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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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February 26, 2010A New Home at USAIDPosted by Ruth Levine in Global Development, Global Health Tags: Evaluation, USAID
And, yes, it is hard to leave CGD. Read More… 13 Comments »December 10, 2009Importing Drugs and Exporting Our ProblemsPosted by Kimberly Ann Elliott in Global Health, Global Health Policy, Global Health Policy Research Network Tags: drugs, Healthcare reformThis entry was also published on the Huffington Post. I was going to blog about the illogic of the proposed amendment to health care legislation allowing the importation of lower-priced drugs from Canada, but Ezra Klein of the Washington Post beat me to it. As he notes, referring to floor comments by Senator David Vitter (R-LA): Read More… Comment »February 18, 2009And Now Presenting…Aid Watch!Posted by Nancy Birdsall in Aid Effectiveness, Global HealthLast week, Bill Easterly and colleagues formally launched the new Aid Watch initiative at the Development Research Institute at NYU. Aid Watch is meant to serve as an independent monitor of the aid practices of official development agencies, through research, events, and a blog. Bill brought out a big crowd for the launch, including not just students, but NGO leaders, faculty from up and down the East Coast, and some aid practitioners, including World Bank staff. In a session on accountabilty I spoke about Cash on Delivery Aid, a way for donors to transfer money that could make aid-dependent governments accountable for outcomes to their citizens — instead of for inputs to their donors. If you want to see my presentation, go here. Comment »February 17, 2009CGD’s 2009 State of the Union BINGO!Posted by Joel Meister in Aid Effectiveness, Global Health
During his campaign, Obama described a new vision for U.S. global engagement, a theme that he revisited in his inaugural address. Will his first address to Congress go further? Will he explain that the global economic crisis requires a global response–including changes in U.S. policies to help spur growth in the developing world? Will he help the American people to understand that the siren song of protectionism and restricted migration, however appealing, is dangerous for Americans as well as for poor people in developing countries? 1 Comment »January 26, 2009Got a Favorite CGD Research Output in 2008? Tell Eldis!Posted by Lawrence MacDonald in Capitol Flows/Financial Crisis, Climate Change, Environment, Financial Crisis, Global Health, Global Health Policy, Global Warming, HIV/AIDS, Migration and Development, Migration and Labor Mobility Tags: HIV/AIDS, Migration and PopulationEldis, the online aggregator of development policy, practice and research at the Institute of Development Studies in Sussex, is conducting a survey to identify “the most significant new piece of development research of 2008.” This strikes me as having roughly the same statistical validity as American Idol does for when it comes to finding new singing talent. Still, as with Idol and other talent shows, the entertainment value of a popularity contest is hard to dispute! 1 Comment »January 5, 2009My (Partial) Policy Wish List for 2009: Development Dreaming or Practical Possibilities?Posted by Nancy Birdsall in 2008 Presidential Election, Aid Effectiveness, Capitol Flows/Financial Crisis, Climate Change, Environment, Financial Crisis, Foreign Aid Reform, Global Health, Global Warming, Migration and Labor Mobility, Modernizing U.S. Foreign Assistance, News, Trade, World Bank Tags: Foreign Aid Reform, U.S. Presidential Elections, World Bank
9 Comments »December 17, 2008Cash on Delivery Aid: Developing Country Officials on Board but Donors Struggle with Innovation AversionPosted by Ayah Mahgoub in Aid Effectiveness, Global Health Tags: Security and Development
2 Comments »December 3, 2008Disappointment for Development Goals in DohaPosted by Nancy Birdsall in Aid Effectiveness, Cash on Delivery Aid, Global Health, Migration and Labor Mobility Tags: Cash on Delivery AidThere was another meeting in Doha this past weekend through yesterday. This time it was the United Nations not the WTO that failed to close any deal. Comment »November 24, 2008Tim Geithner and Lawrence Summers – Good Picks for the U.S. and the World’s PoorPosted by Nancy Birdsall in 2008 Presidential Election, Aid Effectiveness, Capitol Flows/Financial Crisis, Cash on Delivery Aid, Debt Relief, Economic Development, Economic Growth, Financial Crisis, Foreign Aid Reform, Global Education, Global Health, Governance/Democracy, Human Rights, International Monetary Fund, Migration and Labor Mobility, Millions Saved, News, The Future of the World Bank, U.S. Foreign Aid Reform, United Nations, World Bank Tags: Cash on Delivery Aid, Foreign Aid Reform, IMF, Millions Saved, U.S. Presidential Elections, World Bank
10 Comments »October 14, 2008Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) Goes Live: Join the Cause!Posted by Sheila Herrling in Aid Effectiveness, Global HealthThe Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) just launched its new website. As many of you know, CGD’s Steve Radelet is co-chair of this initiative. The new site provides information on how foreign assistance is in our national interest, why it is vital to modernize the current system, and how you can get involved in the effort. Comment »September 3, 2008Tanzanian President Kikwete Focuses on Education & Malaria ControlPosted by Ruth Levine in Africa, Cash on Delivery Aid, Global Education, Global Health, Global Health Policy, Inequality, Migration and Labor Mobility, News, Regions Tags: Cash on Delivery Aid, InequalityThis is a joint posting with former CGD special assistant Rena Pacheco-Theard 2 Comments »August 5, 2008If Congress Admits More Foreign Nurses, Will It Be Responsible for Killing Children in Poor Countries? Think Again.Posted by Michael Clemens in Global Health, Global Health Policy, Human Rights, Migration and Development, Migration and Labor Mobility Tags: Human Rights, Migration and Population, On the HillA subcommittee of the U.S. Congress has just approved a bill that would let modestly more foreign nurses work in the United States. New York Times reporters are concerned that measures like this, by encouraging movement of nurses out of developing countries that need them, could literally kill children. Today, the World Health Organization agrees that health worker movements contribute to disease and death in poor countries. 1 Comment »July 28, 2008World Bank Caucus Launched on the HillPosted by Sarah Jane Staats in Aid Effectiveness, Foreign Aid Reform, Global Health, Globalization, Migration and Labor Mobility, Modernizing U.S. Foreign Assistance, News, The Future of the World Bank, Trade, U.S. Foreign Aid Reform, World Bank, World Trade Organization Tags: Foreign Aid Reform, On the Hill, World BankThe U.S. Congress launched a new bipartisan Caucus for Congressional-World Bank Dialogue at a packed event on Capitol Hill July 16. The caucus, co-chaired by Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Betty McCollum (D-MN), provides a forum for members of Congress to engage the World Bank, parliamentarians and policy experts on poverty reduction, global development and trade. As many Hill and Bank-watchers know, World Bank rules prevent its president and senior staff from testifying before Congress and restrict discussions to closed-door meetings. While some argue this protects the bank from type of congressional meddling that has hobbled USAID, it also means that the bank misses opportunities to educate and inform Congress about its work through public, congressional testimony. Reuters’ reporter Lesley Wroughton says in her article U.S. lawmakers and World Bank seek to bridge gaps that in this sense, the new caucus “hopes to deepen, and in some cases launch discussions between the bank and the U.S. Congress on development, poverty and trade issues.” Comment »July 24, 2008Quality over Quantity: New Index of Donors’ Microfinance WorkPosted by David Roodman in Aid Effectiveness, Global Health, Microfinance Tags: MicrofinanceBack in December 2006 I blogged a meeting in Paris at which the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a sort of microfinance think tank operating out of the World Bank, won a mandate to hold a mirror up to the aid agencies that fund it. A year and a half later, CGAP’s new SmartAid Index looks at the quality of donors’ work in supporting micorofinance. For example, it asks, do donors learn and apply lessons from past experience? Do they hold staff accountable for results? My observation at the meeting was that mid-level officials who were directly responsible for microfinance activities, while seeing the good sense in external scrutiny, were somewhat uncomfortable with the prospect. Meanwhile, people closer to the top were eager for ways to understand the effectiveness of the various branches of the organizations they run, including units doing microfinance. Comment »July 9, 2008Scrap the G8Posted by Lawrence MacDonald in Africa, Asia, CGD Initiatives, China, Climate Change, Environment, Food Aid, G8, Global Education, Global Health, Global Health Policy, Global Warming, HIV/AIDS, Migration and Labor Mobility, Millennium Development Goals, News, Regions Tags: Agriculture, Food Aid, G8, HIV/AIDS, Millennium Development GoalsOnce again the G8 has come up tragically short on climate change and a host of urgent problems affecting poor people in developing countries. The good news is that they are at least discussing the right topics. The first Hokkaido G8 document, on the World Economy spills lots of ink on relations between rich and developing economies, including for example, reaffirmation of support for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. The next three policy papers — Environment and Climate Change, Development and Africa, and Global Food Security — all address topics that are at the heart of rich world-developing world ties (and, not coincidently, major areas of focus for CGD research and policy work). The bad news is that the G8, representing as it does the interests of the richest societies on the planet, is the wrong forum addressing global problems that touch on well-being of billions of people in the developing world. The lack of legitimacy is evident in the resulting mealy mouthed policy documents. 2 Comments »July 3, 2008Turning the Beat Around on Foreign Assistance Reform: Two Events Shift Debate From Why to HowPosted by Amy Crone in 2008 Presidential Election, Aid Effectiveness, CGD Initiatives, Foreign Aid Reform, Global Health, Migration and Labor Mobility, Modernizing U.S. Foreign Assistance, U.S. Foreign Aid Reform Tags: Foreign Aid Reform, U.S. Presidential ElectionsTwo former administrators of the U.S. Agency for International Development — Peter McPherson and Brian Atwood — said the U.S. government should give greater prominence to development and rewrite the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 in their testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week. Their testimony and other events around town signal growing momentum for a dramatic overhaul of U.S. foreign assistance. 1 Comment »May 15, 2008Rice Prices Fall After Congressional Hearings But Crisis Not Over YetPosted by Peter Timmer in Agriculture, Aid Effectiveness, Food & Agriculture, Food Aid, Food Crisis, Global Health, Migration and Labor Mobility, Rural Development Tags: Food Aid, Food Crisis, Rural DevelopmentThis post is joint with Tom Slayton, a rice trade expert and former editor of The Rice Trader Comment »April 28, 2008How 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 FirstPosted by Kimberly Ann Elliott in Agriculture, Aid Effectiveness, Food & Agriculture, Food Aid, Food Crisis, Global Health, Human Rights, Migration and Labor Mobility, News, Trade Tags: Food Aid, Food Crisis, Human RightsAnd 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. 3 Comments »April 28, 2008Debt Relief No Panacea, Birdsall Tells Senate Foreign Relations CommitteePosted by Sarah Jane Staats in Aid Effectiveness, Foreign Aid Reform, Global Health, U.S. Foreign Aid Reform Tags: Foreign Aid Reform, On the HillCGD 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. 1 Comment »April 28, 2008Congressional Hearing Highlights Growing Consensus for Retooling U.S. Foreign AssistancePosted by Sheila Herrling in Aid Effectiveness, Foreign Aid Reform, Global Health, U.S. Foreign Aid Reform Tags: Foreign Aid Reform, On the HillRep. 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:
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On Monday, I will join USAID as Director of Evaluation, Policy Analysis & Learning. In this position, I’ll be supporting initiatives that are already underway to apply the best available evidence to decisions at many levels, and to generate new knowledge as an integral part of the agency’s work. This reflects a major priority throughout the administration, and particularly for USAID Administrator Raj Shah, and it is a tremendous opportunity to extend work that I’ve done with others at the Center for Global Development. I know from my many interactions with USAID staff over many years that the agency is filled with dedicated, talented, and experienced professionals, and I’m looking forward to being able to contribute to their work.
President Barack Obama’s first address to a joint session of Congress on Feb. 24 isn’t officially a State of the Union Address, since he has just recently taken office. But it will look and sound exactly like a State of the Union, and that can mean only one thing: time for CGD’s ever popular State of the Union (SOTU) BINGO!
We are at the start of what promises to be an unusually difficult year in the global economy. Policy decisions in the United States and other rich world countries will matter immensely for poor and vulnerable people living in developing countries. Fortunately, there are a number of fairly straight-forward policy initiatives that could make life less difficult for poor people in the developing world while also benefiting the majority in high-income countries. With that in mind, here is my partial policy wish list for 2009:
Last week at 
We at CGD warmly welcome president-elect Barack Obama’s appointments of Timothy Geithner as Secretary of Treasury and Lawrence Summers to head the National Economic Council. Both are members of the 
