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- Convenor:
-
Stephan Klingebiel
(German Development Institute)
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- Location:
- C4.05
- Start time:
- 27 June, 2013 at
Time zone: Europe/Lisbon
- Session slots:
- 1
Short Abstract:
Sub-Saharan Africa's economic situation has developed positively in the past twenty years, much due to better policies. Against this background the panel wants to address the question: Was aid a major factor in this regard?
Long Abstract:
Sub-Saharan Africa's economic situation has developed positively, much due to better policies. Several countries managed to achieve significant growth rates, despite the international economic crisis. But economic dynamism is still unsatisfactory in many countries where, despite growth, there has been less than adequate improvement in living conditions. Reforms aimed at improving the political environment have yet to be undertaken in many countries.
While the majority were characterised in the 1990s by enormous budget deficits, high rates of inflation, government intervention, capital flight and black markets, the countries of the region generally have more room for manoeuvre today. In the last decade a group of countries in the region managed to achieve significant growth rates; the international financial and economic crisis did little to alter this. The quality of governance has improved in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. Public financial management is, on average, better today than it was in the past. Nonetheless, clientelist and neo-patrimonial systems continue to leave their mark in many countries. Reforms aimed at improving the political environment have yet to be undertaken in many countries.
Against this background the panel wants to address the following questions:What is behind the progress made by some African countries in the last one to two decades? Was international support for the continent in the form of developmental cooperation possibly more successful than many have conjectured? And: What does that mean for the future role of aid in the region?
Accepted papers:
Session 1Frank Vollmer (University of Edinburgh)
Paper short abstract:
Mozambique is an aid dependent country. Efficiency gains are possible through improved implementation of the aid harmonization agenda. Yet, development cooperation remains fragmented. This paper will analyze attempts to overcome aid fragmentation resulting in suggestions to pave the way ahead.
Paper long abstract:
Mozambique is an aid dependent country. The Government of Mozambique (GoM) is dependent on ODA to finance the balance of payments and to uphold public service delivery. Efficiency gains are possible through improved implementation of the aid harmonization agenda (division of labour, joint programming, UN Delivering as One). However, development cooperation remains fragmented in Mozambique. The OECD ranks it among a group of 44 countries with the "greatest opportunities for rationalization". Yet, initiatives to streamline the convoluted aid architecture - with at least 36 donors present in 2011 (against a global country average of 21) - have been thwarted by the "political economy" of aid. Bottlenecks include: a) the increasing importance of loans over grants to finance the state budget, which are less compatible to comply with the aid harmonization agenda; b) the demand for visibility of donors preventing the use of delegated cooperation or silent partnership; c) a government that does not show ownership in the process of streamlining the aid architecture based on the existing analysis (inter alia donor mappings, comparative advantage analysis); and d) weak incentives for donors to exit Mozambique that constitutes an emerging market in which development assistance is now perceived very openly as a strategic element in the donors' foreign relations with the GoM. This is resulting in weary attempts at reducing fragmentation. Based on a desk review and field research, this paper will analyze latest attempts to overcome aid fragmentation resulting in suggestions to pave the way forward.
Sandra Silva (Centro de Investigação sobre Africa e do Desenvolvimento)
Paper short abstract:
This paper aims to analysis the OECD data on official development assistance (ODA) granted to portuguese-speaking african countries (PALOP) in terms of values, areas and donors.
Paper long abstract:
Based on an ongoing analysis of the OECD data on official development assistance (ODA) from the cases of portuguese-speaking african countries (PALOP), this paper reflects if international supporting for the continent in the form of developmental cooperation possible more successful than many have conjectured. Analyzing data on official development assistance granted to the portuguese-speaking african countries we will try to understand his configuration in terms of values, areas and donors. When crossing this data with the areas that have made progress in recent decades we will realize the impact that official development assistance may have had in each of these countries. This analysis intersects information from theories and tools of international cooperation that have guided actions and plans for the development of portuguese-speaking african countries, such as aid effectiveness. Nevertheless, the resulting fragmentation of aid pose critical challenges to the effectiveness and impact of development co-operation that should be also analised in this paper.
Felistus Kinyanjui (Kenyatta University)
Paper short abstract:
This paper seeks to evaluate how Conditional Cash Transfer programmes (CCTs) projects are funded, their impetus and assess how societies are prepared for exit of the programmes in Kenya and Mexico.
Paper long abstract:
In an attempt to put an end to poverty globally, many efforts have been employed. To cushion the 'bottom billion' many countries have adopted Conditional Cash Transfer programmes (CCTs). CCTs aim to combat inter-generational transmission of poverty by encouraging investments in human capital, that is, education, health and nutrition to a great extent these aims have been achieved. However, there is scanty research on how beneficiaries are viewed within their communities. The selection of beneficiaries may follow well laid out criteria but this does not make it foolproof, resulting in frictions between societal members. The projects are mainly externally funded leading to the argument that the projects are donor-led. This begs the question on sustainability of these projects in cases of regime and conditional change. This paper seeks to evaluate how the projects are funded, their impetus and assess how societies are prepared for exit of the programmes. We use a comparative approach seeking to analyse the points of convergence and divergence. This is a secondary research that heavily borrows from extant qualitative and quantitative data sets.
Carla Inguaggiato (University of Trento / TCIC – Training Centre for International Cooperation)
Paper short abstract:
Rural Producers' Organizations were conceived by donors as drivers of poverty reduction, promoting specialization of cash crop, they risk to increase socio-economic inequalities. The paper explores social and economic barriers to household participation in Caia district, Mozambique.
Paper long abstract:
Rural Producers' Organizations (RPOs) were conceived by donors as drivers of poverty reduction, in the field of agriculture focusing on promotion of cash crop specialization, they risk to increase socio-economic inequalities. The paper aims at exploring how the creation of RPOs interacts with existing social structure. The two main research questions are what are the determinants of household participation in RPOs and what are the features of main flux of information and help among households. A sample of households was interviewed in 5 neighborhoods in the municipality of Caia collecting both socio-economic features and networks among households.
Research shows that the main determinants of household participation in RPOs are number of years in the village and low level of food vulnerability. Most of RPOs members have better education and more affiliations than average households. RPOs leaders tend to have relevant position both in local churches and political party. The main informal networks beside kinship are churches (protestant and catholic), local authorities and political party. These four dimensions tend to be overlapping.
In Caia district most social mobility due to trading activities tends to be socially sanctioned in the discourse practice. Interviewing non-members and some merchants it emerges though that RPOs leaders are some of the most important farmers in the district, yet fellow members do not question their social position. Can this change in the definition of wealth accumulation socially accepted be an effect of RPOs creation?
Kenneth Nyangena Onsate (Open University)
Paper short abstract:
Development Aid and partners; endless corruption in Africa
Paper long abstract:
China's involvement in Africa has lately become a highly emotive debate in international diplomacy. In applying its non-interferencepolicy on Africa's development, Chinese companies have taken over the construction of road network and other economic infrastructure in Angola, Kenya, Nigeria, among other African countries. While the policy embraces the right of sovereign countries to manage their own affairs without any interference from outsiders, I argue in this paper that china is cunningly manipulating the weak fiscal policies of African countries and exploit loopholes in young democracies in its quest for selfish benefits. Example, China's engagement has devastated local industries in Lesotho. I also argue that China does not care to maintain ethical standards or operate with moral principles when doing business in Africa because their contracts are secured through outright bribery by building presidential palaces (case of Namibia etc.) or the deals are opaque and on barter terms dictated by China. Most alarming is that china deals with any rogue regime in Africa as it supplies jet fighters, military vehicles and guns to Zimbabwe, Sudan, Ethiopia and other repressive governments. In essence the paper argues that, China is literally assisting African continent in halting steps towards democratic accountability and better governance.