From the Editor’s Desk

Tony Addison

As April closes, our thoughts turn to UNU-WIDER’s spring/summer programme. And it’s a busy one. June sees us back in Stockholm, this time to talk about aid, climate change and the environment at the ReCom results meeting. There is also our big Learning to Compete conference, bringing together a wide range of policy makers and researchers. Full article

Sharing for prosperity

Minister Heikki Eidsvoll Holmås

Economic growth in itself will not end poverty. Stronger policies for fairer distribution are needed in a world where the 10% richest persons possess 84%, and the poorest half own only 1% of the assets. Full article

Aid and the social sectors: reflections from the Stockholm results meeting

Tony Addison and Miguel Niño-Zarazúa

We learnt much from the ReCom Results meeting on 13th March in Stockholm on aid and the social sectors. We not only learnt about successes, but also challenges—and importantly what to do to increase success, especially amongst the world’s poorest countries and for the world’s poorest people. We learnt about what works in education, health, social protection, safe water and sanitation—key components for human development. And we did this by hearing from some of the world’s experts on the social sectors working with the ReCom programme, and from an audience that came from a diverse set of backgrounds and expertise. Full article

The polarized post-2015 development puzzle: the poorest still fall behind

Marikki Stocchetti

2015 will mark a moment of truth for the international community as the era of the Millennium Development agenda (2000-15) comes to an end. The polarization of world poverty into ‘fragile’ and ‘strong’ states poses a puzzle that requires rethinking at both global and national levels. Full article

Aid in the climate change combat

Carl-Gustav Lindén

In recent weeks there have been several large gatherings of experts dealing with how to tackle the complex climate change and environmental problems which our world faces. The Climate Change Expert Group (CCXG) Global Forum convened in Paris, there was another large ministerial meeting on mobilizing climate finance in Washington DC, and the World Economic Forum’s Green Growth Action Coalition presented a report on how to advance private initiatives. Full article

RESEARCHAngle

Evaluations – crucial for the spread of social protection programmes

The growth of social protection programmes aimed at reducing poverty by transferring resources to the poor has been a novel feature of development policy and practice in the last decade. Combined with other policies, transfer programmes have the capacity to make a significant contribution to global reduction of poverty and vulnerability.

What is the effect of aid on primary enrolment and quality of education

The achievement of universal primary education by the year 2015 by all countries was one of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the international community in 2000.

What works? – lessons from aid to education

Fostering national ownership and delivering aid through non-project aid modalities

Since 1999 over 50 million more children have been enrolled in primary school, there was a significant reduction in the number of children not attending school, and a marked improvement in access to education for girls in primary education. Education aid has certainly played a role in supporting the worldwide education sector to achieve these improvements. However, the quality of education is still very low in many developing countries, and aid, alongside governments in developing countries, could do more to rectify this problem.

VIDEOAngle

We know what works in foreign aid - but we don't always act on that knowledge
Bob Baulch, Abby Riddel and Katharina Mikaelowa

Is the focus of aid funds really the poorest countries in the world? Does the international community follow it's best knowledge on aid modalities? How could education aid be more effective? Has the concentration on enrolment levels in primary education thwarted the quality of education in sub-Saharan Africa? Video link

WIDERAngle newsletter
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