The Fiscal Implications of Hurricane Strikes in the Caribbean
By Bazoumana Ouattara, University of Manchester; Eric Strobl, École Polytechnique; Jan Vermeiren, Kinetic Analysis Corporation and Stacia Yearwood, Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility.
Worryingly losses associated with tropical storms have risen considerably over the last few decades and are currently estimated to be about $US 26 billion a year. Moreover, some predict that the intensity of these phenomena may increase with climate change. In this regard, arguably the small disaster prone island economies in the Caribbean are particularly vulnerable, as their limited budgetary capacity prevents them from establishing sufficient financial reserves to absorb such potentially large negative shocks.
A Climate Potluck in Paris
“We have an agreement”. Those redeeming words from French foreign minister Laurent Fabius in the evening of Saturday the 12th of December unleashed a wave of standing ovations from high level UN staff, delegates and observers from business and civil society. Preceding this historic moment had been a fortnight of marathon negotiations and sleepless nights for the approximate 50.000 people that attended the 21st UN Conference Of the Parties (COP 21). The Paris meeting was a culmination of a 6-year redress effort for the UN climate regime following the catastrophic Copenhagen meeting in 2009, which collapsed into chaos and recriminations.
Is universal primary education working in Uganda?
Students on the MSc International Development programme travel to Uganda each year to conduct relevant research projects:
In the final blog post in the series by students, Emily Olson examines if universal access to primary education means that more children are learning.
By Emily Olson
Oil in Uganda threatens the livelihood of women
Students on the MSc International Development programme travel to Uganda each year to conduct relevant research projects:
In the second of three posts by students, Enock Okara outlines the challenges women face in accessing compensation for oil exploration.
By Enock Okara
Socrates, a pig and progressive taxation: A Mirrleesian morality tale
By Cathy Wilcock, Doctoral Researcher, Global Development Institute
Socrates and a pig walk into a bar. Socrates orders a fine bottle of claret and argues for hours with the bartender about Romantic poetry. Being infuriated by the bartender’s base reading of Ozymandias, Socrates attempts to stab the bartender in the heart with his pocketknife. He is so drunk on claret that he misses completely. In the meantime, the pig has ordered several pints of mud and poured them over himself. The bartender slips over in the mud, lands on the pig’s pocketknife and is stabbed in the heart. Who is morally better – Socrates or the pig? And please show your working.
‘The men are bosses here…’ What is preventing Uganda from eliminating mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS?
Students on the MSc International Development programme travel to Uganda each year to conduct relevant research projects:
In the first of three posts by students, Laura Dempsy reflects upon the difficulties Uganda is facing in its battle to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS.
By Laura Dempsey
Academic publishing and the (hidden) dynamics of censorship
I just had an article published in Africa Spectrum on Universal Rights versus Exclusionary Politics, using aspirations and despair among Eritrean refugees in Tel Aviv as the case study. This article was originally submitted to a different Journal that focuses on ‘Africa’, and the way it was rejected raises serious concerns about peer review processes and how individual hatred and vanities can impede on those – if the editors allow this to happen.
Ravi Kanbur asks is utilitarianism is all that bad a doctrine for egalitarians?
The first semester of the Global Development Seminar Series was brought to a close with a fascinating lecture from Professor Ravi Kanbur last week.
Professor Kanbur questioned if utilitarianism is really at odds with egalitarian ends, particularly for critical policy issues such as setting progressive rates of income tax. He argues that the “bad odour” surrounding utilitarian approaches has led to a slippery slope of in-egalitarian consequences in policy making. Listen to his full lecture here:
Improving labour conditions in the global electronics industry
In recent years, there have been numerous labour violations in the global electronics industry. They include factory worker suicides, forced labour, child labour, excessive over-time, poisonings, illnesses, and deaths from chemical exposure. Many of these violations occur in supplier factories of big brand companies such as Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell. While brands are considered ultimately responsible for these violations, their efforts to improve the situation are more often than not inadequate and unsustainable (Locke, 2013).
David Hulme: President’s Foreword to the Development Studies Association
The Global Development Institute’s Professor David Hulme is currently president of the Development Studies Association. In his latest message to DSA members, David analyses the new UK aid strategy, recent research council changes and the potential development impact of the COP climate negotiations.