EADI Research Monitor – February Issue (2013)

We are pleased to provide you with the February 2013 issue of the EADI Research Monitor. To subscribe to our monthly newsletter, please use the form on the Research Monitor homepage.

 

 

2013/01 – European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI); Author: Andy Sumner
Over time global poverty is increasingly becoming a matter of domestic inequality because the majority of the world‘s poor by income and multi-dimensional poverty measures now live in countries categorized by the World Bank as middle-income countries.
This new ‘geography of poverty‘ raises questions about the usefulness of country classifications and about the types of economic growth that leads some countries to reduce the number of people in extreme poverty and other countries not to. Although the thresholds do not mean a sudden change in countries when a line is crossed in per capita income, substantially higher levels of average per capita income imply substantially more domestic resources available for poverty reduction and – most importantly for donors – the current aid system does treat countries differently if they are LICs or MICs. 

Download the full publication

2013/01 – Austrian Research Foundation for International Development (ÖFSE); Authors: Fabiane Baxewanos and Werner Raza
Development policy affects human rights in manifold ways. For example, trade agreements can have an adverse impact on the rights to health or food by making essential medicines or goods less accessible or available. Or large-scale investment projects influence indigenous rights when they entail resettlement programs or the expropriation of traditional lands.
Policy-makers have tried to tackle these issues by employing various impact assessment tools. This paper argues that the existing tools are insufficient for reasons that concern their legal status, their methodology and, in particular, their effectiveness. Human Rights Impact Assessments (HRIA) promise to cure some of these shortcomings. In the paper, the specific added-value of HRIAs, methodological approaches and challenges, and potential fields of application of HRIAs in development policy will be addressed. 

Download the full publication

2013/01 – Overseas Development Institute (ODI); Authors: Pedro Martins and Paula Lucci
As we approach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline, there is a growing interest and debate on what might replace them. Specific proposals for new goals, targets and indicators have already emerged – including on income poverty, employment, education, health, environment and governance. However, there has been far less attention on the key policy reforms that would be needed to fulfil those ambitions.
This paper contributes to the post-2015 debate by presenting some arguments and proposals that could motivate the construction of an effective and progressive ‘global partnership for development’. While economic and social progress ultimately depends on the implementation of appropriate domestic policies, the international environment can play a critical role in facilitating national development efforts. Therefore, this paper focuses on global economic policies – akin to MDG 8 – that have the potential to stimulate inclusive growth in developing countries. 

Download the full publication