Global Development: Views from the Center
May 08, 2008
Burma's Cyclone and Climate Change: A Taste of Things to Come?
Posted by Robin Kraft at 03:28 PM
Burma in the wake of Cyclone Nargis is a laundry list of development failures:
- Weak governance under a military dictatorship has made the aid response dangerously late
- Disease and malnutrition, problematic before Nargis, threaten survivors, the government’s latest health recommendations notwithstanding
- The already-poor transport infrastructure has been washed away or is still under water, making aid delivery even more difficult
- 1 million people displaced by the flooding of 5,000 square kilometers of prime farmland need food, housing, and jobs, placing enormous strains on local institutions
The scale of the disaster reminds us of the simple fact that “people in flood-prone poor countries already suffer much more than people in flood-prone rich countries,” as my colleague David Wheeler pointed out last year. Poverty hugely amplifies the suffering associated with environmental catastrophe.
Continue reading "Burma's Cyclone and Climate Change: A Taste of Things to Come?"
May 07, 2008
The US Farm Bill: From Bad to Worse?
Posted by Kimberly Ann Elliott at 03:08 PM
"House and Senate negotiators bargaining over a new farm bill have reduced funding for a key school lunch program for poor children abroad and agreed to sharply expand nutrition programs for low-income families and children in the United States."
"How can the world's hungriest schoolchildren be denied meals while the farm bill being debated in a House-Senate conference provides millions in subsidies for wealthy farmers? That's what Congress proposes. In all fairness, it should not become law."
Former Senators Robert Dole and George McGovern, Washington Post, May 6, 2008
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Does Sharing Apply to Development? Yup!
Posted by Dave Witzel at 11:06 AM
McNealy arrived late, delayed by a meeting at the Pentagon. You could tell he was tired. He’d flown to DC from California with a stopover in Dallas where he stayed up late watching hockey as his beloved San Jose Sharks fell to the Stars in the 4th overtime. Nonetheless, by the time lunch was finished at 1:30pm we had made good progress answering moderator Lawrence MacDonald’s query – does sharing and openness really matter for development? Based on insights from the speakers and the audience, it turns out the answer is “yes” and “in a variety of ways.” Less clear was what to do about it.
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Delight About Donor Disclosure -- Now Kick It Up A Notch!
Posted by Nancy Birdsall at 10:17 AM
This is a joint post with Kate Vyborny
We have been trying for a while to convince official aid donors to report to recipients more detailed, timely information about their disbursements of aid. You might well ask: how is it that recipients do not know how much money they are getting? Money may be in projects completely separate from the government; or it may go to specific project units within ministry of education or health, for example -- even the health or education minister may not know who in his or her ministry has access to what money. This undermines the collective decisionmaking process over how funds are spent that is central in the role of democratic governments. The recipient government should be involved in deciding how the money will be spent -- mechanisms like budget support and our proposed "cash on delivery" aid allow this to happen automatically. But at the very least, donors should be keeping tabs and telling the recipient -- quite a low bar, especially considering the standards to which donors hold or exhort recipients.
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May 06, 2008
Ethanol Opposition Makes for Strange Bedfellows
Posted by Lawrence MacDonald at 06:36 PM
Sam Loewenberg at Politico has an interesting story that describes the odd coalition that has emerged in opposition to ethanol subsidies -- development and humanitarian NGOs, the livestock and food processing industries, and big oil. As Sam reports:
The headline-grabbing global food crisis has given the anti-ethanol crowd a rare opportunity to take up a legislative battle they thought they had lost. Industry has found an unlikely ally among several humanitarian groups, leaders of which hope that cutting back on ethanol will lower food prices.
Continue reading "Ethanol Opposition Makes for Strange Bedfellows"
May 05, 2008
Peter Timmer Peels Back the Layers of Complexity in Global Food Crisis in University of Illinois Radio Interview
Posted by Lawrence MacDonald at 09:32 PM
Still puzzled and concerned about the global food price crisis after reading Arvind Subramanian's smart Q&A? CGD non-resident fellow Peter Timmer peels back the layers of complexity in a thoughtful online audio interview on WILL AM 580, the broadcasting service of the University of Illinois. Timmer, who estimated in an April 21 CGD Q&A that 10 million people could die prematurely as a result of the crisis, argues that the sharp spike in prices in the last six to eight months has a substantial speculative element. But he also warns that current yields are close to the technological frontier. "We are paying the price of two or three decades of neglect of agricultural research," he says, adding that biofuel subsidies are a big part of the problem.
May 01, 2008
President Bush Can and Should Do More to Address the Food Crisis: Let Japan Sell Its Rice Reserves
Posted by Peter Timmer at 06:26 PM
This posting is joint with Vijaya Ramachandran
Today, President Bush called on Congress to provide another $770 million in food aid, in addition to the $200 million already allocated through the Department of Agriculture,in order "to keep our existing food aid programs robust."
There is no doubt that these additional funds are much needed to purchase and distribute food to those who are suffering greatly from the current spike in food prices. But the U.S. can and should do more. Specifically, the U.S. must allow Japan to sell, at full cost on Japanese books, the 1.5 million metric tons of rice that it has in storage. About 600,000 tons is Thai and Vietnamese long-grain rice (high quality) and the rest is US medium grain (good rice). All of the rice is in Japanese warehouses because of an agreement with the World Trade Organization, and the U.S. as "cognizant observer" of the rice agreement, would need to approve the sale of both the US and the Thai/Vietnamese rice. Japan currently cannot release this rice to the World Food Program (or to the world market) without permission from the U.S., and the Bush administration is yet to move on this.
Sharing as a Development Strategy
Posted by Dave Witzel at 02:10 PM
Scott McNealy is Chairman of Sun Microsystems a company he co-founded in 1982. He is a fierce competitor in business and in a hockey rink. He can be abrasive and outspoken explaining that "diplomacy has never been my middle name." He is an avowed capitalist and self-proclaimed libertarian. Nonetheless, his bio page says he's a "Champion for Sharing." In fact, Sun, as part of its business strategy shares almost everything. Its Java software platform and Open Office applications suite are open source. Recently it purchased one of the largest open source databases vendors, MySQL AB. Even its hardware is open source with the release of OpenSPARC. McNealy has invested in curriki.org to improve sharing of educational resources and Sun has launched openeco.org as a shared platform to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Continue reading "Sharing as a Development Strategy"
April 28, 2008
How NOT to Fix the Global Food Crisis -- France Says Poor Countries Should Provide EU-Style Farm Subsidies, while U.S. Farm Bill Puts Vested Interests First
Posted by Kimberly Ann Elliott at 04:16 PM
And now for a really bad idea: according to the Financial Times Michel Barnier, France's farm minister, told a food crisis summit in Berne that Africa and Latin America should adopt their own versions of Europe's Common Agricultural Policy -- massive trade-distorting subsidies -- as a response to rising demand for food.
Debt Relief No Panacea, Birdsall Tells Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Posted by Sarah Jane Staats at 01:26 PM
CGD President Nancy Birdsall praised the intent of new legislation (S. 2166) to expand debt relief to additional poor countries, but cautioned against the bill in its current form last week at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. She urged the U.S. to first pay nearly $900 million in arrears to the multilateral development banks and consider other mechanisms to help poor countries protect themselves from external shocks, including natural disasters and sudden increases in food, oil or other commodity prices.
Continue reading "Debt Relief No Panacea, Birdsall Tells Senate Foreign Relations Committee"
Congressional Hearing Highlights Growing Consensus for Retooling U.S. Foreign Assistance
Posted by Sheila Herrling at 01:24 PM
Rep. Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, opened the first of a series of hearings on foreign assistance reform with a bold statement last Wednesday calling for major overhaul of the system. Says Berman:
It is painfully obvious to Congress, the Administration, foreign aid experts, and NGOs alike, that our foreign assistance program is fragmented and broken and in critical need of overhaul. I strongly believe that America's foreign assistance program is not in need of some minor changes, but, rather, it needs to be reinvented and retooled in order to respond to the significant challenges our country and the world faces in the 21st century.
April 24, 2008
The Economist got it wrong!! on safety nets and food prices
Posted by Nora Lustig at 09:59 AM
You probably saw that this week's Economist devoted his leader to soaring food prices. They made two mistakes:
1. In the editorial they say that it is better to distribute cash rather than food to protect local growers. At a time in which one of the problems is hoarding, cash may push prices even further. There cannot be a blanket recommendation of this kind.
2. In the lead article they have a box on safety nets and mention Mexico's PROCAMPO program as an example of conditional cash transfers that could be applied elsewhere. First, PROCAMPO is NOT a conditional cash transfer program. The transfer program is called PROGRESA/OPORTUNIDADES (see Millions Saved, Case 9). Second, and more importantly, PROCAMPO is a program that subsidizes those who have land (it is similar to US farm subsidies), the overwhelming majority are net sellers of agricultural goods, so it would do no good at all to have such a program if what you want to do is help net buyers. On the other hand, the Mexican government could use PROGRESA/OPORTUNIDADES to transfer a higher amount of money to the beneficiaries so they can cope with the increases in food prices. The same could be done with similar programs elsewhere.
April 21, 2008
Not Too Hot: American Opinion of Global Warming and Why It Doesn't Matter
Posted by Kevin Ummel at 04:03 PM
On the eve of Earth Day, a new Gallup poll finds that Americans "just can't seem to get worked up" about global warming. While 61% believe the effects of global warming have already begun, just 37% worry about it a "great deal."1 The latter figure has remained basically unchanged for the past 20 years. And global warming doesn't fare well when compared to other environmental issues: Only two environmental problems -- urban sprawl and acid rain -- worry Americans less than global warming. This despite the fact that 80% claim to already understand the issue well or very well.
Continue reading "Not Too Hot: American Opinion of Global Warming and Why It Doesn't Matter"
Trade Policy for a New Deal on Hunger
Posted by Nancy Birdsall at 03:05 PM
This is a joint post with Arvind Subramanian
In a Q&A published today, CGD non-resident fellow Peter Timmer estimates that soaring global food prices and panicky starve-thy-neighbor rice export restrictions in Asia could lead to 10 million or more premature deaths in the region if the current high prices are passed along to poor rice consumers.
Continue reading "Trade Policy for a New Deal on Hunger"
Can the MDBs Jump-Start the Market for Country Risk Management Tools?
Posted by Nancy Lee at 02:05 PM
Continue reading "Can the MDBs Jump-Start the Market for Country Risk Management Tools?"
April 17, 2008
Note to ABC: Fire Gibson and Stephanopoulos
Posted by Lawrence MacDonald at 02:42 PM
Even by the low standards of American TV news, the so-called journalists who ran last night's Democratic debate on ABC were a disgrace to their profession. TV critic Tom Shales nailed it in today's Washington Post in a column titled: In the Pa. Debate, ABC is the Clear Loser.
Continue reading "Note to ABC: Fire Gibson and Stephanopoulos"
April 14, 2008
Biofuels Worsening Hunger and Global Warming--So Yank the Subsidies!
Posted by Kimberly Ann Elliott at 04:01 PM
Policymakers in the U.S. and European Union have responded to rising oil prices, instability in the Middle East, and concerns about climate change by promoting biofuels as an alternative to petroleum-based gasoline and diesel. But biofuels are now getting much of the blame for soaring food prices and questions are being raised about the purported environmental benefits. As shown in the chart, US production of corn-based ethanol surged over the past two years, coinciding with the run-up in food prices. In 2006, ethanol used 20 percent of the US corn crop, but substituted for only a tiny fraction of gasoline use.
Continue reading "Biofuels Worsening Hunger and Global Warming--So Yank the Subsidies!"
April 11, 2008
The Global Food Crisis: Time for Action, Not Panic
Posted by Kimberly Ann Elliott at 11:55 AM
The New York Times yesterday (and Paul Krugman earlier in the week) called on rich countries to "step up to the plate" in confronting the food crisis in developing countries -- in the short run by increasing their donations of food aid. and in the medium run by getting rid of economically inefficient, inequitable, and environmentally unsound subsidies for biofuels, especially corn-based ethanol.
Continue reading "The Global Food Crisis: Time for Action, Not Panic"
April 09, 2008
World Bank Clean Technology Fund Would Be Cash Cow for Coal
Posted by Lawrence MacDonald at 08:55 PM
Boy, those folks at the World Bank sure can do process! Hot off the printer, the bank proposal for a so-called "Clean Technology Fund (CTF)" prepared for a meeting next week includes pages and pages of verbiage on process. On page 14 they finally get around to saying how the money would be spent. Read it and weep:
Continue reading "World Bank Clean Technology Fund Would Be Cash Cow for Coal"
The Other Surge: A Frontline View of Development in Iraq
Posted by Dennis de Tray at 11:46 AM
As General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker struggle through a marathon round of appearances before various Congressional committees, the questions they face focus on security and the effects of the U.S.'s "surge" strategy. This is as it should be, given conditions in Iraq, but there is another "surge" that in many respects may be more important in answering the "when can we leave" question: efforts under way to get Iraq on a more conventional development path.
I have just returned from a remarkable three-week visit to Iraq, remarkable because I was privileged to see more of Iraq than all but a handful of visitors have been able to see. I was part of a team brought together by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker to take a fresh look at Iraq's development efforts, most especially to see what more could be done that would support recent security gains by creating jobs and improving services.
Continue reading "The Other Surge: A Frontline View of Development in Iraq"
