…come some way in grappling with complex problems, but urban development has lagged behind. Urban programmes systematically underperform according to their own results frameworks and internal evaluations. The failures are…
The new World Development Report (on mind, society and behavior): lots to like, but a big fail on power, politics and religion
This probably doesn’t need saying, but the World Development Report is a big deal. The World Bank’s annual flagships have a track record of shaping debates on particular issues, and…
Drought in Africa – How the system to fund humanitarian aid is still hardwired to fail
…after 260,000 people died in the Somalia famine in 2011. Even in Ethiopia and Kenya, where the impact was much reduced, the DEC evaluation called the response a ‘system-wide failure’…
When Focus Groups Fail: The Argument in Favour of Involving Local Researchers in Project Design
…the quality of data we receive. To illustrate from my own experiences with focus groups that failed to provide quality data for the simple reason that the project manager, or…
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, dum dum dum de dum: financial transaction tax update from Max Lawson
…France. They would then be joined by a group of nations from the G20, including Brazil and South Africa, which already have some form of FTT. It is most likely…
Can humanitarian experience guide the development of new loss and damage funding?
After years of political wrangling, we are finally seeing some progress in terms of wealthy nations shouldering some (small part) of the burden of Loss & Damage – but how…
How Covid and Inequality Feed Off Each Other: Launching the 2020 Commitment to Reduce Inequality Index
…many far poorer nations. Over 70% of its workers had no labour protections. Despite an already disastrous track record on workers’ rights, several state governments in India have used COVID-19…
What has global military spending and emissions got to do with development? Rather a lot.
…order of $2.5 trillion annually (UN 2019 pre-Covid); COP26 failed on Loss and Damage; Climate Finance shortfalls: poorer nations expected to face up to $75 billion six-year shortfall in climate…
Book Review: Knowledge, Policy and Power in International Development: A Practical Guide
…they are categorised in Why Nations Fail. The discussion portrays a largely steady state world of research, engagement with policy makers, and civilised debate, but in advocacy terms, readiness for…
10 top thinkers on Development, summarized in 700 words by Stefan Dercon
…in Whitehall because Britain comes out well. D+J didn’t like the human capital argument (education → development), and much of their Why Nations Fail agenda was their response. The trouble…
Book Review: Power and Progress. Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity
I started reading Power and Progress in a fairly sceptical frame of mind, because I didn’t much like Why Nations Fail. But it won me over in the end, especially…
WDR 2017 on Governance and Law: great content, terrible comms, and a big moral dilemma on rights and democracy
…Question – if that’s true, what about China? At worst, authors like Acemoglu and Robinson in Why Nations Fail make themselves look a bit ridiculous by arguing that China is…