Some brief thoughts to try to break down the discussion on inequality. There are a lot of theories and discussions bouncing around, and explainers about why inequality has grown so much. Conflict, disaster, urban migration. But rather than putting it in academic terms and rationalizing why it has been happening, let’s just understand it: “The …
Continue reading ‘Trying to Understand Rising Inequality? Me, too’ »
A quote grabbed my attention the other day: “Innovation won’t cure global inequality – political action will.” The idea behind this quote struck me so ferociously that I actually took the time to read beyond the headline, read the article and think about it. It was on healthcare, not a field that I can claim …
Continue reading ‘Innovation is good, but action is better’ »
They say overall extreme poverty has declined since 2000, with a lot of credit given to the advent of the MDGs, serving its purpose as a coordinating framework for the plethora of existing development commitments already made by developed countries, particularly those belonging to the OECD, in the 1990s. We should give credit where credit …
Continue reading ‘Greater Global Inequality. Here’s One Reason Why’ »
From Trump to Brexit, the world seems an immensely terrifying place to exist these days, particularly if the values espoused by Trump and Brexit and their followers seem out of touch with the reality in which we live. This neoliberal, more or less realist, globalized, digitized world of competition and the constant need for the …
Continue reading ‘On Aid Part 4: Skills that Matter in a Globalized World’ »
I am not naive. I know I lead a fairly privileged life. I grew up middle class, worked my way through university, got a job, paid off my student loans. Saw the world. Made great friends, had fantastic experiences, brushed off the day-to-day bureaucracy as par for the course. Loved my work. Met my husband …
Continue reading ‘Bank Accounts and Actual Poverty Reduction’ »
If you have 30 minutes to spare, you need to read an article by Matt Kennard and Claire Provost in Mail&Guardian Africa. It’s long, but well worth your time, particularly if you’re on the fence about private sector financing of international development. Yes, development organizations need more money if the SDGs are to be achieved, …
Continue reading ‘On Aid Part 3: Private Sector Finance – Aid or Investment?’ »
What does it mean to be fragile? What does it mean to be vulnerable? In today’s development discourse, these terms are regularly applied to states prone to conflict or at the forefront of the impacts of climate change (or both). The ideas of fragility and vulnerability tend to underpin entire policies and frameworks towards development, …
At a conference last week which focussed on disaster relief and disaster risk reduction in Asia, I had asked a question about the need to focus on local government for DRR implementation, and the reality of that happening anytime soon given that the global framework for DRR was, in fact, global. The speaker pointed to …
Eons ago (ok, 10 years) when I was working in Kosovo (who wasn’t?), I was having lunch with a friend who had just returned from her first visit with municipal councils on tax compliance. She worked as an advisor on tax compliance, etc, and I oversaw a portfolio on local government. Until that day our …
Continue reading ‘Local Economic Development for the Price of a Macchiato?’ »
In a recent article, I highlighted an issue that I feel needs more discussion and examination. I was writing about development jargon and the topic of resilience came up. In the article, I noted that I had recently learned that the concept of resilience was understood differently at the community level in a country which …
Continue reading ‘Resilience: Locally Owned or Locally Grown?’ »
