Developmental states are best able to carry out Africa's development agenda
China and the end of poverty in Africa. Towards mutual benefit?
Francis Appiah Receives German Africa Prize
Asia's Growth can Provide Economic, Social Benefits to All – Joint MDG Report
ADB Vice President: Economic and social benefits to be shared by many
KfW IFC Microfinance Initiative for Asia (MIFA)
The World Bank and Middle-Income Countries: Business as Usual?
EU unveils plan to make small firms greener
Doing Business 2008: It's Regulation, Stupid
UNCTAD World Investment Report 2007
Training and Events
Publications
Websites of the Month
1. South America starts Bank of the South
Finance ministers from seven South American nations gathered on 9 October to found the Bank of the South (Banco del Sur) to be based in Caracas. The Bank of the South will have the mandate to apply international human rights treaties, including cultural and social rights, whereas the World Bank says that its business is not concerned by these treaties. Furthermore, the Bank of the South should, if the heads of State agree, be founded on the principle of one country, one vote. Ministers have not yet decided details regarding the new institution's funds and the organization of its members.
Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela reportedly have different objectives for any new regional Bank. Venezuela and others have suggested that Banco del Sur become the IMF of South America. Such an institution would presumably play a significant role in regional monetary policy and provide some form of balance of payments finance. Have less need for protection of its reserves; Brazil is reportedly more interested in steering Banco del Sur toward servicing the infrastructure investment needs of an expanded Mercosur. Argentina is hedging its alliances with both to ensure that neither gains the upper hand in regional politics. The smaller countries are most interested in an alternative, less bureaucratic or Washington biased source of development finance. The Bank Information Centre provides you with updates at http://www.bicusa.org/en/Institution.21.aspx
2. Developmental states are best able to carry out Africa's development agenda
Making greater use of domestic resources can help African countries achieve sustained and higher economic growth and over the long term will reduce overdependence on donor funding and on the rules that apply to it, a new UNCTAD report says. The report argues that increased use of domestic financial resources and more productive investments would provide African leaders the ''policy space'' to define development programmes that reflect their countries´ genuine priorities, giving true meaning to the rhetoric of ''ownership'' of economic policies. ''Developmental states,'' in which governments actively manage economic policy to encourage greater economic diversification, are in a better position to implement this agenda, says the UNCTAD.
If appropriate measures could be taken to formalize economic activities, a larger tax base would potentially increase the continent's development resource base. This would increase the capacity of the formal sector to finance the productive investments needed to sustain higher rates of economic growth. Remittances are non-debt-generating, are free of conditionalities, and suffer from fewer ''leakages'' in the form of transfer inefficiencies and corruption. Channelling more remittances through African countries´ formal banking systems would increase their developmental impact considerably, the report says. Most remittances now spur consumption, but governments could encourage their greater use for investment.
Economic Development in Africa 2007: Reclaiming Policy Space:
Domestic Resource Mobilization and Developmental States http://www.unctad.org/...
3. China and the end of poverty in Africa. Towards mutual benefit?
In 2006, China hosted the Third Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) attended by 48 African heads of state and high level representatives. This unprecedented high level meeting witnessed the birth of ''a new type of strategic partnership” between China and Africa. Chinese policies including its role as a donor and creditor will certainly have an important impact on the future of developing countries in Africa and the global challenge to combat poverty. Questions are being raised by a range of different stakeholders on what China’s increased engagement means for poverty reduction, democracy, the management of natural resources and human rights in Africa.
An Eurodad report analyses Chinese development assistance policies. It assesses China’s role as a donor to Africa, an area that is little explored compared to trade and investment. The report explores Chinese views on the country’s role in development policies. It also features Chinese government responses to concerns by external stakeholders about the increased Chinese cooperation with Africa. The report maps out the main institutions involved in Chinese development assistance, and addresses the issue of volume and criteria for calculating Chinese aid levels. More specifically the report looks at three issues that are the subject of lively discussions in relation to development assistance and China’s engagement in Africa: 1) Aid effectiveness 2) The Chinese no political strings attached policy 3) Debt sustainability. (Source: Eurodad Debt-Watch) http://www.diakonia.se/sa/node.asp?node=2009
4. Francis Appiah Receives German Africa Prize
The Executive Secretary of the National African Peer Review Governing Council (NAPRM-GC) Dr. Francis Appiah has received the 2007 German Africa Prize for his efforts at contributing to governance reforms in Ghana and the African continent in general. The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is a mutually agreed instrument voluntarily acceded to by the Member States of the African Union (AU) as an African self-monitoring mechanism. Ghana has been a trailblazer and a shining example in the APRM process.
In his acceptance speech, Dr Appiah said the greatest advances in the wellbeing of countries the world over have come from public measures and that he and the NAPRM-GC were sure of the of the success of the APRM process in Ghana, when the Government demonstrated political will towards the process by incorporating the recommendations of the country review exercise into the Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRSII) for implementation.
According to Dr. Appiah, economic governance changes African futures. ''There are now two Africas for everyone to choose: The old Africa, with dictatorship, censorship, ignorance, and the new Africa, meaning good governance, good life, conducive business environment, and transparency.'' He said while promoting Ghana to business people in Hamburg. German companies should remember the ''Humboldt spirit'' in order to embrace the coming business opportunities in Ghana, he concluded. http://www.weitzenegger.de/new/appiah.html
5. Asia's Growth can Provide Economic, Social Benefits to All – Joint MDG Report
The Asia and Pacific region as a whole is forging ahead on many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but there is uneven progress within countries and many of the less developed economies need global support to plug some of their key development gaps, says a new report released by ADB and the United Nations. The report - ''The Millennium Development Goals: Progress in Asia and the Pacific 2007” - states that the region is well on track and ahead of its peers in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa to reduce extreme poverty by half, attain universal education and achieve gender parity in education by the target year 2015. There are major concerns of disparities in meeting the poverty and non-income poverty targets of the MDGs. The region’s greatest failures lie in addressing the issues of child mortality, nutrition, improving maternal health, and providing safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. http://www.adb.org/...
6. ADB Vice President stresses need for economic and social benefits to be shared by many
Asian Development Bank Vice President Ursula Schaefer-Preuss stressed the need to ensure that access to economic and social benefits in Asia can be shared by many, not just by the few. ''Asia is the fastest growing region in the world, and yet if specific actions are not taken, there will be many people falling behind, not being able to benefit from growth,” said the Vice President in a speech at the opening session of the ''Taking Action for the World’s Poor and Hungry People” conference in Beijing. She said income poverty in Asia, as measured by the $1 per day benchmark, is declining, much due to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) rapid growth. However, the region still has more than 600 million living on less than $1 per day; and about 1.8 billion people living on less than $2 per day. http://www.adb.org/...
7. KfW IFC Microfinance Initiative for Asia (MIFA)
Over the next three years, at least 30 projects will be implemented in more than 12 Asian countries to provide financial services for small and micro enterprises. In the context of this initiative more than 30 projects with a total investment volume of up to EUR 800 million are to be jointly implemented by the IFC, KfW and other investors in over 12 Asian countries in the next three years. A broad range of promotional methods is being used. The main focus of the Microfinance Initiative is on the built-up and expansion of first-class microfinance institutions and on linking them to the local and international financial markets via microfinance investment funds. http://www.kfw-entwicklungsbank.de/...
8. The World Bank and Middle-Income Countries: Business as Usual?
The World Bank Independent Evaluation Group's new report-Development Results in Middle-Income Countries (MICs) finds that the World Bank's work with MICs over the past decade has contributed to the growth and significant poverty reduction achieved by those countries. Indeed four-fifths of respondents to an IEG survey of opinion-leaders in MICs said they value the Bank's programs and services. The report also notes that the Bank's work needs to yield stronger results in dealing with inequality, corruption and the environment. It makes a clear recommendation: that the Bank should continue to engage with middle-income countries, but depart from business as usual for a greater impact. http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/mic
9. EU unveils plan to make small firms greener
The European commission has unveiled a plan to reduce the environmental impact of small and medium size businesses (SMEs) and boost their compliance with EU environmental legislation. The plan intends to strengthen efforts to reduce administrative burden on business as part of the EU's ''better regulation'' drive, in order to free resources for improving compliance with EU law. The Commission is also considering making it easier for SMEs to adopt environmental management systems as part of a forthcoming revision of its eco-management scheme, Emas. Small firms would see their entry fees slashed and they would be able to share resources by registering in groups. http://www.wbcsd.org/...
10. Doing Business 2008: It's Regulation, Stupid
As countries reform their business regulation, more businesses are starting up. Eastern Europe has witnessed a boom in new business entry that rivals the rapid growth in East Asia in the past. Large emerging markets such as India, China, Egypt, Turkey, and Indonesia, are reforming fast and investors are taking notice. This year Egypt is the top reforming country worldwide, while Singapore is #1 on the ease of doing business for the second consecutive year. This is a summary of the annual report from the World Bank, including the rankings of 172 countries on the Ease of Doing Business Index. http://www.doingbusiness.org
11. UNCTAD World Investment Report 2007
Global inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) are on track this year to surpass the record USD 1,411 billion reached in 2000, despite the turmoil in financial markets, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said. The Geneva-based agency's annual World Investment Report ((WIR07) showed that inflows of FDI amounted to USD 1,306 billion in 2006 - the highest since 2000. UNCTAD Secretary-General Supacha Panitchpakdi said, however, that financial instability and high energy prices made the forecasts uncertain. WIR07 is the seventeenth in a series published by UNCTAD. The Report analyses the latest trends in FDI and puts a special focus in 2007 on the role of transnational corporations (TNCs) in the extraction of oil, gas, and metal minerals. It shows that the U.S. regained its position as the favorite destination for foreign investors but developing and former communist countries had their fastest growth in investment last year, driven by cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Investment flows into developing countries rose 21 percent from 2005 to USD 379 billion in 2006. At USD 36 billion last year, foreign direct investment in Africa was double its 2004 level because of improved prospects for corporate profits and a more favorable business climate, according to the report. But Africa's share in global foreign direct investment dropped to 2.7 percent from 3.1 percent in 2005. http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/wir2007_en.pdf
12. Training and Events
TrainEval - Training for Evaluation in Development in 2008. http://www.traineval.org
TrainEval is an advanced training programme for evaluation in development cooperation, which has been adapted to the specific requirements of the European development cooperation and the EC evaluation approach.The programme has been developed from experienced trainers and evaluators to respond to the increasing demand for evaluation expertise and its professionalization. It is offering a qualification opportunity in development evaluation for consultants, project and evaluation managers of implementing agencies as well as for representatives from financing agencies.
Workshop on ''Competitiveness of Small Enterprises: Clusters and Local Development” http://www.iadb.org/mif/...
Washington D.C., 30-31 October 2007, Inter-American Development Bank
Building a local and regional enabling environment for Small and Medium enterprise competitiveness”. Under this motto the Inter-American Development Bank, the Multilateral Investment Fund and UNIDO have called an international meeting in Washington to discuss new approaches for SME promotion based on cluster development.
Donor Committee Conference: African and global lessons for more effective donor practices, http://bec.enterprise-development.org
Accra, 5-7 November 2007 (English/French)
The Donor Committee for Enterprise Development will host the Africa Regional Consultative Conference in Accra, Ghana. The conference, entitled ‘Creating Better Business Environments for Enterprise Development; African and Global Lessons for More Effective Donor Practices’, will bring together development partners involved in the assessment, design and implementation of business environment reforms in Africa.
UNRISD Conference:
Business, Social Policy and Corporate Political Influence in Developing Countries http://www.unrisd.org/mbr-conference
Geneva, 12-13 November 2007, United Nations
Large corporations and business associations exert strong and growing influence over social development and government policy in developing countries. Contact information: Katrien De Moor, demoor@unrisd.org
GTZ Workshop on sustainability and impact in value chain promotion http://www.gtz.de/en/
Bangkok, 22 -23 November and Group Meeting 24th
This workshop will aim to review projects’ current understanding and approach in relation to sustainability and impact. It will provide a structured forum for exchange of current experiences and use this to distil key lessons and guidelines. Register by 26 October contacting Dr. Peter Richter, peter.richter@gtz.de.
Reinsurance school for microinsurance units http://microinsuranceacademy.org/?page_id=37
New Delhi, India, 28-30 November 2007, Micro Insurance Academy (MIA)
Reinsurance is a vital necessity for insurance, and all the more so for microinsurance, where small group sizes make operations even more vulnerable to fluctuations. Yet, most microinsurance schemes do not know much about what reinsurance is and what it can do for them.
Community-Managed Microfinance:
Sustainable Financial Services Beyond the Frontier http://www.seepnetwork.org/...
Zanzibar, Tanzania, 3 December 2007
The community-managed microfinance course deals with providing sustainable financial services for the very poor. Although MFIs are well-established, they have mostly failed to penetrate remote rural areas because the costs are too high and the demand for credit too small. Meanwhile, over the last 15 years, massive, sustainable programmes have emerged that reach this target group at very low cost, based on autonomous, small-scale savings and loan associations.
European Business to Business Sales Institute (EUBBSI) e-Learning system http://www.eubbsi.com
The EUBBSI project has produced an innovative eLearning system aimed at developing sales force skills. The system and its contents are tailored to meet the specificities of ''business to business sales” training courses provided by the EUBBSI.
USAID Value Chain Training Curriculum http://www.microlinks.org/vctraining
The Microenterprise Development office of USAID offers a flexible curriculum for a three- to five-day value chain training course, which is designed to train practitioners and USAID mission and project staff in the value chain approach and its applications. As a result of this training, participants are able to use the value chain approach as a tool for understanding trends in global markets and conditions under which micro- and small enterprises can contribute to and benefit from the increased competitiveness that globalization brings.
13. Publications
Migration: New Policies for Greater Gains http://www.oecd.org/...
Migration can benefit all parties involved: migrant-sending countries, migrant-receiving countries and the migrants themselves; says the OECD Development Centre in a report on Gaining from Migration: Towards a New Mobility System.
OECD: Private Sector Development in Poor Countries
Seeking Better Policy Recipes? http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/24/38641808.pdf
Building a successful Public-Private dialogue (PPD) requires much more than legal procedures and administrative structures. Dialogue and compromise are necessary for governments to learn about the private sector's problems and adjust policies to foster its growth and development. This study addresses the obstacles to efficient PPD in low-income countries, with a special focus on sub-Saharan Africa.
OECD 2006 Survey on Monitoring the Paris Declaration http://www.oecd.org/...
This OECD report assesses the effectiveness of aid at helping developing countries eradicate poverty. The report presents the results of a survey conducted in 34 developing countries and in 55 donor countries. It points to major areas that must be addressed if countries and donors are to accelerate progress on achieving the Paris Declaration.
ICT and Local Economic Development http://topics.developmentgateway.org/...
ICT and Business development will be influenced by the extent to which people have access to ICT as clients, employees and citizens. Development may also influenced by the municipal approach to stimulating local economic growth. Without a critical mass of empowered users, the impact of ICT to stimulate local eco-nomic development will be limited. Similarly, training programmes to help SMEs access the market by the creative use of ICT will fail if many potential clients are on the wrong side of the digital divide.
Assessing the Applicability of Private Sector Development Instruments in Agricultural Economic Development http://www2.gtz.de/wbf/doc/Neu_SV_PWF_PSD_AED_0607.pdf
The starting point of this MesoPartner paper is the observation that private sector development (PSD) and agricultural economic development (AED) have historically been two distinct approaches in development cooperation. Both looked at ways to promote productive development in developing countries. But they were based on different disciplines, they were founded on different concepts, they applied different instruments and tools, and they involved separate communities of practice. The current effort to redefine intervention strategies in African countries under the header of ''sustainable economic development” creates an opportunity to reflect on the two approaches. In this paper, the angle will be on contributions that PSD can make to AED.
Monitoring economic partnership agreements. a methodological overview http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=33709
This InBrief by Southern African Regional Poverty Network presents a preliminary overview of some methodological issues linked to the design of a monitoring mechanism for the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states and the European Union (EU) countries. The authors conclude that there is no ready-made approach for monitoring EPA negotiations and implementation.
ICT and Business Development http://topics.developmentgateway.org/...
This short briefing note provides guidance for material or presentations on the topic of ICT and the local economy. They set out examples to illustrate the ICT impact on business, including web sites, e-mail, finance software, Internet networks and a range of technologies enabling work out of the office. They also give a broad vision of the role of the public sector in business development through ICTs, including through a legal framework, connectivity and innovation
Peace, Prosperity, and Pro-Growth Entrepreneurship http://www.wider.unu.edu/...
Support for entrepreneurship is widely seen as a mechanism to facilitate prosperity and peace in a growing number of post-conflict states. This paper critically evaluates this view. It argues that entrepreneurship is a ubiquitous quality in post-conflict states but not necessarily always for the good. Unproductive and destructive entrepreneurship may inhibit the resurgence of the private sector and might even cause a relapse into conflict. To limit unproductive and destructive entrepreneurship there are at least six dimensions which need to be taken into consideration, namely: the context of war, the relationship between institutions and entrepreneurship, the role played by ethnic/immigrant (minority) entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs in diaspora, the scope of the market, human and financial capital requirements, and appropriate forms of government support. Further research on entrepreneurship in post-conflict states is needed to overcome the current lack of data, which constrains policy design. WIDER Discussion Paper 2007/02 by Wim Naudé
Donor Approaches to Local Economic Development in Africa http://www.mesopartner.com/publications/mp-wp12_LED_in_Africa.pdf
Doug Hindson compares in this paper five approaches to Local Economic Development (LED) that are currently being applied in Africa. These are the World Bank (WB), Local Economy (ECOLOC), International Labour Office (ILO), GTZ and UN-Habitat approaches. (...) By contrasting different features of these approaches and assessing them against the challenges that LED faces on the continent, I hope to open a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing LED in these different ways. The paper is intended mainly for LED practitioners and decision-makers in government and business seeking support for LED promotion.
Financial development and innovation in small firms http://www-wds.worldbank.org/...
This World Bank paper uses firm level data from a cross-section of 57 countries to study how financial development affects innovation in small firms. The analysis finds that relative to large firms in the same industry, spending on research and development by small firms is more likely and sizable in countries at higher levels of financial development.
Grundsätze der sozialen und ökologischen Marktwirtschaft in der deutschen Entwicklungspolitik http://www2.gtz.de/wbf/doc/Grundsaetze-SoeMw.pdf
Die Grundsätze sollen für eine bessere Orientierung auf das Leitbild und höhere Verständlichkeit des deutschen Profils sorgen.
Die Grundsätze basieren auf Erfahrungen aus Südosteuropa. Die flexible Weiterentwicklung der Marktwirtschaft im Hinblick auf ein ökologisch nachhaltiges und sozial ausgewogenes Wachstum sind zentrale Themen, ebenso die Anpassung von Sozialversicherungssystemen.
Maintaining Policy Space for Development: A Case Study on IP Technical Assistance in FTAs http://www.iprsonline.org/...
This ICTSD study addresses the issue of how technical assistance is dealt with in the intellectual property (IP) chapters of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). The study focuses on some of the technical assistance concerns raised by a new generation of IP obligations. It looks at the impact of such obligations and the challenges faced by developing countries with regard to their implementation, as well as human and institutional capacity building.
Capacity building for the promotion of trade and investment in Africa: challenges and strategies http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=33741
Given the experience of Africa over the last half century, it is clear that trade reform and openness alone is not sufficient to sustain economic growth and poverty reduction. Commitments made to developing countries under the Doha Development Agenda, to help them participate in negotiate and implement WTO agreements have not been backed by adequate resources. Lack of capacity has been pivotal to Africa's inability to exploit investment and trade opportunities in the global economy. Constraints and challenges include ineffective policies, poor management systems and frameworks, weak governance, the presence of conflicts, the effects of HIV and AIDS and heavy external debt.
Sustainability of Self-Help Groups in India: Two Analyses http://www.cgap.org/...
The massive outreach of SHGs has generated interest in the model’s sustainability and replicability in India and elsewhere. Although SHGs have been widely studied, relatively little information has been published on their financial performance.
The CGAP studies look primarily at the financial viability of these SHG programs and its methodology.
The state of responsible business: global corporate response to environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges http://www.eiris.org/...
This report by Bob Gordon provides an overview on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts of corporations. Data is presented by country/region and contextual analysis is provided. Issues covered include corporate governance, equal opportunities, human rights, supply chain labour standards, environmental responsibility and community involvement. In addition, the report also addresses topics including climate change. HIV and AIDS and responsible business practices in emerging markets.
Budget support and beyond: can the Paris Agenda on aid be delivered? http://www.odi.org.uk/...
The last few years have seen increasing attention paid to issues of effectiveness and accountability in development aid, which are addressed most comprehensively in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness of 2006. One way donors are responding to these challenges is by increasing their use of budget support as a means of delivering aid. This ODI paper reports on a workshop organised by the Centre for Aid and Public Expenditure (CAPE), which brought together donor agencies, recipient governments, academics and practitioners to explore how and to what extent budget support can help improve the quality of aid.
Teaching Entrepreneurship: Impact of Business Training on Microfinance Clients and Institutions http://www.ruralfinance.org/...
This study measures the impact of a business training program for female micro entrepreneur clients of a group banking program in Peru. The study shows strong benefits for the microfinance institution, as well as improved business processes and knowledge by the clients. Also, there are strong positive impacts on repayment rates and client retention for FINCA, the lender.
The Code of Conduct for a better division of labour in the development policy
– is it a real milestone? http://library.fes.de/...
During the German EU-Presidency division of labour in the development policy was one of the political priorities in the field of development co-operation. As a result of the consultation process the Council of the European Union adopted conclusions on the division of labour and a Code of Conduct. The German Ministry for Development Co-operation called the Code of Conduct ''a milestone and bestpractice model for the international donor community”. But what does it mean? Paper by Dr. Ernst Stetter, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES)
14. Websites of the Month
Ideas for Development http://www.ideas4development.org
International Blog designed to stimulate debate on economic development issues, will be launched in Washington DC on 21 October 2007 at the World Bank and IMF annual meetings. Created by seven prominent personalities, this blog provides web users with a new forum to share information, viewpoints and visions for the future, with the common goal of advancing the cause of development. Ideas for Development is an original platform of exchange – in its format as well as in its content. It will offer many applications such as video, RSS syndicate and e-mail updates. Available in three languages – English, French and Spanish – Ideas for Development will host wide-ranging debates, crossing perspectives and points of views from all over the world.
Social Performance Resource Center http://microfinancegateway.org/...
The Social Performance Resource Center on the Microfinance Gateway is designed to serve as a common platform for those in the industry who see a double bottom line as intrinsic to the vision of expanding financial services to the poor. Browse this site for: definitions, debates, and links to ongoing initiatives; practical resources for MFIs and funders; answers to FAQs, training opportunities, and links to the Social Performance Task Force.
Gender and Trade http://www.genderandtrade.org
The Commonwealth Secretariat in association with the Gender and Trade Initiative, GATI and DFID initiated a e-newsletter Gender and Trade as also set up a comprehensive web-based resource centre on Gender and trade. A programme is sensitizing key stakeholders and senior policy makers through training workshops on the linkages between gender, trade and export promotion in different regions.
EU Policy Coherence for Development http://www.eucoherence.org
One of the main impediments to development are European policies that negatively affect developing countries. To increase the effectiveness of the European development cooperation policy, this site aims to place policy coherence for development higher on the agenda of European decision-makers. ''We invite all individuals and organisations that have identified incoherence issues to report these to us online.'' This European project is based on the four years of experience of the Evert Vermeer Foundation (EVF) has in addressing incoherent policies to policy makers in the Netherlands.
CivilSocietyBuilding.net http://www.civilsocietybuilding.net
CivilSocietyBuilding.net is a network for exchange of knowledge, with mostly unique content provided by network members. Share your stories and experiences, or browse about for case studies, lessons, research or relevant events. A partnership website of the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation and the Institute for Social Studies.
Friends of Modern Africa - Network for a New Africa http://www.friends-of-modern-africa.org
This is a platform for an – up to now – unknown Africa: the Modern Africa of the 21st century. You can now contribute to santise the public image of Africa. The newly created internet-platform ''Friends of Modern Africa'' aims to create a new, a positive image of the African continent. ''It is our ambition to appropriate position the Modern Africa in the media and in the people’s mind. If we shall succeed with this task people, companies and politicians worldwide will increasingly turn towards Africa. They will endorse Africa to push forward, support the continent’s creativity and start networking.'', the Webmasters Steffen Heizmann and Jürgen Langen said in Berlin.
Pro-poor macroeconomic policies in Africa http://www.uneca.org/...
Official UN website of the online discussion, which is being organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and MDGnet. The discussion will run for five weeks from 29 October to 30 November 2007. The purpose of the online discussion is to contribute to a better understanding of macroeconomic policies in Africa, especially how they are designed and implemented; what objectives are pursued and achieved; and the appropriateness of macroeconomic frameworks. The discussion should identify good practices and lessons learned and highlight gaps and challenges requiring further action. The results of the online discussion will be used for an overview of macroeconomic policy making in Africa and a policy brief on challenges for pro-poor macroeconomic policies in Africa. In addition, the online discussion is expected to help identify needs for technical capacity for macroeconomic policy analysis.
Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC) http://www.aidc.org.za
AIDC from South Africa maintains a Website focussed on Unemployment and the Right To Work, Privatisation and Delivery of Social Services, Globalisation, Free Trade Agreements, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and Debt. It provides resources, events and links to a wide set of useful information.
South African New Economics Network (SANE ) http://www.sane.org.za
SANE is a loose affiliation of individuals and organisations who recognise the central role of economics in modern society, and are concerned about the social and ecological consequences of economics as it is conventionally taught and practised. The Website hat a discussion forum, News Bulletins and New Economics newsletter.
Training and Research Support Centre in Zimbabwe http://www.tarsc.org
Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC) in Zimbabwe provides training, research and support services to state and civil society organisations. TARSC is a learning and knowledge organization, with a particular focus on skills building and methods to support community based work, and with a commitment to long term capacity building in the public sector and in civil society.
East ASEAN Growth Area database http://www.bimp-eaga.org
The BIMP-EAGA database is intended to support trade and investment in the subregion (Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area) through facilitating access to information necessary for the private sector to identify and take advantage of business opportunities and for policy makers to identify and address issues affecting the investment climate. It currently contains more than 20 million trade and investment related statistics and documents spanning the 4 member countries. Its content and design reflect feedback from wide-ranging stakeholder consultations held in each country and the contributions of 12 national government agencies as well as numerous local government units.
MEDSTAT Mediterranean Statistics http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/medstat
MEDSTAT II, the EU-funded regional Euro-Mediterranean Statistical Co-operation programme, has announced that its new dedicated website is now online. The site provides information in English, French and German on MEDSTAT II, its background, organisational structure and partners, as well as on the programme’s activities, events and publications and statistical data relevant to MEDSTAT’s priority areas. The three-year, €30 million MEDSTAT II programme objective is to strengthen the capacity of the partner countries’ National Statistics Institutes in order to provide users with updated, timely, reliable and relevant high-quality statistical data necessary for political decision-making.
Comercio y Pobreza en Latinoamérica (COPLA) http://www.cop-la.net
COPLA aims to use research based evidence to strengthen and promote an improved dialogue between policymakers, researchers and those institutions that represent the poor to incorporate new issues into the policy debate. Its main objective is to use research based evidence to strengthen and promote an improved dialogue between policymakers, researchers and those institutions that represent the poor to incorporate new issues into the policy debate.
ASOCAM Portal Latinoamericano sobre Desarrollo Local http://www.asocam.org
ASOCAM es una Plataforma Latinoamericana que facilita iniciativas y espacios de intercambio y construcción colectiva para promover la Gestión de Conocimientos sobre temas clave de desarrollo rural en la región. El Portal incluye propuestas temáticas y metodológicas sobre temas clave del desarrollo, una Biblioteca Virtual con más de mil documentos descargables y selecciones temáticas, una Base de Datos de Instituciones y Expertos, Portales Temáticos, Eventos y Foros.
ITC's Market Analysis Services (MAS) http://www.intracen.org/mas/welcome.htm
Market Analysis Services (MAS) are part of the Programme of Product and Market Development of the International Trade Centre (ITC) UNCTAD/WTO. Through MAS services, ITC provides on-line tools, disseminates market research and trade analysis, and conducts training programmes in market analysis for trade support institutions and the business community in developing countries.
PERI's new Modern Conflicts Database http://www.peri.umass.edu/index.php?id=396
LeCarreSince the end of the Cold War in 1989, millions of people have lost their lives in violent conflicts around the world. PERI's new Modern Conflicts Database is a tool for researchers and students who want learn more about these conflicts. The Modern Conflicts Database has profiles of all post-Cold War conflicts with estimated death tolls of 25,000 or more, with references to further information sources. These can be accessed via a table, which ranks conflicts by total estimated deaths, or a map, which shows the locations of war-torn countries.
Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) http://www.cepr.net
CEPR was established in Washington, DC in 1999 to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives. In order for citizens to effectively exercise their voices in a democracy, they should be informed about the problems and choices that they face. CEPR is committed to presenting issues in an accurate and understandable manner, so that the public is better prepared to choose among the various policy options.
The Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) http://www.peri.umass.edu
Established in 1998, PERI is an independent unit of the University of Massachusetts, USA. Since its founding, PERI has become a leading source of research and policy initiatives on issues of globalization, unemployment, financial market instability, central bank policy, living wages and decent work, and the economics of peace, development, and the environment.