian large bureaucracy was connected with poor performance, inefficiency and financial deficit. The proposals to rehabilitate the illnesses of Keynesian Weberian state were based upon neo-liberal principles and called New Public Management which became vogue in Europe and suggested to limit the boundary of state activities. One of its concrete outcome is huge transfers of state owned assets and public services to the private sector. Following the privatization and pervasion of the market, the boundary between public and private blurred which created a growing suspicion upon the violation of public interest on the part of citizens. This article aims at contributing to understand the nature and principles of both sides upon major areas.
Topic:: Development, Privatization, Economy, Neoliberalism, Keynes, and Welfare State
Political Geography:: Global Focus

377. Household Food Waste Developments: A Comparison of Progress in the European Union and the United States

Author:: Sara Zaat
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute of European Studies (IES), UC Berkeley
Abstract:: The importance of addressing worldwide food waste in terms of combatingclimate change andalleviating food insecurity should not be overlooked(Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations[FAO],2011; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations[FAO],2013). According to the FAO, around one-third of certainfood in the worldgoes unconsumedevery year, resulting in a loss of resources, including greenhouse gases (GHGs)(FAO, 2011; FAO, 2013). Considering the world will likely haveoverninebillion people by 2050 (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2019; United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 2019), wasting good food is an increasingly egregious act; accordingly, theSustainable Development Goals ofthe United Nations include responsibly using food (United Nations, n.d.). One of the United Nations’ specific goals for 2030 is to “halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses” (United Nations, n.d., Goal 12 targets section, para. 3).It is especially important to addresshouseholdfood waste in higher-income countries, where consumers are often a largecontributor (FAO, 2011).Which of suchcountries can lead efforts to addressthis harmful, household-level consumer food waste and support under-resourced communities? This Paper will discusssome ofthefood waste research, interventions, and reduction resolutionsin the United States (US) and in countries in the European Union (EU)to better understandfood waste in these countries.
Topic:: Development, Food, European Union, Waste, and Household
Political Geography:: Europe, North America, and United States of America

378. Fiscal Policy Letter No5: Improving Financial Inclusion To Broaden The Tax Base In Cameroon

Author:: Jean-Cedric Kouam and L.B. Bongbinsin
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Nkafu Policy Institute
Abstract:: For several months, Cameroon has been facing the ravages of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus. To stop the spread of the virus, the Cameroonian authorities in April 2020 announced a series of fiscal easing measures to help companies and households in difficulty. Estimated at more than 114 billion CFA francs according to the Director-General of Taxation, the decisions taken have profoundly impacted public finances. Indeed, well before the pandemic, the country was already facing a high risk of external debt overhang (IMF, 2018) and immense security challenges in the North and the Anglophone regions. Despite this constraining socioeconomic and political context, the state must find the necessary and sufficient resources to ensure its proper functioning and territorial integrity. This fiscal policy letter proposes through analyzes a way for the government of Cameroon to increase its tax revenues in the coming years without penalizing growth: improving financial inclusion. The goal is to eliminate all constraints that exclude the most disadvantaged from full participation in the financial sector. The letter is structured around six key points. First, we provide an overview of Cameroon’s financial inclusion situation. Second, we analyze the factors that explain economic agents’ access to financial services, the transmission mechanisms between the financial and formal sectors, and the barriers to financial inclusion in Cameroon. Our results show that a deepening of the financial system would likely positively affect tax mobilization in Cameroon. Estimates show that a 10% increase in financial assets would lead to a 1.87% increase in tax revenue, equivalent to CFAF 49.70 billion – based on the level of tax revenue projected in the 2021 budget law. Similarly, a 10% increase in the number of secure servers – better access to the internet – would lead to a 1.1% increase in tax revenue, equivalent to CFAF 30.62 billion. This improvement in access to financial services for all economic agents – households, businesses – requires the public authorities to make the current regulations more flexible and increase the banking network’s density. This includes the development of payment systems, the construction of quality infrastructures, the definition of mechanisms to limit massive illicit capital flight, and the multiplication of consumer/investor protection guarantees.
Topic:: Development, Infrastructure, Governance, Finance, and Tax Systems
Political Geography:: Africa and Cameroon

379. Youth Participation In the Local Development Plan In Yaoundé 4: Issues and Roles

Author:: Sonwa Momo Berenice Kylian
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Nkafu Policy Institute
Abstract:: Africa is a continent with a predominantly young population. The media and development experts around the world speak of it as a great wealth. Cameroon is one of those countries whose youth is the “driving force”. Lawn°2004/017of 22 July 2004 on the orientation of decentralisation in Cameroon, taken up by Law n°2019/024 of 24 December 2019 on the General Code of Decentralised Territorial Authorities, is quite explicit on the contribution of the population, and in particular young people, to their local development. For the voice of these young people to have a large-scale impact, coordination is needed. In this respect, youth organisations (associations) are likely to provide relevant solutions. This is the case of PIJEDECA (Independent Youth Platform for Democracy and Active Citizenship), which has been working for nearly five (5) years in mobilising youth around social, economic, democracy, citizenship and human rights issues. The ADEV (Association of Development Actors), for its part, “has been working for more than three years with women and young people in Cameroon society. “ From the outset, it is necessary to indicate what an association is in order to identify its role and its challenges in local development. Article 2 of Law No. 90/053 of 19 December 1990 on the freedom of association in the Republic of Cameroon provides that “association is the agreement by which persons pool their knowledge or activities for a purpose other than sharing profits”. This shows that the association has a collective function and does not aim at individual interest. It is in this pooling of skills that youth associations can effectively contribute to the development of their Decentralized Territorial Authorities (CTD). For the Confederation of Youth Organisations (COJ), “”a voluntary association of natural or legal persons that contributes to the development by young people of their personal skills in order to help them become active, responsible and critical citizens within society”. ». These organisations must be supported by young people who are committed to the development of a community, a territory, without neglecting the great contribution of volunteering. Several studies have been carried out on the contribution of young people to the development of their communities both in Cameroon and abroad. This is why it is important to specify the roles and issues of these youth associations in the commune of Yaoundé 4. In view of the above, what could be the roles and stakes of youth organisations in the development of Yaoundé 4? To answer this question is certainly to seek to establish a direct link between the civic commitment of these youth associations and their contribution to the development of Yaoundé 4.
Topic:: Development, Youth, Local, Participation, and Civic Engagement
Political Geography:: Africa and Cameroon

380. Water and Federalism: Working with States for Water Security

Author:: Srinivas Chokkakula, Avani Kapur, and Arkaja Singh
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: India’s poor water security indicators are partly a result of the poor translation of federal spirit in governing its water resources. The limited scholarship on the subject recognizes the vacuum in federal water governance and the weak articulation of Centre’s role to work with states in pursuing India’s long-term development and security goals. Besides, coherent federal responses are critical to address the new governance challenges and emerging risks such as those linked to climate change, floods, dam safety, etc. Yet the national discourse on water federalism is dominated by interstate river water disputes. The study breaks new grounds by going beyond the narrow frame to engage comprehensively with the idea of water federalism in India. It explores the range of policy, institutional, legal and financial instruments for improved water governance. Conceptualised as the Centre’s leverage, the study investigates into these instruments to explore opportunities for the Centre to work with states for improved outcomes. Using mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative approaches, the study looks at the transforming Indian federal state from two contrasting viewpoints: the shifting stakes of the Centre and states in water resources development; and the converging forces of development goals and security concerns. The analysis is supported by case studies of Maharashtra, Punjab and Karnataka states revealing the diverse territorial imaginations and priorities of water resources development and, their implications for national water security. It also examines the experiences of central schemes through intergovernmental fiscal transfers and federal water governance practices internationally to incentivize states’ progressive pathways in water resources management. Identifying federal consensus-building about the Centre’s role and autonomous institutional architecture for data as the two foundational pillars, the study makes concrete recommendations to improve federal governance for long-term development and water security.
Topic:: Security, Development, Water, and Federalism
Political Geography:: South Asia and India

381. Free Trade as an Anchor for Sustainable Development

Author:: Sundjo Fabien and Sunjo Tata
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Nkafu Policy Institute
Abstract:: Does trade enhance or jeopardize sustainable development? This brief answers this question by debunking the myth that protectionism is a driver of sustainable development. It then outlines the ways in which free trade can lead to sustainable development. This brief finds that free trade is a boon for GDP growth, value chains, and better productivity. It will equally lead countries to specialize and become more competitive. This brief pithily finds that free trade will anchor sustainable development if countries synchronize trade facilitation measures and lower non-tariff barriers such as indiscriminate checks at land borders.
Topic:: Development, International Trade and Finance, Sustainable Development Goals, Free Trade, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Africa

382. Cracking the future of work: Automation and labor platforms in the Global South

Author:: Ramiro Albrieu
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center for the Implementation of Public Policies for Equity and Growth (CIPPEC)
Abstract:: The book “Cracking the future of work. Automation and labor platforms in the Global South“ is the result of the collaboration of many. More than twenty five experts from Asia, Latin America, the Middle East & North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa transformed their valuable findings into the chapters of this book with heterogeneous perspectives. Developing countries face specific challenges that the standard literature has not yet managed to include as part of a truly global view on how technology and labor markets interact. This book aims to enrich the future of work debates with evidence from the Global South. This, in turn, is key for a policy agenda that needs context-specific and data-driven frameworks to promote the creation of high-quality jobs in developing countries amid the fourth industrial revolution.
Topic:: Development, Science and Technology, Labor Issues, Automation, Labor Market, and Gender
Political Geography:: Global South

383. Impact of Colonial Institutions on Economic Growth and Development in India: Evidence from Night Lights Data

Author:: Priyaranjan Jha and Karan Talathi
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Many cross‐country studies find that quality of historical institutions is a major cause of disparity in present‐day economic development as measured by income per capita. Due to the unavailability of data on a comprehensive measure of development such as per capita income, studies examining the role of historical institutions on development at the subnational levels use alternate proxies of economic well‐being in their analysis. We examine the long‐term effects of British colonial institutions on overall economic development within India using satellite night lights data.
Topic:: Development, Economic Growth, Colonialism, Economic Policy, and Institutions
Political Geography:: South Asia and India

384. Gender-Responsive Budgeting in Agriculture in Ethiopia

Author:: Nuru Hussen, Ermias Mengistu, and Bedaso Taye
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The gender division of labor in Ethiopia hinders women smallholders’ efforts to improve productivity to close the gap with men’s farms. There is substantial evidence that where women have access to the same inputs and training as men, they can close that gap. The government’s national development plan identifies agriculture as the main driver of rapid and inclusive growth. The plan seeks to increase women’s participation in agriculture to 50 percent of all participants. But this can only happen with proper implementation of gender-responsive budgeting (GRB). Ethiopia has ratified a number of international conventions and agreements on women’s rights that have guided development of national laws and policies. Nonetheless, the national budgetary process is not yet gender responsive, and the country faces other challenges. Low awareness of gender issues, limited technical skill in mainstreaming gender issues and GRB, lack of adequate resources, and poor enforcement mechanisms are major constraints. A majority of women do not participate in decision-making or express their needs during public meetings because of sociocultural barriers that elevate the role of males. Women are usually not invited to meetings and discussions that concern them, under the assumption that men can convey any relevant messages. But information does not consistently get passed to women farmers owing to the erroneous perception that “women do not farm.” Women’s low levels of literacy and limited exposure to information and support by development practitioners also contribute to the problem. As a result, women are often unable to exercise their rights during program design and implementation. If agriculture is to lead inclusive development, gender and rural development policies need updating. In addition, achieving high-quality agricultural public spending will require a conducive policy environment and a budget process that promotes the participation and well-being of women and girls as well as men and boys.
Topic:: Agriculture, Development, Labor Issues, Farming, and Gender
Political Geography:: Africa and Ethiopia

385. Social Mobility and Economic Development: Evidence from a Panel of Latin American Regions

Author:: Guido Neidhofer, Matias Ciaschi, Leonardo Gasparini, and Joaquín Serrano
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: We explore the role of social mobility as a driver of economic development by constructing a panel data set that includes measures of intergenerational mobility of education at the sub-national level in Latin America. First, we map the geography of educational mobility for 52 Latin American regions, as well as its evolution over time. Then, through a novel weighting procedure that considers the participation of cohorts to the economy in each year, we estimate the effect of changes in mobility on economic indicators, such as income per capita, poverty, child mortality, and luminosity. Hereby, we control for several covariates, including migration, educational expansions, initial conditions, and unobserved cross-regional heterogeneity. Our findings show that increasing social mobility had a significant and robust impact on the development of Latin American regions.
Topic:: Development, Economic Growth, Economic Mobility, Equality, and Equality of Opportunity
Political Geography:: Latin America

386. Crime, inequality and subsidized housing: evidence from South Africa

Author:: Roxana Elena Manea, Patrizio Piraino, and Martina Viarengo
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Trade and Economic Integration, The Graduate Institute (IHEID)
Abstract:: We study the relationship between housing inequality and crime in South Africa. We create a novel panel dataset combining information on crimes at the police station level with census data. We find that housing inequality explains a significant share of the variation in both property and violent crimes, net of spillover effects, time and district fixed effects. An increase of one standard deviation in housing inequality explains between 9 and 13 percent of crime increases. Additionally, we suggest that a prominent post-apartheid housing program for low-income South Africans helped to reduce inequality and violent crimes. Together, these findings suggest the important role that equality in housing conditions can play in the reduction of crime in an emerging economy context.
Topic:: Crime, Development, Inequality, and Housing
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

387. Food security in the long-run: a macroeconomic approach to land use policy

Author:: Pedro Naso, Ozgun Haznedar, Bruno Lanz, and Timothy M. Swanson
Publication Date:: 11-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Trade and Economic Integration, The Graduate Institute (IHEID)
Abstract:: It is important to dedicate substantial parts of the global land supply to public good uses in the 21st century, for purposes of climate change management and biodiversity provision. But will it also be possible to meet the food requirements of 12 billion people while doing so? Using a macroeconomic model (MAVA), we demonstrate that it may be possible to provide both for food security and environmental services in the long run. We first show that it may be possible to provide for food security with very substantial constraints on the amount of land used in agriculture with relatively minor welfare losses. We then show that global policies that reallocate labour across sectors of the economy may have the capacity for directing the economy toward reduced reliance on land in agriculture. Focusing on education, research and development, and fertility costs may be the best way to meet these combined goals. Details
Topic:: Development, Food Security, Macroeconomics, and Land
Political Geography:: Global Focus

388. A Contextual Analysis of Green Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises/Local Green Enterprises in Uganda

Author:: Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
Abstract:: The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) dominate Uganda's economy. They play a pivotal role in production and supply chains, value addition, technology transfer, development and innovation. MSMEs, underpin the country's competitiveness, employment, income and wealth creation and if greened and well harnessed, they have a big potential to facilitate transitioning to an inclusive transformative growth trajectory.The report contributes to a better understanding of the sustainable financial architecture and how it affects the activities and priorities of LGEs in Uganda. It is hoped that the report will guide informed discussions at local and national levels and feed into the development of sustainable finance policy instruments, laws, support systems and standards that improve investment climate for LGEs and consequently promote the greening of MSMEs.
Topic:: Development, Economy, Green Technology, and Green Transition
Political Geography:: Uganda and Africa

389. Need, Aid, and Root Causes: The Appropriateness of Humanitarian Response in the DPRK

Author:: Nazanin Zadeh-Cummings
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: East Asia Institute (EAI)
Abstract:: Humanitarian aid carries connotations of emergency, urgent response, and acute threats to human morbidity, mortality, and dignity. Despite the end of the famine emergency since the mid-1990s, however, the DPRK has continued to receive international humanitarian aid. This article argues that while concepts of development and humanitarianism highlight the challenges to bringing structural change in the DPRK, the long-term nature of need in the DPRK does not signal an inappropriate match with humanitarian aid. In a sanctioned and highly politicised environment with questions of denuclearisation and human rights abuses, seeking to improve daily lives is an inherently structural act. Without structural changes, acute needs have and likely will continue even in times of non-emergency.
Topic:: Development, Humanitarian Aid, Famine, Human Security, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Asia and North Korea

390. The Implications of Korea’s Experience Supporting Democracy as a Global Narrative

Author:: Taekyoon Kim
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: East Asia Institute (EAI)
Abstract:: With many developing countries in need of help in settling democratization processes and systems, Korea is in a position to act as a bridge between developed and developing countries by sharing its knowledge and experience in democracy and political reform. Taekyoon Kim, a professor at Seoul National University, describes the main contents of Korea’s democratic aid, how to share the Korean democracy experience and the challenges and strategies for Korean democracy in the future. Through this, the author states that the direction of Korea’s democracy should move forward based on its experience and that Korea should use its democratic aid as an asset so that Korea can be recognized as a symbol of peace and democracy in East Asia.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, Reform, Democracy, and Peace
Political Geography:: South Korea and Korea

391. National Development Bank – BNDES and New Development Bank – NDB: a strategic partnership for development and sustainability?

Author:: Maria Elena Rodriguez Ortiz and Paz Andrés Sáenz De Santa María
Publication Date:: 11-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: BRICS Policy Center
Abstract:: The precedence afforded in recent decades to environmental issues and to the centrality of a sustainable development agenda has led financial institutions to redefine and redirect their funding as well as their institutional and market arrangements to contribute towards balanced and inclusive development, such as strategies to support national environmental targets that will secure the sustainable development goals. This research will therefore explore some elements that underline the relation between the NDB and the BNDES, the Brazilian Development Bank, which can be considered one of the main agencies implementing funding geared for Brazil, with various joint projects approved.
Topic:: Development, Environment, Partnerships, Banks, Sustainability, and BRICS
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

392. Commemorating 50 Years of 'Outcast London'

Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:: This event from the Mile End Institute, Raphael Samuel History Centre, and Modern British History Seminar will commemorate fifty years since the publication of Gareth Stedman Jones’ Outcast London. The webinar celebrates the book and featured a panel of experts whose research interests speak to the book’s themes, methods and politics.
Topic:: Development, Labor Issues, Urban, and Industrialization
Political Geography:: United Kingdom, Europe, and London

393. Peace and illicit drugs at the margins: A borderland view of Afghanistan’s SDG 16

Author:: Orzala Nemat
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:: Afghanistan is in the process of developing its national goals and targets in relation to the global sustainable development goals (SDGs). There are 17 SDGs which have been broken down into a total of 169 targets. But how are these globally agreed goals being addressed in Afghanistan? In what ways do they specifically address the particular political challenges that Afghanistan faces, and the geographical divisions of the country? Drawing from long-term research on the drug economy and the more recent research of the Drugs & (dis)order project in three borderland provinces in Afghanistan – Badakhshan, Nangarhar and Nimroz – this briefing paper argues that the current A-SDG 16 fails both to identify the challenges that these borderlands pose to the achievement of SDG 16, and to recognise the opportunities that they might offer for peace building.
Topic:: Development, Borders, Drugs, Illegal Trade, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Middle East

394. Africa’s Strategies of Development and International Insertion: The Hybridity of Agenda 2063

Author:: Guilherme Ziebell de Oliveira and Anselmo Otavio
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: The present work discusses the evolution of the development and international insertion strategies adopted by nations in the African continent since the mid-20th century, period during which they began to achieve formal independence. In this context, supported by a literature review and official documents issued by African international organisations, the aim of this analysis is to understand the meaning and the importance of Agenda 2063 for this issue. Based on this analysis, the article proposes to demonstrate that such an agenda represents the inauguration of a new development and international insertion strategy in the continent, a hybrid one, that reconciles elements of two of the previously adopted approaches: the strategies of contestation and of mutual and shared responsibility.
Topic:: Development, Regional Cooperation, and Pan-Africanism
Political Geography:: Africa

395. Covid-19 prompts the EU and the Netherlands to rethink global health

Author:: Louise Van Schaik and Remco van de Pas
Publication Date:: 11-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
Abstract:: The Covid-19 pandemic prompted a strong re-engagement in global health. Because the pandemic coincided with geopolitical rifts between the US and China, but required a global response, the EU and its member states took responsibility to safeguard the World Health Organization (WHO) and initiated global arrangements for vaccine sharing for developing countries. Within the EU, mandates and global health functions have traditionally been underdeveloped and divided between the development and health sectors. For the Netherlands, this is perhaps the case to an even larger extent. Development funding has focused primarily on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the health ministry has had limited interest and capacity on international health issues, with the exception of certain specific issues such as Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) and medicine prices. Spending on global health by both the EU and the Netherlands has been fragmented, with mainly ad hoc budgets being made available for the international pandemic response. This policy brief calls for a structural response and more coherent outlook on global health.
Topic:: Development, European Union, COVID-19, and Global Health
Political Geography:: Europe and Netherlands

396. ‘If you want to go far, go together’ Community engagement and infrastructure development in fragile settings

Author:: Guido Lanfranchi
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
Abstract:: In fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCAS), infrastructure development is a sharp double-edged sword: it can foster sustainable and inclusive development, but it can also exacerbate fragility and conflict. This brief argues that a substantial engagement of local communities has the potential to improve the conflict sensitivity of infrastructure efforts in FCAS. To ensure that these efforts have a positive impact on fragility dynamics, however, due attention should also be paid to the specific choices made in terms of project design and implementation. The brief offers a set of pragmatic considerations aimed at supporting practitioners navigating such choices. In addition, to ensure a proper tailoring of project choices to the specific context, practitioners should also rely extensively on conflict sensitivity analyses, monitoring the interaction between the project and the context’s underlying drivers of fragility throughout the whole project cycle. While so far CDD projects have mostly focused on small-scale infrastructure, efforts should be devoted to explore whether and how CDD approaches can be applied to larger infrastructure projects.
Topic:: Development, Infrastructure, Conflict, and Fragility
Political Geography:: Global Focus

397. The Power of Law and Justice: The Contribution of Latvia to the Global Development and Defense of Democracy

Author:: Egils Levits
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: In May 1985, I wrote the following statement in a Canadian Latvian maga- zine: “In 5-, 20- or 50-years’ time the Soviet Union will be gone from Latvia.”1 Back then, I was just a young lawyer and political scientist—a researcher at the University of Kiel in Germany—having emigrated from the USSR-occupied Latvia 13 years earlier. I took an active part in the political life of Latvians in exile. Most believed that the bipolar world in which the nuclear superpowers of the West and East faced off would never change. So, why was I convinced that the Soviet Empire would collapse?
Topic:: Defense Policy, Development, Law, Democracy, Justice, and Post-Soviet Space
Political Geography:: Latvia and Baltic States

398. The USSR and its Influence on Developments in the Right to Self- Determination

Author:: Robert McCorquodale
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: On a cold day in early March 1990, a phone call was made from the office of an economics minister in the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithu- anian SSR) to a junior academic at the University of Cambridge. The question was asked: what laws should the government of Lithuanian SSR pass to declare itself independent from the Soviet Union? After a few days, the junior academic proposed a potential course of action to the Lithuanian caller. His proposal, combined with other, more expert opinions, was adopted by the government of the Lithuanian SSR as part of its declaration of (renewed) independence proclaimed on 11 March 1990.1
Topic:: Development, Independence, Post-Soviet Space, and Self-Determination
Political Geography:: Soviet Union

399. Iraqi Police: A Hard Place Between State and Society

Author:: Afzal Ashraf
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: Experts suggest that a police force should closely reflect its state’s constitution and its societal fabric.1 It follows, therefore, that the design of a new policing system or the reform of an old one will be affected by the ideas and the realities of power within the state and by the nature of its society. Nowhere are these principles more visible than in the reconstruction of a post–conflict country. The underlying assumption in such situations is that police reform is a fundamental element of conflict management because a police force, supported by society, can mitigate insecurity and play a significant part in the economic and political development of a country.2 This assumption has one fundamental flaw. For a police force to help deliver security and development in a post–conflict situation, there should exist at least a modicum of security and economic and political development. This “chicken and egg” situation is most starkly evident in the attempts to reform the police service following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The security sector reform programs in Iraq, of which police reform is a component, not only challenge some assumptions upon which international development is based, but also provide potential insights into the relationship between the police, power, economic security, and society in general. These relationships could also apply to developed countries as their political and eco- nomic systems are challenged or changed by global events.
Topic:: Development, State, Police, Society, and Post-Conflict
Political Geography:: Iraq and Middle East

400. Employment effects of R&D and innovation: Evidence from small and medium-sized firms in emerging markets

Author:: Rajeev K. Goel and Michael Nelson
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
Abstract:: This paper studies the impact of research and development (R&D) and innovation on employment growth, focusing on small and medium-sized firms. Employment effects of R&D and innovation are unclear a priori as process innovation may be labor-saving or labor might have complementarities with other inputs. Employing firm-level data from 125 nations, results show that both R&D and innovation increased employment growth, suggesting that innovation was either capital-saving or labor had strong complementarities with other inputs. Upon splitting the sample into growing and contracting firms showed that contracting firms benefit from innovation but not from R&D. In other findings, sole proprietorships, larger firms, firms with relatively more experienced managers, firms with females as top managers, and firms facing the threat of informal competition had lower employment growth, while foreign-owned and government-owned enterprises have positive influences on employment growth. Finally, employment growth in shrinking firms was boosted in nations with greater economic freedom, but this growth is undermined by informal sector competition.
Topic:: Development, Emerging Markets, Research, Innovation, and Research and Development
Political Geography:: Global Focus

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS