Feature articles of WIDER Angle December 2011
With the end of the year fast approaching, we bring you the last Angle of 2011. Here in Helsinki, the shortest day of the year is nearly upon us when we will have six hours of daylight. In the Finnish arctic the sun does not rise, the polar night lasting 51 days. Little snow yet—perhaps the consequence of climate change—but the Finnish winter is still in its earliest stage.
This month’s Angle leads with climate change, in a piece by Denmark’s Minister of Development Co-operation, Christian Friis Bach and Channing Arndt, based on their recent UNU-WIDER working paper ‘Foreign Assistance in a Climate-Constrained World’. From the Editor's desk, READ MORE.
FEATURE ARTICLES
Foreign Assistance in a Climate-Constrained World
Channing Arndt and Christian Friis Bach
Projections show that climate finance has the potential to markedly increase total official assistance to developing countries over the next decade. Climate change will impact not only the need for foreign assistance, but also the financial mechanisms, modalities, agreements, and distribution channels for foreign assistance. In our recent paper ‘Foreign Assistance in a Climate-Constrained World’ we argue that climate finance can act as a catalyst for positive changes in the institutional architecture and distribution mechanisms for financial flows to lower-income countries. Genuine recipient country leadership is necessary in the implementation of co-ordinated development, adaptation and mitigation strategies. Predictable and long-term financial flows are best suited to facing the challenges of development in a climate constrained world.
Full article.
UNU-WIDER remembers President Václav Havel, 1936-2011
Lorraine Telfer-Taivainen
In 1989, everything changed for Václav Havel and his country. The former lab technician, now playwright, led Czechoslovakia’s extraordinary Velvet Revolution which toppled the ruling regime.
The world watched in astonishment at the display of an extraordinary uprising of people, and within weeks saw Václav Havel installed as Czechoslovakia’s new and popular president.
Read more.
Aid in North Africa after the 'Arab Spring'
Jane Harrigan
Donor political interests have heavily influenced aid flows to North Africa in the past. This has reduced the effectiveness of aid which, with the exception of Tunisia, has not been associated with sustained economic growth. The Arab Spring provides an opportunity to reappraise aid flows to the region and in my paper ‘The Political Economy of Aid Flows to North Africa‘ I argue that future flows have to support the democratization process, generate pro-poor growth, support social safety nets, and address the pressing issues of widening inequalities and unemployment.
Full article.
Lessons of Experience in International Democracy Support
Peter Burnell
The view that democracy can be good for development has held sway in influential international development policy circles for over two decades now. And over that time considerable efforts have been made internationally to give direct encouragement and support to moves towards democratic transitions and the building of democracy in many countries. Although a substantial number of countries have made progress towards democracy, the Arab world, in contrast, looked to be the one major region that was very resistant. It lagged behind politically as well as in respect of key indicators of economic and human development, with the exception of a few rich oil economies that remained firmly non-democratic. The belief of some political leaders in the West that a scenario of falling dominoes in the region would follow on as a consequence of the successful military overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq also seems to have been misguided. Full article.
Rethinking Aid Allocation in the Light of Global Challenges We Are Facing
Peter S. Heller
After sixty years of foreign aid efforts and dramatic change in the world of aid recipients, many concerns are being raised about the effectiveness of current aid programmes to developing countries. The appropriateness of aid is particularly questionable when considering the character of the challenges that the global economy will confront by 2025. Full article.
Resilient People, Fragile Governance: Bangladesh Achieving Middle-Income Status (Part 2)
Lucy Scott
Part 1 of this article, which appeared in last month’s issue, discussed the ‘Bangladesh Paradox’ that Bangladesh has made economic and social strides forwards despite having weak governance. For Bangladesh to achieve its goal of middle-income country status by 2021 governance will have to improve. Full article.
Poverty Reduction and Economic Structure: Mozambique and Vietnam Compared
Channing Arndt, Andres Garcia, Finn Tarp, and James Thurlow
Economic growth typically reduces poverty, but global averages conceal wide variation at the country-level, where even rapid growth may not significantly improve the incomes of the poor. In some of sub-Saharan Africa’s fastest growing countries, measured poverty rates have remained virtually unchanged over the last decade, raising concerns over the effectiveness of growth-oriented development strategies. Full Article.
NEWS
Vietnam Recognizes UNU-WIDER Director. Read more.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Book Launch: Economies in Transition: The Long-Run View. Edited by Gérard Roland. Published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
To be held in London, UK 9 February 2012
RECENT EVENTS
UNU-WIDER and HECER Seminar: Macroeconomics and Development seminar series: ‘It’s a Deals World: The Dynamics of Capitalism with Weak Institutions’, by Lant Pritchett of Harvard University. 14 December 2011
Watch the seminar on our UNU-WIDER channel on You Tube.
Conference on Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture
Rabat, Morocco. 6 December 2011
Presentation by Finn Tarp: International Conference on Sustainable Development of Natural Resources in Africa. Held at UNU-INRA in Ghana.
5-7 December 2011
AERC and UNU-WIDER Conference: Macro-economic Management of Foreign Aid, Nairobi, Kenya 2 December 2011
Project activity: United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17/CMP7). Durban, South Africa 28 November 2011
Project activity: 'The Bioenergy, Food and Water Nexus' special session convened by UNU-WIDER and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 16 November 2011
Presentation by Finn Tarp: 'Making Legon a World-Class University for Africa': An International Conference to Discuss Concept and Funding. Held in Accra, Ghana 14-15 November 2011
PUBLICATIONS
Books and Journals
Forthcoming: Economies in Transition: The Long-Run View
Edited by Gérard Roland
Lessons of Experience in International Democracy Support: Implications for Supporting Democratic Change in North Africa
Peter Burnell WP/84
Security of Property Rights for Whom?
Terra Lawson-Remer WP/83
Long-term Effects of Land Reform on Human Capital Accumulation: Evidence from West Bengal
Klaus Deininger, Songqing Jin, and Vandana Yadav WP/82
The Demand Side of Social Protection: Lessons from Cambodia’s Labour Rights Experience
Alisa DiCaprio WP/81
Entrepreneurship, Stages of Development, and Industrialization Zoltan J. Ács and Wim Naudé WP/80
Climate and Industrial Policy in an Asymmetric World
Thomas Gries WP/79
Global Supply Chains in Chinese Industrialization: Impact on Waste Scavenging in Developing Countries
Martin Medina WP/78
Climate Change and Industrial Policy
Wim Naudé WP/77
Rethinking China’s Path of Industrialization
Harry X. Wu WP/76
Manufacturing and Economic Development
Adam Szirmai WP/75
Environmental and Gender Impacts of Land Tenure Regularization in Africa
Daniel Ayalew Ali, Klaus Deininger, and Markus Goldstein WP/74
Innovative Delivery Mechanisms for Increased Aid Budgets
Matthew Clarke WP/73
Information on all of WIDER's publications is available on our website: http://www.wider.unu.edu/publications/
WIDER Angle newsletter
December 2011
ISSN 1238-9544
