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Global development professionals network
Development policy: time to look beyond
simply managing aid
Powerful nations need to do more to reform the governance of the global institutions they
dominate, says Owen Barder
'The past fifty years have seen unprecedented progress on almost every dimension of human
well-being.' Photograph: Aijaz Rahi/AP
Owen Barder
Wednesday 28 November 2012 12.17 GMT Last modified on Wednesday 23 December 2015
18.48 GMT
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Europe at the fin de siècle – the end of the 19th Century – is thought of today as an opulent,
decadent and cynical end to la belle époque. This mood of fin de siècle is echoed in today's
development policies and aid agencies, similarly following a golden era for aid. Like the
European elites of a century ago, the development policy community seems to be paralysed in
the face of widely-anticipated (and largely desirable) change.
The structure, incentives and priorities of today's aid agencies reflect their history in a
disappearing era when development policy meant rich countries giving aid to poor countries for
the alleviation of extreme poverty.
Today's development challenges look quite different, in at least five ways. First, most of the
world's poor live in middle-income countries, such as China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and
Nigeria. Second, private investment, remittances and private giving are now far bigger than
official aid. Third, there has been healthy growth in many developing countries, bringing
increases in prosperity for many, but also great challenges of inequality, environmental
degradation and dislocation. Fourth, we are moving from a world dominated by a few rich
countries to broader spread of emerging global powers. Fifth and finally, we face a growing array
of challenges requiring global solutions, including climate change, macroeconomic imbalances,
inadequate financial regulation, tax avoidance, insecurity and corruption.
global development professionals
Join the Guardian Global Development Professionals Network
Join up to access commentary and insight from development experts across the world.
Click here
The past fifty years have seen unprecedented progress on almost every dimension of human
well-being, including improvements in security, reductions in conflict, and the spread of access
to water, food, shelter, health and education. These improvements have not been confined to fast
growing countries like South Korea and China; there have also been remarkable improvements
in countries which have seen relatively little economic growth in income, such as Mali and
Burma. Many of these improvements have been supported and catalysed by foreign aid. As the
world becomes more wealthy, we can afford to spend a rising share of our income on overseas
aid; and it has been demonstrably successful.
But people from developing countries are clear that development policy today must mean more
than giving aid. With growing economic success, they want to benefit more from the resources
and services which they supply to the world. They do not want aid as compensation for global
trade rules which are stacked against them: they want the rules changed. They do not want
merely to be compensated for the damage done to the environment by industrialised countries;
they want the destruction of our shared planet to stop.
Developing countries have made great progress on seven of the eight millennium development
goals. But there has been almost none on the eighth, for which the old rich world bears primary
responsibility: "Develop a global partnership for development". For example, the powerful
nations have done little to improve the governance of global institutions which they dominate;
nor have they developed, as they promised, open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory
trading and financial systems.
The Center for Global Development produces an annual index of commitment to development,
which scores OECD countries on their policies on trade, the environment, migration, investment,
technology transfer, security and aid. You can quibble with the details, but however you look at
the trend over 10 years it is difficult to escape the conclusion that there has been very little
overall progress in the policies of rich countries which affect prospects in poor countries.
Aid agencies and campaigners make a powerful case for increases in aid, and for improving its
quality. But many have neglected the other issues which developing countries are increasingly
demanding must be addressed and which are likely to be at least as important. This paralysis in
the face of a changing agenda should come as no surprise. All aid agencies have to spend their
budget wisely and avoid waste (or worse). But working to improve the policies on fisheries,
patents or tax is always discretionary, however important it might be. Nobody in the government
department responsible for these policies will complain if the development ministry leaves them
alone. The people who stand to lose are in developing countries: and they have no voice and no
vote when these priorities are set.
In the 21st century development policy is shifting to promoting a fair and effective global
economic system, supported by investment in public goods, overseen by effective and legitimate
institutions. Aid can help to protect and support who are disadvantaged by change. But aid
agencies, NGOs and policy-makers will increasingly have to look beyond the management of
aid, for which their organisations are organised, to a much broader agenda and new and
unfamiliar ways of working.
Owen Barder is senior fellow and director for Europe at the Centre for Global Development. He
tweets as @owenbarder
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To get more articles like this
direct to your inbox, sign up free to become a member of the Global Development
Professionals Network
home
UK
world
sport
football
opinion
culture
business
lifestyle
fashion
environment
tech
travel
browse all sections
Global development professionals network
Development policy: time to look beyond
simply managing aid
Powerful nations need to do more to reform the governance of the global institutions they
dominate, says Owen Barder
'The past fifty years have seen unprecedented progress on almost every dimension of human
well-being.' Photograph: Aijaz Rahi/AP
Owen Barder
Wednesday 28 November 2012 12.17 GMT Last modified on Wednesday 23 December 2015
18.48 GMT
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Google+
Shares
1
Comments
2
Save for later
Europe at the fin de siècle – the end of the 19th Century – is thought of today as an opulent,
decadent and cynical end to la belle époque. This mood of fin de siècle is echoed in today's
development policies and aid agencies, similarly following a golden era for aid. Like the
European elites of a century ago, the development policy community seems to be paralysed in
the face of widely-anticipated (and largely desirable) change.
The structure, incentives and priorities of today's aid agencies reflect their history in a
disappearing era when development policy meant rich countries giving aid to poor countries for
the alleviation of extreme poverty.
Today's development challenges look quite different, in at least five ways. First, most of the
world's poor live in middle-income countries, such as China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and
Nigeria. Second, private investment, remittances and private giving are now far bigger than
official aid. Third, there has been healthy growth in many developing countries, bringing
increases in prosperity for many, but also great challenges of inequality, environmental
degradation and dislocation. Fourth, we are moving from a world dominated by a few rich
countries to broader spread of emerging global powers. Fifth and finally, we face a growing array
of challenges requiring global solutions, including climate change, macroeconomic imbalances,
inadequate financial regulation, tax avoidance, insecurity and corruption.
global development professionals
Join the Guardian Global Development Professionals Network
Join up to access commentary and insight from development experts across the world.
Click here
The past fifty years have seen unprecedented progress on almost every dimension of human
well-being, including improvements in security, reductions in conflict, and the spread of access
to water, food, shelter, health and education. These improvements have not been confined to fast
growing countries like South Korea and China; there have also been remarkable improvements
in countries which have seen relatively little economic growth in income, such as Mali and
Burma. Many of these improvements have been supported and catalysed by foreign aid. As the
world becomes more wealthy, we can afford to spend a rising share of our income on overseas
aid; and it has been demonstrably successful.
But people from developing countries are clear that development policy today must mean more
than giving aid. With growing economic success, they want to benefit more from the resources
and services which they supply to the world. They do not want aid as compensation for global
trade rules which are stacked against them: they want the rules changed. They do not want
merely to be compensated for the damage done to the environment by industrialised countries;
they want the destruction of our shared planet to stop.
Developing countries have made great progress on seven of the eight millennium development
goals. But there has been almost none on the eighth, for which the old rich world bears primary
responsibility: "Develop a global partnership for development". For example, the powerful
nations have done little to improve the governance of global institutions which they dominate;
nor have they developed, as they promised, open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory
trading and financial systems.
The Center for Global Development produces an annual index of commitment to development,
which scores OECD countries on their policies on trade, the environment, migration, investment,
technology transfer, security and aid. You can quibble with the details, but however you look at
the trend over 10 years it is difficult to escape the conclusion that there has been very little
overall progress in the policies of rich countries which affect prospects in poor countries.
Aid agencies and campaigners make a powerful case for increases in aid, and for improving its
quality. But many have neglected the other issues which developing countries are increasingly
demanding must be addressed and which are likely to be at least as important. This paralysis in
the face of a changing agenda should come as no surprise. All aid agencies have to spend their
budget wisely and avoid waste (or worse). But working to improve the policies on fisheries,
patents or tax is always discretionary, however important it might be. Nobody in the government
department responsible for these policies will complain if the development ministry leaves them
alone. The people who stand to lose are in developing countries: and they have no voice and no
vote when these priorities are set.
In the 21st century development policy is shifting to promoting a fair and effective global
economic system, supported by investment in public goods, overseen by effective and legitimate
institutions. Aid can help to protect and support who are disadvantaged by change. But aid
agencies, NGOs and policy-makers will increasingly have to look beyond the management of
aid, for which their organisations are organised, to a much broader agenda and new and
unfamiliar ways of working.
Owen Barder is senior fellow and director for Europe at the Centre for Global Development. He
tweets as @owenbarder
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To get more articles like this
direct to your inbox, sign up free to become a member of the Global Development
Professionals Network