The US-China Trade War: The End of Multilateralism or the Search for a New Bargain?
Shamel Azmeh, Lecturer in International Development, Global Development Institute, Ken Shadlen Professor in International Development, London School of Economics and Political Science
In recent years, the collapse of the multilateral economic regime has become a regular theme. In Davos, at the World Economic Conference in January, this issue emerged in a number of speeches, with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel warning that the end of multilateralism and the fragmentation of the multilateral world will only end in misery. Indeed, for people like us who teach international political economy, material in our courses on the role of international trade rules in providing predictability appear almost outdated with the routine and blatant violations of existing trade rules, by the Trump administration and also other countries in response. The World Trade Organization (WTO), which was established in the 1995 with an aim of providing a rules-based trade regime, has for some time suffered from paralysis as a forum for negotiating new rules (as made evident by the failure to complete the Doha Round, which started in 2001), but nonetheless the existing rules, which cover extensive areas of economic activity, remained in force. That no longer seems to be the case either: the WTO’s rules are being flaunted on a regular basis by virtually all countries, large and small, and the ability to enforce these rules is challenged by the United States refusal to nominate judges to the Appellate Body of the organization’s dispute settlement system. read more…
Fieldwork 2020 in Cape Town: Innovation and community.
Jeannette Zes Giovani, Gloria Oviedo Perez and Danah Alzeiby, Management and Information Systems: Change and Development and ICTs for Development students
Learning is always exciting, and it is even more amazing when we can witness real-life applications of the courses and techniques we have learned at the University. In our case, as postgrad students of the Global Development Institute, it involved a trip to one of the most beautiful destinations in the world, South Africa. Cape Town is a leader in ICTs and the next niche for emerging technology companies, in addition to being a developing country with noticeable societal challenges. Thus, it was the ideal place for us, as students, to compare and see in practice some concepts such as the digital divide, the use of ICT in different industries, and to evaluate Information System success/failure through various frameworks/models that we learned in the classroom, all of which play in real life. read more…
Advancing participatory planning in Zimbabwe: Lessons from Bulawayo
Diana Mitlin, Professor of Global Urbanism, Global Development Institute
Over the last few years, Bulawayo in Zimbabwe has experimented with a wide range of participatory planning techniques. A recent workshop in the city, also featuring experiences from Kenya and South Africa, provided an opportunity to draw some conclusions about what has worked. read more…
In conversation: Jelmer Kamstra and Zoe Abrahamson discuss donor funding, NGOs and governance
In this episode, GDI’s Nicola Banks talks to Jelmer Kamstra and Zoe Abrahamson about the political role of NGOs and how donor funding can support those.
Jelmer Kamstra has been Senior Policy Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands in the Civil Society Division since 2015. He is now Senior Researcher at the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Zoe Abrahamson is Bond’s senior funding adviser. She coordinates Bond’s funding stream, acting as a conduit between funders and NGOs.
Dr Nicola Banks a Senior Lecturer in Urban Development and Deputy Managing Director of the Global Development Institute.
GDI Lecture: Civil society aid as balancing act with Jelmer Kamstra and Zoe Abrahamson
Listen or watch Jelmer Kamstra and Zoe Abrahamson discuss civil society aid as balancing act – navigating between managerial and social transformative principles.
Jelmer Kamstra has been Senior Policy Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands in the Civil Society Division since 2015. Starting January 2020, Jelmer has taken up a new position as Senior Researcher at the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Zoe Abrahamson is Bond’s senior funding adviser. She coordinates Bond’s funding stream, acting as conduit between funders and NGOs.
read more…
Fieldwork and citizenship through the eyes of a PhD researcher
Francisca Álvarez-Figueroa, PhD Researcher, Global Development Institute
I began my PhD in 2018 on the broad area of citizenship and organisational citizenship behaviours within the education sector under the supervision of Dr Chris Rees and Dr Kate Rowlands. My fieldwork was conducted from October 2019 to January 2020 in Chile. My research focuses on educative leadership, diversity management, citizenship and inclusion. read more…
Paper exploring links between institutions and economic development wins 2019 best paper award
Research by Professor Kunal Sen of the Global Development Institute and the United Nations University (UNU-Wider), and Sabyasachi Kar and Amrita Roy from the Institute of Economic Growth in Delhi, India has won Economic Modelling’s Best Paper of the year award for 2019.
The Double Trap: Institutions and economic development was published in the journal in January 2019 and examined whether there was a link between institutional quality and economic development. The research explored data from over 80 countries and across a period of 3 decades (1985-2015), with the authors finding evidence of several countries which are stuck in poor quality institutions traps. Additionally, the research established that poor institutional traps are major determinants of low income traps. read more…
In conversation: Nicholas Jepson discusses China’s impact on the Global South
In this episode, Nicholas Jepson talks to Seth Schindler about his new book In China’s wake: how the commodity boom transformed development strategies in the global south.
Dr Nicholas Jepson is a Hallsworth Research Fellow in Chinese Political Economy at the Global Development Institute. Dr Seth Schindler is a Senior Lecturer in Urban Development & Transformation at the Global Development Institute.
GDI Lecture: How China’s growth transformed development strategies in the global south with Nicholas Jepson
Listen or watch Nicholas Jepson, Global Development Institute, discuss how China’s growth transformed development strategies in the global south. Nicholas is currently a Hallsworth Research Fellow in Chinese Political Economy.
His talk outlines his new book ‘In China’s wake: how the commodity boom transformed development strategies in the global south’
Have investment treaties protected inward investment in the wake of the global financial crisis?
Gindo Tampubolon, Lecturer in Poverty, Global Development Institute
The Monterrey consensus (2002) on financing for development recognised the importance of investment for global development; appreciating the unique resources channelled through direct investment rather than through aid alone. Through investments from foreign countries (often advanced economies), host countries (often developing economies) access necessary skills, technologies and markets in industrial economies.
For these reasons some countries have unilaterally relaxed their inward investment regimes while others have forged partnerships with other countries in bilateral or multilateral investment treaties. With such treaties host countries attract multinational corporations to bring investments, skills and technology, and conversely, to open foreign markets, achieved by enhancing terms for inward investments such as by adopting international arbitration for commercial dispute.
In practice the benefit of investment treaty on inward investment has been elusive. Two key drivers lie behind changes in inward investment. First, the last decade has witnessed investment activities by multinational corporations slowed by the global financial crisis of 2008.Second, over a much longer period, from just before the turn of the century, multinational corporations’ global investment activities have exhibited a character shift. These corporations roamed the world not only to secure market and materials but increasingly to collaborate in creating innovations.