Policy in the private, non-profit and international sectors

Policy in the private, non-profit and international sectors

While this chapter is concerned with the public policy of countries, we would like to briefly sketch here how this policy and experience intersects with policy in the private and non-profit sectors and with international policy debates.

Private enterprises, by structure and ownership, have the overarching objective of making profits for their owners. In providing typically 75 per cent of the jobs and incomes in an economy, they contribute heavily to providing the conditions for people to pursue what they value. There is also a long history of corporate philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. For

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT POLICY ANALYSIS

example, annual surveys indicate that corporate philanthropy is primarily in education and health initiatives. Corporate foundations also support building capacities in the public sector, with a growing (though still minority) share in total financing. One can cite the Nike Foundation as an example of this. It was created in part because the corporation saw limits to what it could do through social responsibility policies such as improved working conditions and paying employees above local wages. The foundation’s focus is now on girl’s education through funding and partnerships with communities, stakeholders and international development organizations.

The private part of the informal sector is, in many ways, a different world, with as many faces as there are informal sectors. Micro-enterprises are the form of livelihood for sometimes large majorities of people in developing countries, who typically make little profit, but are responsible for philanthropic activity organized through family and social networks. There are several public policy concerns when assisting informal sector activity, as described above, but ‘policy’ (in the case of individual, family and small busi- nesses themselves) is typically made on the fly.

The non-profit sector represents both national and international organizations, usually called non-governmental organizations (NGOs). They have a substantial developmental impact in generating economic activity and livelihoods, and in social services activity – accounting for typically 5–10 per cent of measured economic activity, and a much higher share of the total (including informal) economy. Discussions around NGO policies generally include issues of what individual NGOs are responsible or accountable to and for. NGOs tend, like corporations, to have structured policy analysis and decision-making, by and for their board or governance structure. Large NGOs, and NGO umbrella groups, play prominent economic and social roles in many countries, and there are strong proponents of the growth of new business models (essentially non-profit) serving poor communities. Certainly, international NGOs often play the key operational roles in international crisis and humanitarian assistance.

Scrutiny of both corporate and non-profit policies in any country is essential. Our focus on public policy in this chapter reflects a particular concern with the close relationships between public policy and human development priorities.

Finally, there are major development policy analyses and debates in international spheres, in all areas of public policy – rights, intellectual property, food, health, finance, trade, energy, environment and climate change, etc. International policy is often specified in international agreements and institutions. The WTO, UN Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights are only some of hundreds of examples. They interact at national and local levels, presenting complex policy analysis challenges. Box 12.3, written by Amartya Sen, on the global food crisis, illustrates several of these points, including the multi-disciplinary nature of policy, and the urgent challenge of aligning international and national policies.

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