Think Tanks:

The Overseas Development Council

The Overseas Development Institute

PROBLEMS AND PRIORITIES

Integration of Developing Countries into Global Economy

The Overseas Development Council focuses on how policies that shape trade and investment trends affect development. ODC analyzes how such policies, like NAFTA, can be used to support sustainable development and integrate the developing world into the global economy.

Disparities Between Donor Agencies and NGOs

Though donor agencies and NGOs for the moment have found a common ground, there is a disparity between their approaches to development. The problem being the donor funding is often viewed as simply a Band-Aid effect, throwing money at the problem. While the NGOs tend to focus on how to solve the causes of the problems to keep them from re-occurring.

Future of Mulitlateral Development Assistance

The key goals of this research program put forth by the Overseas Development Council are to shape the evolving development cooperation agenda through analysis of key development programs and to contribute ideas and influence decision making on the redesign and future financing of multilateral development efforts. Key facets to this program include strategic advocacy planning; social sector reform; peace building, and new strategies.

Development and Human Rights

Support from the international community is necessary in maintaining peace and the peace building process in those countries that have been inflicted with conflict. Transition into a peaceful state includes phases which incorporate the returning of refugees and internally displaced persons, removal of land mines, national reconciliation, etc. The ODC and ODI analyze the role of the international development community in supporting the process of peace and how development issues are key in times of the critical transition to amity.

Africa

The goals of this research program put forth by the Overseas Development Council are to better integrate Africa into the global economy to spur economic growth and decrease the marginalization of Africa in general. The centerpiece of the program of research on Africa is to reduce the dependence upon aid in Africa. The program involves inclusion of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) in Nairobi, Kenya. Topics covered include Africa’s new leaders; the role of agriculture in African development; private investment in Africa; trends in African regional security; and developments in Nigeria.

Rural Policy and the Environment

The Rural Policy and Environment Group at the Overseas Development Institute involves interdisciplinary research in collaboration with southern partners. The goals of the program are to generate new knowledge or methodologies at the local level, and to generate institutional knowledge at the national and international policy levels. The program wishes to encourage a more sustainable relationship between natural resources and rural livelihoods.

ENUMERATION OF MATERIALS

It is believed that poverty and the disparity of income distribution is effected in some ways by demographics. For example, age and gender structures of a culture can be linked with poverty income distribution. Other issues that are studied are development level and geography of the area. In addition, projected demographics are reviewed suggesting possible implications their changes may have on income disparity.

Poverty alleviation projects seemed to have been revived in the development world. This study re-examines methodology such as "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches, agriculture and the poor in rural areas, women’s micro-enterprises. The study also looks at the roles of NGOs, policy based lending, and institution building.

With the move from GATT to the WTO, trade activities and government policies were effected by the new international regulations. This directly impacted developing countries as their scope of privileges became more defined yet less broad. The consequences is believed to have a huge impact on these countries. This report focuses on the changes, and the direct effect on the wide range of countries.

There has been steadily growing increase in the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to developing countries. This is believed to have a stimulating effect on economic growth. Studies have attempted to determine the scale and direction of FDI flows, but they have not reached consensus. Evidence shows that such factors as size of market, labor costs, political risk, infrastructure, incentives and operating conditions, and privatization impact the FDIÌs choice in countries. Interesting to note, FDI flow has been highly concentrated in three countries, China, Nigeria, and India.

Morley, Samuel A. "Poverty and Inequality in Latin America: Past Evidence, Future Prospects."

Overseas Development Council. John Hopkins University Press.

Samuel Morley describes the tenuous decade of the 1980s as a time of adjustment for Latin America, which led to an overall decline in the standard of living, as well as affecting the distribution of income and poverty. The long-run development possibilities for Latin America are examined; the foundation for these prospects built on changes that have taken place since 1990. The relationship between poverty and income distribution, and that of macroeconomic conditions and structure, are probed by the author as well. This report is significant because it address poverty not as a state of being but as a result of instability both in the economic and political arenas of Latin America.

Ball, Nicole and Tammy Halevy "Making Peace Work: The Role of the International

Many countries throughout the world have been affected by conflict, either internationally or internally, resulting in "damage to infrastructure, militarization, government illegitimacy, institutional weakness and social trauma". Development, therefore, is more difficult for these countries when compared to other states undergoing political or economic transitions. Development institutions should be aware of the special needs of those countries that have endured conflict and the impact that war has on populations. Furthermore, support by the international community is integral in maintaining peace and furthering development. The significance of this article is that it addresses an overlooked topic in international development and the importance of international support for the peace process in those countries undergoing that critical transition.

Killick, Tony. "Aid and the Political-Economy of Policy Change" Overseas Development

Institute.

This report incorporates studies of twenty-one developing countries and regional studies on South-East Asia and Latin America in examining the effectiveness of conditionally, or "policy strings", by aid agencies in improving economic policies. The author draws conclusions including: that the when donor and government aims differ, implementation is poor and incentives by aid agencies are not strong enough to insure that the implementation of conditions. This article is interesting because it studies specific cases and the success therein of multilateral aid agencies before drawing conclusions, resulting in stronger and highly substantiated conclusions.

Brown, David, Gill Sheperd, Michael Richards and Kate Schreckenberg (eds.) "The EU Tropical Forestry Sourcebook". Overseas Development Institute.

This book examines the EC Directorates-General interest in forestry and each Member State’s policies and activities in tropical forestry. It is written to help those in developing countries in dealing with European donors and those in the EU who have an interest in forestry. It also draws conclusions about effective aid delivery and recognizes trends and future issues in forestry. The report is a thorough examination of tropical forestry and is especially significant for those interested in this topic. It is also an essential "component of ODI’s support of the EC goals of complementarity, coordination and coherence in the forestry sector."

"Global Hunger and Food Security after The World Food Summit"

This article supplied by the Overseas Development Institute examines the quest for food security and the avoidance of hunger and famine beginning with The World Food Conference in 1974. It provides a comprehensive overview of what the World Food Summit has and has not achieved over the past twenty years. Specifically addressed are concepts of food security and the abilities of a global body to address such pressing problems.

*This article was interesting because it traced the history of the World Food Conference and what it has and has not achieved over the past 20 years.

"New Sources of Finance for Development"

This article supplied by the Overseas Development Institute examines the renewed interest in alternate sources of funding for development. It discusses national budget constraints and reviews the range of proposals being discussed in the international community for new sources of finance. It also discusses their political and financial feasibility.

*This article was significant because it gives an overview of innovative new sources for development funding.

"Aid in Transition"

This article supplied by the Overseas Development Institute examines the current state of aid from the perspective of donor countries and examines the issues of changing aid programs to developing countries. The paper provides a historical context from which to examine aid highlighting events such as the cold war, increasing globalization, and the emergence of non-governmental organizations into the development picture from which to analyze aid.

*This article was particularly useful because of its historical perspective on aid.

"Rethinking the Role of the Multilateral Development Banks"

This article supplied by the Overseas Development Institute examines the current state of the Multilateral Development Banks. The article compares the needs perceived at Bretton Woods to the needs of developing countries today. The author provides a historical analysis of Multilateral Development Banks and presents an objective conclusion to the question, "Is there still a role for the Multilateral Development Banks?"

*This article provides an instructive overview of Multilateral Development Bank history since Bretton Woods.

PARTICULARLY SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES

"ODI Poverty Briefing: Approaches for Sustainable Livlihoods for the Rural Poor"

This briefing supplied by the Overseas Development Institute provides insight on the positives and negatives of the "livlihoods approach" to combat rural poverty.

The rural poor are isolated both economically and politically and make up about 70% of the world’s poor. The livlihoods approach examines rural poor in their environment and strives to work with people and build upon their experiences and strengths. The livlihoods approach seeks to do away with preconceived notions of the rural poor which have added constraints to our conventional development approaches.

The article traces 50 years of approaches to combatting poverty at the rural level. It introduces the livlihoods approach and supplies questions for future rural poverty alleviation.

The New Global Economy and Developing Countries: Making Openness Work

Dani Rodrik

ODC Policy Essay No. 24.

January, 1999

The trend of economic openness in the global economy is only successful when combined with strong and unambiguous investment policies and effectual civil and political institutions. The draw of lowering tariffs and opening up economies to international capital flows is the promise of poverty alleviation and an increase in the quality of life. However, this trend is challenged by the reality of countries to manage the confusion that follows economic liberalization and integration into the global economy. The report examines investment strategies and the strengthening of institutions of conflict management to maintain macroeconomic stability in the face of economic transition. Rodrik suggests that "governments and policy advisors alike have to stop thinking of international economic integration as an end in itself". Integration must be done on the terms of the developing nations after judging their own capabilities to handle the inevitable transitions that follows liberalization and not by the terms set by global marks or multilateral institutions.

There has always been disparity between NGOs and official donor agencies. It stems from the distinct differences in approaches to development. For many years there was no link between the two, except for emergency situations. But recently this has begun to change. The first changes began with the NGOs shift in funding created by the growing number of emergency assistance needed. Consequently there was more collaboration between NGOs and donor agencies. But now the shift is on the part of the donor agencies, as they are beginning to accept a broader, more NGO type view on development. Donor agencies have lists of criteria that determine eligibility of potential projects for funding. This is where the missing link between the two originally existed. But as donor agencies began to work more with NGOs in emergency activities, and as donor programs where reporting poor success rates, the missing link began to make itself visible. Donor agencies soon realized that they could reach the poor through the NGOs more effectively, and they began to reverse their agendas. As a result the approach and methods utilized by the NGOs are now impacting the donor agencies programs. Donor agencies have also broadened their aid objectives to include such programs as poverty alleviation, environmental concerns, and the status of women. Consequently, many more NGO programs are now falling under the auspices of donor agencies. There is still a skepticism on the NGOs behalf, they are concerned that the donor agencies have merely adopted their language, and now the actual development approaches. A common ground have been reached for the time being, and is even expected to expand, but the NGOs will not be too quick to link themselves closely to the donor agencies.

QUESTIONS

Would providing debt relief to the most heavily indebted poor countries alleviate the suffering of the world’s poorest people?

What are the best approaches to development? What works, what only solves the problem but not the causes? Is there a guarantee?