The global crises have prompted calls for new ways of thinking about what can be done to steer economic development in a greener direction. Since, in politics, one should ‘never let a serious crisis go to waste’, this is the time to take bold steps. Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and Peter May, past president of the International Society for Ecological Economics, offer their views on the possibility and necessity to develop a new, green economics.   Read more...>>

By 2030, nearly 60% of the world’s population will live in cities. Megacities with over 10 million inhabitants are appearing in developing countries and will include Cairo, Dhaka, Jakarta, Karachi, Lagos and Mumbai within 20 years. The implications for slum dwellers are devastating.   Read more...>>

Global value chains – the production, processing and marketing of products ‘from farm to fork’ – now link together producers, traders, processors, manufacturers, retailers and consumers. Due to changing market conditions and consumer demands, entrepreneurs in developing countries are increasingly becoming integrated into the world trading system.   Read more...>>

Since the emergence of the web 15 years ago, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become indispensable for most researchers. Email and online access to public or restricted databases have become essential tools, allowing academics to keep in touch with their peers and up to date with the latest developments. Widely dispersed research groups can now easily coordinate their work online by means of Skype conference calls.   Read more...>>

Violent conflicts in states such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and the Balkans are at the centre of global politics. Big battles have been fought, enormous sums of money have been spent and troops have been deployed to end these conflicts. But is trying to defeat the supposed enemies – be they ‘freedom fighters’, ‘terrorists’ or state armies – the right approach? Or do these conflicts require other policy solutions?   Read more...>>

Shrinking reserves of fossil fuels and growing anxiety over future energy security have boosted investments in renewable energy worldwide. Alarming climate change scenarios have also increased the focus on creating sustainable energy economies. It is common knowledge that a sustainable future for both the world economy and the planet are inconceivable without renewable energy sources, such as solar energy. (1)   Read more...>>

Despite major advances in knowledge and unprecedented gains in global wealth, health inequities between the rich and poor are increasing, both within and among countries (1). Poverty, poor living and working conditions and the inability to influence these conditions are directly related to poor health. The 2008 report of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Commission on Social Determinants of Health observes that ‘social injustice is killing people on a grand scale’ (2).   Read more...>>

For many decades, the main driver of progress in developing countries was considered to be either the state or the market. Civil society existed only in relation to, and by the grace of, these forces. But people-centred development requires that individuals take control and address the problems in their communities. People and organizations should acquire a stronger position in relation to both the state and the market. Real change can only be achieved through challenging dominant political...   Read more...>>

The Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently completed an extensive evaluation of the Dutch Africa policy over the period 1998–2006. The report contains a number of hard-hitting conclusions that should generate considerable debate about the direction of Dutch development policy. In this exclusive special report The Broker presents a brief summary of the IOB evaluation, and launches the first external discussion of its fin...   Read more...>>

Europe is the world’s leading provider of official development assistance (ODA). The EU and its member states account for 60% of all development moneys. Africa alone receives roughly US $14 billion a year from its northern neighbours. But is Europe also an agenda setter in the global development arena? Not quite. Authoritative paradigms and policies have always originated in Washington and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York. Sindre Ellingsen,...   Read more...>>