Aid & Development

Sometimes we in developed nations fail to grasp that not everything we do, no matter how well intentioned, is entirely welcomed in developing countries. Often they’re just too polite to tell us. Once on a flight to a Pacific island nation, I was seated next to an NGO worker who

Terence Wood provides a good take on this Guardian op-ed from a group of development notables decrying foreign aid. Aid is not perfect, but is better than inaction. Working in development involves collecting a lot of data. But without adequate visualisation, the

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has announced a “trilateral partnership” for Australia, Japan, and the US for what is billed as “infrastructure investment in the Indo-Pacific”. In a speech in Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US had earmarked US $113

The Thai cave rescue has been a global success story. Jody Lightfoot argues that the rescue is a good example of how Australian aid can change the world. In addition, PM Turnbull will award honours to Australian divers Richard Harris and Craig Challen for playing a key role in

Dan Kopf at Quartz summarises “the transformative power of giving young women cash”, covering work in Malawi, South Africa, and Bangladesh on cash transfers and domestic violence. A new study shows average unemployment rates are substantially lower in poor countries than in

Saku Akmeemana and Tobias Haque analyse the good, and bad, of the new report from the LSE-Oxford Commission on State Fragility, Growth and Development, chaired by David Cameron, which looks at factors of instability in developing countries. On VoxDev, Dean Karlan, Benjamin N

Australia is an undisputed world leader in tobacco control. From massive wins with plain packaging to widely enforced bans on smoking in public places, it is easy to see why. Australia is successfully creating a generational shift in tobacco use, with its youngest generation growing up in a

I was quite excited to hear from officials in the budget lock-up on Tuesday evening that the Australian aid budget was going to increase by 5% next year, from $3.9 billion to nearly $4.2 billion. Perhaps additional aid resources would be spent on the new undersea data cable, or

In Wellington earlier this year, Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna took the opportunity to signal the benefits of the Pacific’s traditional development partners collaborating with China. Puna described the Pacific as a region of consensus rather than of competition, and said it 

Last week, the UK announced it was establishing diplomatic representation in nine countries: Lesotho, Swaziland, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. From an Oceanian perspective, this might be a game changer. There

China has a new International Development Cooperation Agency (IDCA). The IDCA will respond directly to the State Council and integrate the aid functions of the Ministries of Commerce (MOFCOM) and Foreign Affairs. The reform aims to reduce bureaucratic frictions and make aid better serve China

The Australian Financial Review has interviewed a number of senior defence commentators condemning the potential for more Australian aid cuts, questioning why instruments of deterrence are so quickly invested in, yet instruments of persuasion are not. Sheila P. Wamahiu, Kees de Graaf

A great piece by Ingrid Gercama and Nathalie Bertrams looks at the negative impact of vanilla fever in Madagascar. Markus Goldstein and David Evans summarise the economic research and other presentations delivered at the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) conference held

Last Tuesday, the establishment of a Chinese international development cooperation agency was announced before the 13th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China. Devex reporters Jenny Lei Ravelo and Lisa Cornish answered these key questions about the new agency.&

An interesting article by David Cyranoski shows how evidence-based approaches in rural China improved food security while protecting the environment. The signing of a £100-million UK–Saudi aid partnership has been met with fury from opposition MPs and the aid sector, with deep

It’s no fun being in debt. Creditors want to chase you, the debts increase as you procrastinate about paying them, and you literally feel “indebted” and guilty, especially if those creditors are friends or family. There are studies about the effects of debt on personal well-being. Micro

Rolling out the same aid program in different countries can generate contrasting results. This Global Innovation Fund blog post discusses an attempt to replicate the Kenyan “Sugar Daddies” trial – aimed at reducing the risk of aid and unintended pregnancy – in Botswana,

By launching its new digital strategy, Britain’s foreign aid agency DFID hopes to be recognized as a global leader in digital technology and development. Ailin Martinez discusses four reasons for why this new approach is significant. David Guy discusses the benefits of enhancing development

Last month in The Interpreter, Clay O’Brien proposed the creation of a Development Finance Institution (DFI) for Australia’s aid program. This shift in thinking about the way the government could engage in development is most welcome, particularly in Papua New Guinea. More can be done. PNG

Stephan Dercon, Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford, gives a great summary of the 'Big Ideals, Big Egos and Big Thinkers in development'. According to Victoire Girard, the terrible reputation of artisanal mining is not justified (in Burkina Faso, at least). Her paper shows

The Pacific region is making headlines across Australia after Pacific and International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells harshly criticised Chinese aid in the region. 'Useless' is how Fierravanti-Wells has described Chinese aid projects, leading countries to take on debt they can't

Alexandre Dayant, a Research Associate in the Pacific Islands Program, with links on updates across the aid and development field. Puerto Rico’s power grid is still recovering from Hurricane Maria. According to Sasha Israni, the US territory has an opportunity to be a

The World Bank’s Uzma Quresh and Tanya D'Lima examine the economic and social impact of violence against women in Pakistan, and the role that local governments and media in combatting the issue. Earlier this month Niger welcomed the first 504 people from Libya, honouring agreements

Annmaree O'Keeffe gives her opinion on the 2017 Australia Foreign Policy White Paper, saying the report does not provide a clear direction for the aid program and diminishes its role within the department toolbox. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) released its