Tony Blair on Development Drums
Tony Blair is my guest on the latest Development Drums. He talks about his Africa Governance Initiative, and more broadly about democracy, leadership, globalization, DFID, and his own future.
Do economists have better tools?
The interesting question in development is not whether aid works or does not work. Not surprisingly, the answer is that some aid works and some doesn’t. A more interesting question is: what kind of aid works best? Nick Kristof has a good article (if a little simplified) in the New York Read more…
Appointing the next Managing Director of the IMF
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been accused of a horrible crime. Like everyone else he is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. We may, however, soon find ourselves looking for a new Managing Director of the IMF, either because DSK is involved in a legal case or because he Read more…
A lesson in winging it
This piece by Simon Kuper in the Weekend FT is so close to the bone it makes you wince: I recently went on a business trip with three members of the British ruling classes. The late-night banter over drinks was predictably excellent. Sometimes, though, we had to work. When that Read more…
Is budget support less fungible than project aid?
Something about which I am not particularly bothered is the possibility that, if we give aid to a country to contribute to its school system or health clinics, the effect may be that the government chooses to spend less of its own money on these services, and instead to spend Read more…
China in Africa – Deborah Brautigam [podcast]
The latest edition of the Development Drums podcast is now online. It was the last one I recorded before leaving Ethiopia. Deborah Brautigam, a scholar renowned for her work on China-Africa relations, discusses her book, The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa. There has been a lot of Read more…
What to read on budget processes in developing countries?
Someone working on the budget process in a developing country contacted me with the following question: I noticed in your most recent post you mention that you are a budget wonk. I am currently working in [the budget section of an African government] as an ODI Fellow … But there Read more…
Then may we boast
Michael Woolcock sent me this excellent quote from Thomas Paine: When it shall be said in any country in the world, ‘My poor are happy; neither ignorance nor distress is to be found among them; my jails are empty of prisoners, my streets of beggars; the aged are not in Read more…
Do we want to do what really needs doing?
From La Vidaid Loca comes this excellent diagram which sets out the difference between what we are good at, what we want to do, and what is important: Hat tip to Stephen Jones.
Sad farewell, exciting horizons
It seems like only yesterday that we moved to Ethiopia, but our three years has come to an end. Without wanting to be too sentimental, I have loved getting to know Ethiopia better and especially its people, culture and history. (I won’t be sorry if I never have to eat Read more…