Global Development: Views from the Center

The Generation Chasm: Do Young Populations Have Elderly Leaders?

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:05:21 +0000

By Todd Moss - This is a joint post with Stephanie Majerowicz. A colleague recently returned from Senegal and commented that she was struck by the vast gap between that country’s youthful population and its aged leader. President Abdoulaye Wade is 85 years old while the median Senegalese citizen is just 18.7 years old.  Perhaps that 66-year gap is [...](image)

Punishing Pakistan is Not the Way to Go

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:22:17 +0000

By Nancy Birdsall - This post originally appeared on Foreign Policy’s AFPAK page. In the January/February 2012 issue of Foreign Affairs, Stanford political scientist Stephen Krasner claims that “current U.S. policy toward Pakistan has failed” and recommends that the United States take a radically different approach: credibly threaten to sever all forms of cooperation, including all U.S. aid – [...](image)

The Epistle of Gates and the Gospel of Agricultural Innovation

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:34:30 +0000

By Justin Sandefur - A few days ago Bill Gates released his annual letter to the world, opening with a discussion of how Gates-funded agricultural research can help Tanzanian farmers.  Coincidentally, before coming to CGD I did some agricultural research in Tanzania myself — funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — so I was eager [...](image)

Apple in China: CSR as a Marketing Tool?

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:25:34 +0000

By Kimberly Ann Elliott - Having analyzed the debate over globalization and labor standards for some years now, I was not in the least surprised by the recent revelations about dangerous and unfair labor practices at Apple’s supplier factories in China. Like many other brand-name companies, Apple has a code of conduct for its suppliers and it responded to the [...](image)

Local Procurement Is Key to Rebuilding the Private Sector in Haiti

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:22:04 +0000

By Vijaya Ramachandran - This is a joint post with Julie Walz. In a recent blog post, we discussed the phenomenon of Haiti as a “Republic of NGOs” where the government and the private sector were crowded out by large international organizations that provided most services.  Just as international donors have sidestepped the Haitian government, reconstruction contracts have also [...](image)

Could Solar Lighting Be the Next Mobile Phone?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:53:52 +0000

By Charles Kenny - Between 2000 and 2010, the number of mobile phone subscriptions in developing countries increased from 215 million to 4.1 billion.  From a luxury for the rich, the mobile has become a ubiquitous presence in rural and urban areas alike, even in some of the most fragile countries in the world.  Afghanistan saw 38 subscriptions per [...](image)

How’s Your Country Score? Kudos to AfDB for Its Data Release

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:48:10 +0000

By Todd Moss - I’ve been closely watching the impressive changes at the African Development Bank.  (Our 2006 working group report recommendations are here and my 2010 progress scorecard is here.)  In particular, I’ve been encouraged by the Bank’s articulation of its comparative advantage in infrastructure and private sector and the shift in its portfolio to reflect this focus. [...](image)

2012 SOTU: Bingo Win, Development Defeat

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:41:22 +0000

By Jenny Ottenhoff - Expectations for a global development focus in President Obama’s State of the Union address were low. Still, more than 130 policy wonks gathered at the Commissary watering hole and eatery in Logan Circle to play CGD State of the Union bingo and many were pleasantly surprised that they could mark off a number of development-related [...](image)

Bergsten Steps Down from Peterson: On the Bergsten Legacy at CGD

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:14:12 +0000

By Nancy Birdsall - News that Fred Bergsten, founding director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, will step down at the end 2012, after 30 years of service, will unleash many accolades related to his accomplishments in creating what is widely regarded as the leading think tank in the field of international economics. Many people will note the [...](image)

P4R: Looking to the Pilot Phase

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:08:57 +0000

By Alan Gelb - This is a joint post with Rita Perakis. After many stages of drafting, debates, and consultations, the World Bank´s proposed results-based financing instrument, Program-for-Results is going for approval to the Bank´s Board on January 24. The latest draft of the policy can be found here; we´re pleased to see that Bank staff listened to comments [...](image)

Comments (0) - Read and Add your own Comments