Search

Begin New Search Topic Development Content Type Policy Brief

1091. Work In Progress: The Peace and Governance Programme: At the Interface of Ideas and Policy

Publication Date:
06-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
The mission of the United Nations University is to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations, its Peoples and Member States. The work of the Peace and Governance Programme is a core element of this mission, and one that is complex and demanding. The concept of peace and security is evolving and broadening considerably, both in the worlds of academia and policy. Traditionally, national and international security were mainly defined in military and territorial terms, in an international system characterized by interaction among states. The UN Charter, while ultimately working in the interests of “the peoples,” is predicated on the relationship between unitary states in the maintenance of international peace and security. Within this system, the challenge was traditionally seen as mediating between liberal internationalist and power-political “realist” forces.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, International Organization, and United Nations

1092. Cities as Economic Development Tools

Author:
Nigel Harris
Publication Date:
12-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Increasing globalization – the economic integration of national economies – and the resulting governmental decentralization have obliged cities in many countries to take seriously the economy of the city. On the other hand, unless cities can be made to work, national economic growth is seriously impeded. Hence, city managers become increasingly important in economic management. The old fatalism – that economic growth is a matter exclusively for national governments – comes under threat.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Government, and Politics

1093. Against the Feminization of Policy

Author:
Ananya Roy
Publication Date:
11-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
In recent times, there has been avid policy interest in paradigms of enablement. From declarations that the poor are “heroic entrepreneurs” (de Soto 2000) to recommendations on how to capitalize on the social capital of poverty, there is a loud call to help the poor help themselves. I want to focus on a key characteristic of the enablement framework: the attention to women. The policy investment in poor women now spans a range of institutional actors – a kinder and gentler World Bank, the UN shelter debates, and the NGOs that crowd the stage of development. Microcredit programs targeting women, mothers' clubs in squatter settlements, female farming cooperatives have become standard fare. One could say that women have become the currency of this latest round of development, the “instrument,” as Jackson (1999) puts it, of enablement. Drawing upon a rich corpus of feminist research, I want to critically examine the implications of this feminization of policy.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Civil Society, Development, and Politics

1094. Civil Society and the OECD - update November 2002

Publication Date:
11-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
The OECD recognises the valuable contribution that civil society can make to the public policy-making process, and attaches great importance to the Organisation's own consultation and dialogue with civil society organisations (CSOs). This continuing dialogue builds trust in public institutions and promotes public understanding of the benefits and challenges of global economic and social change.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Non-Governmental Organization

1095. Territorial Review on Helsinki, 2002

Publication Date:
11-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
The on-going structuring of the Greater Helsinki Region (GHR) should be encouraged by the central government. Managing the growth of the Helsinki region is crucial to avoid urban sprawl and the waste of resources, especially in the long run. With priorities for the Greater Helsinki Region identified, there is room to negotiate a general agreement between the central government and municipalities of the GHR. This agreement should receive large publicity and raise a debate in Parliament as the goal is to reassess both the role and the dependence of Helsinki upon the rest of the country, i.e. how can Finland develop as a whole by making better use of the motor, Helsinki.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance

1096. Science/Technology — Ocean Power

Publication Date:
05-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Analytica
Abstract:
This week's piece examines the prospects for tidal stream and competing offshore renewable energy technologies. Options for exploiting the energy available from the world's oceans include offshore wind, wave and tidal stream energy. Offshore wind is by far the closest to commercial exploitation, but the range of possibilities is surprisingly broad.
Topic:
Development, Environment, Government, and Science and Technology

1097. A Patent Policy Proposal for Global Diseases

Author:
Jean O Lanjouw
Publication Date:
06-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
We are in the midst of a dramatic extension of the global reach of the patent system. Until recently, in an effort to keep their prices low, many developing countries did not grant patents on new pharmaceutical products. Today, however, most countries have extended their patent laws to include pharmaceutical innovations, and in order to fulfill World Trade Organization membership requirements, the rest will soon follow.
Topic:
Civil War, Development, Human Welfare, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements

1098. Corruption and Globalization

Author:
Shang-Jin Wei
Publication Date:
04-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
At least since the Asian financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has, from time to time, included transparency and anti-corruption measures as part of the conditions for countries to borrow its funds. Because of this, it has been criticized as having overstepped its mandate, or even having made crises worse in countries the IMF is supposed to help.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Globalization, and Third World
Political Geography:
Asia

1099. Stemming the Backlash Against Globalization

Author:
Carol Graham
Publication Date:
04-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
There is much speculation about a new round of protests at the upcoming meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The protestors contend that globalization is bad for poor people in poor countries. But the evidence suggests the opposite: that globalization provides the poor in developing countries with new opportunities for upward mobility. Yet it also introduces new vulnerabilities, particularly for those in the middle income strata, which cause even the upwardly mobile in these strata to negatively assess their economic progress. We propose three sets of policies for poor countries — increasing access to higher levels and better quality education, eliminating market distortions that block the upward mobility of the poor (including excessive levels of inequality), and providing more broadly available safety nets for people without steady incomes — that could help prevent these negative sentiments from growing into a broader backlash against globalization, which would ultimately hurt the poor in these countries the most.
Topic:
Development, Globalization, Human Welfare, and Third World

1100. The Greening of the World Bank: A Lesson in Bureaucratic Survival

Author:
James M. Sheehan
Publication Date:
04-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The World Bank has a dismal environmental record that environmentalists have long condemned. Its lending policies have financed ecological destruction, human rights violations, and forced resettlement, and its projects have suffered from high failure rates, according to the bank's own criteria.
Topic:
Development, Environment, and International Organization