Posts Tagged democracy
Paul Raschky (Monash University) on where Foreign Aid Actually Ends Up
Posted by sangus in Development, Interview, Podcast, Poverty on 11 April, 2011
Dr Paul Raschky
For some, foreign aid, is the only great hope for ending poverty in the very poor nations of our world, whilst for others, foreign aid is a key part of the problem — fueling wars, corruption and inefficient allocations of capital — making bad situations even worse. Whilst many researchers have attempted to look at the connection between foreign aid and development, getting good data on economic matters in the very poor, poorly governed and sometimes secretive nations can stymy even the most diligent research efforts. If you consider that some estimates of corruption in Africa alone run close to $150 billion (1), and that some heads of African states are listed as multi-billionaires even whilst their nations remain terribly impoverished (2), it is no wonder that getting transparent access to what is really happening with the foreign aid money can be a challenge.
Briefing: Explaining the North African Uprisings: the (lost) Economic story
Posted by sangus in Development, Podcast on 22 March, 2011
Special Guest writer, Jeremy Kamil, brings us a fascinating piece on the recent uprisings in Northern Africa. The key question Jeremy addresses is, ‘Why these nations, and why now?’ Whilst many in the press have offered answers to this question, Jeremy’s analysis goes beyond the standard explanations and looks at what really causes educated, civilised and well meaning men and women to take up the machinery of war against their own government. Jeremy is a current Honours student in the Economics Department at Monash University and is writing on inflation in China, and how economic policy might manage this growing headache for the rising Asian powerhouse.