INCLUDE Development Research Seminar

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Description

The seminars provide a body of critical reflection on development cooperation. The outcome of the seminars is, however, not a critique of current practices, but rather a collection of options given current and future constraints on means and methods. Such constraints include financial restrictions (such as the limited availability ODA and reduced national budgets) and the observation that the role of the market cannot be ignored, both in view of the increasing role of private firms in aid delivery and the fact that the very poor, often by necessity, rely on private expenditures, e.g., for health services. Indeed according to Arjan de Haan, this new paradigm involves a new balance between public and private actors active in development, with an increasing role for the private sector in developing countries. New modes of development cooperation may involve community organizing to provide more and more targeted private sector financial support when governments step back, as argued by Robert Fisher, the organization of institutions and markets by means of modern communication technologies in developing countries (an example is the activities by PharmAccess, as discussed by Onno Schellekens), or the combination of public-private partnerships and regional regrouping as a basis for inclusive development, as discussed by Yvonne Underhill-Sem in relation to small island development states in the Pacific. Many of the problems discussed by Yvonne return in the chapters of this special report, as Cape Verde is also a small development island state that is trying to regroup with regional forces and that increasingly sees a role for cooperation between the state and the private sector. Private sector involvement can also have potentially negative impacts, for example, driving local firms out of the market. Therefore, Tilman Altenburg analysed ways to make value chain development more inclusive. He sees a new role for the international donor community. Martin Guzman focused on another role for the international community, namely, the fact that at present no systematic treatment exists for debt workout, rescheduling and relief when a debtor country goes into crisis. Inclusiveness and the SDGs: can inequality be reduced? The final seminar of the series focused on the international community and its role in making development more inclusive. This seminar evaluated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their potential contribution to reducing inequality. Richard Jolly analysed the SDGs from the perspective of five fundamental objectives – universalism, sustainability, human development, inequality and human rights – linking these objectives to teaching and research in the field of development studies. Jan Vandemoortele provided a critical reflection on the SDGs. He pointed out the strengths of the SDGs in getting the message across to the public at large and was positive about the consultation process by which the SDGs were developed and selected. However, Vandemoortele was critical about the inclusiveness of the SDGs, particularly their formulation in absolute numbers, which reduces their universality and inclusiveness. Rob Vos focused on financing the transformation process required to achieve the SDGs. Trillions of dollars are needed, as well as new modes of finance. Clearly this cannot be achieved with traditional instruments such as ODA. However, it seems possible to leverage the large amounts of international reserves which have great potential. In relation to inequality, this issue requires both a discussion of measurement (within countries and between countries) and of developments for specific regions and country groupings. Andy Sumner pointed out that the World Bank’s new poverty line and accompanying narrative on the successes of reduced poverty misses the points. He said that income levels below USD 10 per head do not provide sufficient certainty against a fall back into poverty. Furthermore, scenarios for future numbers and the location of the global poor point to many problems and uncertainties. Focusing on developments in Latin America and using a political economy perspective, Andrea Cornia challenged the idea that recession by definition increases inequality. Tony Addison critically reflected on the African experience where, although structural reform increased growth, it did so unequally. He pointed out the futility of quick ideological answers to the continent’s problems in achieving inclusive development. Focusing on the Next-14 (the top-14 non OECD countries, including the BRIC countries), Deepak Nayyar formulated two interlinked hypotheses that sum up one of the main points of agreement among the speakers. Economic growth (catch-up) is essential to reduce inequality, but, at the same time, such growth will be unsustainable without reducing inequality.
Period2015
Event typeWorkshop
LocationThe HagueShow on map

Research programs

  • EUR-ISS-EDEM