Dambisa Moyo’s book “Dead Aid” (see reference) has created quite a storm within the development community, which struggles with an appropriate response. However, the reactions have been too defensive, according to Eveline Herfkens. She sees Moyo’s book as a great opportunity for a public discussion regarding aid effectiveness and trade, for which it has always been hard to get attention.
Of course, the easy retort is that her recipe – more foreign investment and access to international capital markets, while feasible – and actually happening - at the time she wrote her book, offers no alternative at present: due to the economic crisis foreign money flows have been reversing, and there were no international bond issues by African countries in 2008 ... ... this article comes up in WDEV 4/Jul-Aug 2009 and is for subscribers only. For direct log in >>> click here.If you have no subscription >>> pick your option or >>>
After decades of isolation - imposed by major OECD countries out of concern for the country's human rights violations - Myanmar is emerging as a new darling of the "West" - judging by the accelerating succession of visits by senior officials and gurus. New groups of investors are waiting to enter the country as soon as possible.
Persistent high unemployment, the euro area debt crisis and premature fiscal austerity have already slowed global growth and factor into the possibility of a new recession. Now the United Nations have downgraded significantly its forecasts for the world economy in the next year.
Eastern European states are in for a new round of the crisis. The external control of the banking sector and high reliance on external credit has landed the countries of Eastern Europe in a vulnerable position. Now, credit flows from Western banks are drying up again. Hungary has been the first country in the region to ask for IMF support again.
While the G20 efforts to manage global aggregate demand, exchange rate management and stronger regulation of the international financial sector have not worked out quite as planned, in Cannes the Group was further solidifying its role in directing the system of multilateral institutions.
In November 2011, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is celebrating its 50th anniversary.The new Minister, Dirk Niebel of the (neo)-liberal FDP has launched a 'radical change of course'. In the recent edition of the Reality of Aid shadow report the change is analyzed.