Policy recommendations for reversing the ‘resource curse’ have been divided into ‘pure’ economic measures and messy politics. A reality check is needed to see if the suggested cures are realistic.
In ‘Deep democracy’ (The Broker 10), a new approach to development – civic driven change (CDC) – was presented. The Broker asked people all over the world to participate in a debate on CDC. This article summarizes their responses.
Policy recommendations for reversing the ‘resource curse’ have been divided into ‘purely’ economic measures and messy politics. A reality check is needed to see if the suggested cures are realistic.
In their recent comments on Paul Collier’s book The Bottom Billion Paul Hoebink and Erwin Bulte have questioned the use of cross-country regression analysis in the study of economic growth. Their discussion may leave many outsiders confused. While...
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Belgian development aid was initially once driven by self-interest. Over the last fifteen years it has made a more resolute effort to genuinely contribute to development.
Over the last 50 years the systems field has expanded to encompass more than 1,000 methodologies. In this article, Bob Williams describes three core concepts of systems thinking.
Three months ago, the term ‘system crisis’ was only heard in think tanks and sleepy research institutes. Who else worried about it? Now it is competing with ‘meltdown’ to become the most-used term in newspapers and on the television and radio.
‘We flew in a twin propeller plane over vertiginous snowy mountain ranges and landed in a fertile valley ... The airstrip, laid down by the Russians when they were here, is made of corrugated metal ... The whole plane vibrates to a stop’, writes C...
A review of Philanthrocapitalism by Matthew Bishop and Michael GreenWith the current financial crisis, will the super-rich still have the resources or the inclination to save the rest of the world? When Philanthrocaptialism was published in Octobe...
What are the problems facing smallholder farmers in drought-prone areas in India? And how can research contribute to solutions? Dr. Y.V. Malla Reddy of Accion Fraterna (AF) Ecology Centre argues that agricultural research should change its vantage...
I am not surprised by the reactions of Mennes, Gunning and Elbers to my column, ‘Weak links’ (The Broker 10). In a nutshell, they argue that cross-country regressions may be imperfect but can be useful nonetheless, and that properly conducting suc...
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