Past Highlights

Envision 4.7: Roadmap in Support of SDG Target 4.7

10 Jan 2020

2019/12 – EADI; briefing paper; Author(s): Bridge 47

As part of the Bridge 47 Project on Global Citizenship Education, the participants of the "Envision 47 Event" last November in Helsinki have developed a set of policy recommendations and considerations to form the basis of frameworks that support life-long learning linked to sustainable development through formal, non-formal and informal education.

continue: Envision 4.7: Roadmap in Support of SDG Target 4.7 (external link)

Sustainable Development Goals and Human Rights

20 Dec 2019

2019/11 – open access book; Author(s): Markus Kaltenborn, Markus Krajewski, Heike Kuhn (Editors)

This book analyses the interplay of sustainable development and human rights from different perspectives including fight against poverty, health, gender equality, working conditions, climate change and the role of private actors. Each aspect is addressed from a more human rights-focused angle and a development-policy angle. This allows comparisons between the different approaches but also seeks to close gaps which would remain if only one perspective would be at the centre of the discussions.

continue: Sustainable Development Goals and Human Rights (external link)

Emissions Gap Report 2019

06 Dec 2019

2019/11 – November 2019; Author(s): United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi

The latest UNEP Emissions Gap Report reveals that, over the next decade, global emissions need to be cut by 7.6 percent every year to meet 1.5°C Paris target. According to current unconditional pledges, the world is heading for a 3.2°C temperature rise. G20 nations account for 78 per cent of all emissions, but 15 of them have not even committed to a timeline for net-zero emissions. The report finds that greenhouse gas emissions have risen 1.5 per cent per year over the last decade. Emissions in 2018, including from land-use changes such as deforestation, hit a new high of 55.3 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent

continue: Emissions Gap Report 2019 (external link)

The Politics of Social Protection in Eastern and Southern Africa (Open Access Book)

25 Nov 2019

2019/11 – November 2019; Author(s): Sam Hickey et al (editors)

This book challenges the common conception that the introduction of social protection schemes has been entirely driven by international development agencies, instead focusing on the critical role of political dynamics within specific African countries. It details how the power and politics at multiple levels of governance shapes the extent to which political elites are committed to social protection, the form that this commitment takes, and the implications that this has for future welfare regimes and state-citizen relations in Africa. It reveals how international pressures only take hold when they become aligned with the incentives and ideas of ruling elites in particular contexts. It shows how elections, the politics of clientelism, political ideologies, and elite perceptions all play powerful roles in shaping when countries adopt social protection and at what levels, which groups receive benefits, and how programmes are delivered.

continue: The Politics of Social Protection in Eastern and Southern Africa (Open Access Book) (external link)

The Business of Building Walls

08 Nov 2019

2019/11 – Transnational Institute (TNI); research paper; Author(s): Mark Akkerman

This report explores the business of building walls in Europe, which has both fuelled and benefited from a massive expansion of public spending on border security by the European Union (EU) and its member states. The main beneficiaries of this development are the businesses involved, some of them also global players who tap into a global market for border security estimated to be worth approximately €17.5 billion in 2018, with annual growth of at least 8% expected in coming years. It is important to look both beyond and behind Europe’s walls and fencing, because the real barriers to contemporary migration are not so much the fencing, but the vast array of technology that underpins it, from the radar systems to the drones to the surveillance cameras to the biometric fingerprinting systems.

continue: The Business of Building Walls (external link)

10 Years to Act. 11 Voices for a Sustainable World

27 Sep 2019

2019/09 – Agence Française de Développement (AFD); research paper; Author(s): Stéphane Besançon et al

As the challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a serious emergency, this cross-cutting scientific booklet gathers the voices of 11 experts in development on various topics, from water to governance through biodiversity, inequalities or entrepreneurship. We can now see the symptoms of the difficulties ahead “if nothing is done”–the unvarying incipit of repeated warnings. But soon we will wake up to find that a decade has slipped away. Will we then be ready to bear the consequences of our lack of initiative?

continue: 10 Years to Act. 11 Voices for a Sustainable World (external link)

Migration and Development: The Role for Development Aid

29 Aug 2019

2019/08 – Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA); research paper; Author(s): Robert E.B. Lucas

What is known and not known about the links between migration and economic development? What is the potential of development assistance in enhancing these links? This publication by The Migration Studies Delegation (Delmi) and The Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA), today's featured EADI member, synthesizes existing research on the links between migration and economic development. It also discusses how the role of migration in development can be considered in the design of development assistance. The evidence is mixed on whether development assistance increase growth, and on whether growth increase or decrease emigration pressures. Both the composition of aid and characteristics of the recipient country influence the effects of development assistance on migration and economic development.

continue: Migration and Development: The Role for Development Aid (external link)

Poverty as Ideology. Rescuing Social Justice from Global Development Agendas

19 Aug 2019

2019/08 – Comparative Research Programme on Poverty (CROP), International Social Science Council (ISSC); UiB Global, University of Bergen; Book; Author(s): Fischer, Andrew Martin 2018/12 – Now open access!

Poverty as Ideology shows how our dominant approaches to poverty studies have served to reinforce the prevailing neoliberal ideology while neglecting the wider interests of social justice that are fundamental to creating more equitable societies. Instead, our development policies have created a ‘poverty industry’ that obscures the dynamic reproductions of poverty within contemporary capitalist development and promotes segregation in the name of science and charity. Andrew Fisher, associate professor at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), argues that an effective and lasting solution to global poverty requires us to reorient our efforts away from current fixations on productivity and towards more equitable distributions of wealth and resources. The book is winner of the International Studies in Poverty Prize awarded by the Comparative Research Programme on Poverty CROP and Zed Books.

continue: Poverty as Ideology. Rescuing Social Justice from Global Development Agendas (external link)

The Digital Revolution and Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Challenges

05 Aug 2019

2019/07 – German Development Institute, Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) et al; research paper; Author(s): The World in 2050 Initiative

It is increasingly clear that digital changes, we refer to them as the Digital Revolution, are becoming a key driving force in societal transformation. The transformation towards sustainability for all must be harmonized with the threats, opportunities and dynamics of the Digital Revolution, the goals of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. At the same time, the digital transformation will radically alter all dimensions of global societies and economies and will therefore change the interpretation of the sustainability paradigm itself. Digitalization is not only an ‘instrument’ to resolve sustainability challenges, it is also fundamental as a driver of disruptive change. This report is based on the voluntary and collaborative effort of 45 authors and contributors from about 20 institutions, among them the German Development Institute (DIE) and 100 independent experts from academia, business, government, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations from all the regions of the world.

continue: The Digital Revolution and Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Challenges (external link)

Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India 2019 – Update - Responding to Environmental Hazards in Cities

05 Aug 2019

2019/07 – OECD Development Centre (OECD/DC); research paper; Author(s): Oecd

The Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India is a bi-annual publication on regional economic growth, development and regional integration in Emerging Asia. It focuses on the economic conditions of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries. It also addresses relevant economic issues in China and India to fully reflect economic developments in the region. The update of the Outlook comprises three main parts, each highlighting a particular dimension of recent economic developments in the region. The first part presents the regional economic monitor, depicting the economic outlook and macroeconomic challenges in the region. The second and third parts consist of special thematic chapters addressing a major issue facing the region. This update focuses on smart cities, discussing in particular smart city strategies and urban environmental risks.

continue: Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India 2019 – Update - Responding to Environmental Hazards in Cities (external link)

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