In Pursuit of Development

Much of the discourse in the Western media in recent months has highlighted the rising tensions between the United States and China and the growing assertiveness of Chinese diplomats on social media and in other international forums, where they have passionately defended their country’s response to the Covid outbreak. There has also been a growing interest in trying to decode how Beijing is reconfiguring its aid and investment policies and how and to what extent it will offer debt relief to developing countries. There are numerous media reports questioning the real motives behind Beijing’s attempts to further strengthen diplomatic ties with countries in all corners of the world and push the narrative that as the good brother, friend and partner, China is concerned with upholding the principle of building itself up while also supporting other countries at the same time.And then there is all of this talk about a potential Covid vaccine, which when developed by the Chinese, could potentially be made available for free or at a subsidized price to countries that Beijing considers its friends.But the perspectives of Chinese scholars and commentators on these matters do not receive the kind of attention they deserve. Liu Baocheng is a professor at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) and Director of the University’s Center for International Business Ethics. I have collaborated with Prof. Liu for the past few years on a project that explored corporate strategies to promote sustainable development in China. Prof. Liu frequently appears as a news commentator on CCTV International.Twitter: @danbanik @GlobalDevPodWebsite: https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.com/   HostDan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)Apple Spotify YouTube Subscribe:https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.comhttps://globaldevpod.substack.com/

A couple of months ago, Liberia’s former minister of public works, Gyude Moore argued in a popular Tweet that Western critiques of Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will ring hollow in the absence of viable and state-led alternatives from the West. He claimed that the West can easily match, if not exceed China's BRI if it wanted to. But he also wondered whether the West wants to do this. He remains unconvinced because he thinks the West is satisfied with "virtue signalling when it comes to Africa’s prosperity". And so he went on to argue that it should not come as a surprise when African governments do their best to avoid being drawn into any rivalry between the United States and China and prefer to rather maintain a broad coalition of partners. But most importantly, he pointed out, “If China has built more infrastructure in Africa in two decades than the West has in centuries, China is also our friend".In addition to previously serving as Liberia’s minister of public works (2014-2018) with oversight over the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure, Gyude Moore has also been the deputy chief of staff to former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. He is currently a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, DC.Resources:"Africa Needs a Stronger Europe, Europe Needs a Stronger Africa"  (Sept. 2020)"How Can We Prepare for Coronavirus? Learn from Liberia’s Experience with Ebola" (March 2020)Follow Gyude Moore on TwitterFollow Dan Banik and In Pursuit of Development on Twitter  HostDan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)Apple Spotify YouTube Subscribe:https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.comhttps://globaldevpod.substack.com/

The growing tensions between the Nile Basin countries – Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan – over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has made news headlines in recent months. Egypt and Ethiopia have for many years been at loggerheads over Ethiopia’s plan to dam the Nile River and this conflict has resulted in steadily deteriorating relations between some of Africa’s biggest countries. Numerous attempts to negotiate a deal have failed and the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on the smooth flow of the Nile are at stake.In 2011, Ethiopia began construction of the GERD, a $4.6 billion hydroelectric project, on the headwaters of the Blue Nile, near the border between Ethiopia and Sudan. For Ethiopia, the dam offers an opportunity to finally take advantage of the world’s longest river in stimulating economic growth and generate much-needed electricity for itself as well as for its neighbours. But the construction of this dam has resulted in a highly polarized discourse.Some have argued that GERD, in addition to its obvious benefits for Ethiopia, could even foster new and productive forms of regional cooperation. But others worry over Ethiopia’s growing muscle and its motives, and its commitment to respect water-sharing agreements at the cost of other countries that depend on the Nile. In addition to the Nile river basin conflict, we also discuss in this episode the longstanding water sharing agreements and disputes between India and Bangladesh and the impact of India’s construction of the Farakka Barrage on the Ganges river in the 1970s. Are there certain lessons from this dispute that could explain the current dispute in the Nile basin?Guest: Ashok Swain is a professor of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University, Sweden. He is also the UNESCO Chair of International Water Cooperation and the Director of Uppsala University’s Research School of International Water Cooperation.Resources:"How the Grand Renaissance Dam might spark basin-wide water cooperation" (The Conversation, July 2020)"Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Catalyst for basin-wide water cooperation?" (The Africa Report, August 2020)The Egyptian President's speech at the UN General Assembly (Sept. 2020)"Ethiopia tells UN 'no intention' of using dam to harm Egypt, Sudan" (Middle East Monitor, September 2020)"To India’s chagrin, Bangladesh turns to China to transform Teesta river" (TheThirdPole.net, September 2020)Follow Ashok Swain on TwitterFollow Dan Banik and In Pursuit of Development on Twitter  HostDan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)Apple Spotify YouTube Subscribe:https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.comhttps://globaldevpod.substack.com/

Studying the role of institutions and their evolution often helps us better understand political and economic development in countries all over the world. And one such key institution is the legislature, which plays a critical role in democratic consolidation by providing a stable system of horizontal accountability. Legislatures craft legislation, pass laws, exercise oversight of the executive branch and thereby provide the institutional mechanism which allows societies to perform representative governance on a daily basis. Individual legislators articulate competing interests and try to influence the policymaking process. They also perform an important function – that of constituency service, i.e. they may regularly visit their constituencies and meet their constituents and address local needs and may even be involved in providing various types of public goods to their constituents through development projects. The extent of legislative capacity and power, of course, varies greatly from country to country. In some countries, the legislature remains relatively weak despite multiparty politics, regular elections and even when ruling parties lose elections. But in other countries, the legislature has functioned effectively as a check on the executive branch of government as well as provided important contributions to the policymaking and policy implementation processes. But legislatures and legislative capacity in developing countries have not received the kind of scholarly attention that they deserve. This is indeed surprising. In his brilliant book, Legislative Development in Africa: Politics and Postcolonial Legacies, published in 2019 by Cambridge University Press, Ken explores how the adaptation of inherited colonial legislative institutional forms and practices continue to structure and influence contemporary politics and policy outcomes in Africa. He contrasts the records of legislative performance and discusses why the legislatures in some emerging democracies have enhanced their capacity and power while those in others have not. Ken finds that the introduction of competitive multiparty electoral institutions strengthened the Kenyan legislature but not the Zambian one. He also examines how and under what conditions democratic legislatures emerge in countries that have had strong autocratic foundations. Ken’s book thus makes a strong case for strengthening legislatures in emerging democracies. He argues that attempts to strengthen legislatures in emerging democracies should not just be limited to technical assistance and organizational capacity building but also include the political empowerment of legislators. Ken Ochieng’ Opalo is an Assistant Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. His research interests include legislative politics, subnational administration and local government, electoral politics, and the political economy of development in Africa.  Ken’s current research projects include studies of the politics of service provision and accountability under devolved government in Kenya, education sector reforms in Tanzania, inter-state relations in Africa, and executive-legislative relations in Kenya. His works have been published in the British Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Democracy, the Journal of Eastern African Studies, and Governance. He is a member of EGAP (Evidence in Governance and Politics), gui2de (Georgetown University Initiative on Innovation, Development, and Evaluation) and a non-resident fellow at Brookings Institution and the Center for Global Development. His research has been funded by the Luminate Group, the Susan Ford Dorsey Fellowship, and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). Ken earned his BA from Yale University and PhD from Stanford University. Resources:Follow Ken Opalo on TwitterFollow In Pursuit of Development on Twitter  HostDan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)Apple Spotify YouTube Subscribe:https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.comhttps://globaldevpod.substack.com/

As the international community addresses numerous development challenges, we must often pause, reflect, and ask: Do good intentions lead to good results? If so, when? And how? There are innumerable development agendas and a multitude of stakeholders involved in saving lives as well as promoting long-term development in many developing countries. What really is the impact of their activities? Are such activities well-coordinated? How effectively can external actors make a meaningful contribution to alleviating local problems? And most importantly, whose priorities do such interventions address, and to what extent are the so-called “beneficiaries” consulted? Guest: Kim Yi Dionne, associate professor of political science, University of California, Riverside. Dr. Dionne also edits The Monkey Cage, a blog on politics and political science at The Washington Post. Resources:Doomed Interventions: The Failure of Global Responses to AIDS in Africa, Cambridge University Press (2018)Profile: Kim Yi Dionne, University of California, RiversideKim Yi Dionne on TwitterUfahamu Africa podcastDan Banik on TwitterIn Pursuit of Development on Twitter HostDan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)Apple Spotify YouTube Subscribe:https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.comhttps://globaldevpod.substack.com/

With the phenomenal growth of its economy in recent years and its longstanding democratic record, India — the world's largest democracy — has emerged as a major global power. Not only has democracy survived in India, but in recent decades the country has also established itself as a beacon of hope for other developing countries striving to achieve a similar combination of democracy, development, and the rule of law. India’s management of the COVID pandemic, however, has made news headlines in recent weeks not just because of the massive spike in COVID cases but also because the country’s GDP plunged by 23.9 per cent in the period April – June 2020 – the biggest contraction of any major Asian country. And then there are rising tensions with China. As India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi put it recently, India is fighting on many fronts.But some of India’s problems began in a pre-COVID era. There were signs that economic growth was slowing and unemployment was on the rise. Guest: Professor Kunal Sen, Director of UNU-WIDER and professor of development economics at the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester.Topics discussed:The state of development economics research todayHow is COVID is deepening global inequality?India's economic growth trajectory since 1991Role of India's informal sectorTaxation policy in, and fiscal capacity of, developing countriesResources:Narendra Modi’s performance on the Indian economy – five key policies assessedFive ways coronavirus is deepening global inequalityTransitions between informal and formal jobs in IndiaKunal Sen on TwitterDan Banik on TwitterIn Pursuit of Development on Twitter HostDan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)Apple Spotify YouTube Subscribe:https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.comhttps://globaldevpod.substack.com/

Martin Sandbu has an exciting new book, The Economics of Belonging: A Radical Plan to Win Back the Left Behind and Achieve Prosperity for All  (Princeton University Press).Martin argues that the western social order has rested on three crucial pillars. First, political principles centered on individual rights, equality before the law, robust and independent institutions and regular, free and meaningful elections. The second pillar consists of a social market economy, that is a capitalist system in which prosperity is broadly shared. And the third pillar is economic and political openness to the outside world for the joint realization of this social order.Much of the political debate in recent years, especially in the United States and in parts of Europe, has questioned the purpose and value of this western economic and political order that has been in place since 1945. This has been in part been fueled by widening income inequality, growing political polarization, and the rise of populist leaders. Some have also blamed globalization for such discontentment. But Martin argues that it is not globalization that is to blame for many of our current problems, but rather technological change and flawed domestic policies that have made it difficult for some groups in society to particulate fully and justly in the economy. The real problem, he writes, is that “The western social order no longer fulfills its promise of an economy that provides a good place for everyone."Martin Sandbu is the European Economics Commentator for the Financial Times. He also writes Free Lunch, the FT's weekly newsletter on the global economic policy debate.Martin Sandbu on TwitterDan Banik on TwitterIn Pursuit of Development on Twitter HostDan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)Apple Spotify YouTube Subscribe:https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.comhttps://globaldevpod.substack.com/

In a landmark ruling in February of this year, Malawi’s High Court concluded that the country’s president Peter Mutharika was “not duly elected”. The Court thus annulled the May 2019 elections in Malawi citing massive irregularities. It ordered new elections within five months and concluded that the Malawi Electoral Commission had failed to carry out its responsibilities according to the constitution and electoral law. The lengthy, meticulously detailed, and unanimous ruling by the five judges has attracted widespread international acclaim. The court ruling followed numerous protests organized throughout the country after the May 2019 elections. Edge Kanyongolo is an Associate professor at the Department of Law at Chancellor College, University of Malawi. Resources:A great judgment, but court victories won’t deliver democracy in Malawi (Dan Banik & Happy Kayuni, The Conversation, February 2020)Political Transition and Inclusive Development in Malawi: The democratic dividend (open access book with a chapter by Edge Kanyongolo, edited by Dan Banik and Blessings Chinsinga, Routledge).Courts and the Poor in Malawi: Economic Marginalization (Siri Gloppen and Edge Kanyongolo, International Journal of Constitutional Law, 2007)Edge Kanyongolo on TwitterDan Banik on TwitterIn Pursuit of Development on Twitter   HostDan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)Apple Spotify YouTube Subscribe:https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.comhttps://globaldevpod.substack.com/

Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven's research focuses on the role of finance in development, structural features of underdevelopment, the political economy of development (including the role of international institutions), and critically assessing the economics field.Dr. Kvangraven is currently an Assistant Professor in International Development at the University of York’s Department of Politics. She is the founder and editor of  Developing Economics and founder and steering group member of Diversifying and Decolonising Economics (D-Econ).ResourcesIngrid's websiteBeyond The Stereotype: How Dependency Theory Remains RelevantIf we want to tackle global inequality, we need better economic theories‘Impoverished economics? A critical assessment of the new gold standardThe Wall Street Consensus (Daniela Gabor)Follow Ingrid Hvangraven on TwitterIn Pursuit of Development on Twitter HostDan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)Apple Spotify YouTube Subscribe:https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.comhttps://globaldevpod.substack.com/

As the Covid pandemic continues to dominate world headlines, there is growing interest in better understanding how some low and middle-income countries have achieved considerable success in responding to this global crisis. Vietnam is one such country that has been successful in combating Covid. Another is Cuba. And the state of Kerala in India has also received much praise for its handling of the pandemic. But for the past few weeks a rather unlikely, success story has emerged. It is that of Pakistan, which has been branded as a bright spot, having achieved remarkable progress despite numerous predictions, including one study from June, which had warned of millions of infections and at least a hundred thousand deaths. But Pakistan appears to have, at least for the time being, defied these odds and the Covid curve appears to be flattening. And although experts say it is too early to claim victory over the virus, Pakistan’s somewhat unheralded achievement merits closer attention, especially given the long history of its dysfunctional and fragmented healthcare system.Dr Usman Mushtaq is a Norwegian-Pakistani medical doctor who for the past year or so has been working as an advisor for Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination. It was Dr Zafar Mirza, until recently Pakistan’s Minister of Health, who  asked Dr Mushtaq to join his team in Pakistan. Dr Mushtaq is a member of the Board of Trustees of EAT Foundation and has previously been a member of the EAT Advisory Board and Director of Policy and Global Strategy for EAT. He is also a member of the Norwegian Labour Party. Usman Mushtaq on TwitterDan Banik on TwitterIn Pursuit of Development podcast on TwitterQuestions, comments and suggestions: InPursuitOfDevelopment@gmail.com  HostDan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)Apple Spotify YouTube Subscribe:https://in-pursuit-of-development.simplecast.comhttps://globaldevpod.substack.com/