Development Policy Centre Podcast

Sector Wide Approaches (SWAps) for health emerged in the 1990s as a mechanism to improve efficiency of aid delivery and effectiveness of aid. Health SWAps aim to increase recipient government autonomy over aid, allowing greater influence over priority setting. Ultimately, it is hoped changes under SWAps will lead to health improvements, yet evidence on health impacts is scarce. In this talk, Mr Rohan Sweeney spoke to a paper in which he analysed a unique dataset of health‐aid recipient countries over 1990‐2011 to investigate the impact of the implementation of SWAps on infant mortality rates. Mr Sweeney discussed his findings, in particular evidence suggesting that SWAp implementation facilitated about a 7 per cent reduction in infant mortality rates compared to the counterfactual. However, it has taken time for SWAps to mature before health impacts have been realised. Mr Rohan Sweeney is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Economics, Monash University. He has a particular interest in health economics

Development in most Asian countries has taken place through several conventional phases. Economies such as Indonesia have started with agriculture/resource based development; have moved to industrialisation first based on import substitution and then shifting towards export orientation as well as production networks; and have then started to transition towards a knowledge and information based as well as a more services oriented economy. The ‘new economy’ continues to evolve beyond knowledge and information based sectors; the fourth wave of change is known as the creative economy. At the same time developing countries are facing external and globalisation challenges. Technology disruptions have led to greater interdependence and changing models of international business engagement. Just what can be transacted and exchanged between countries in today’s context is so vastly different from the situation just a decade ago. How has a country like Indonesia developed over the course of these different phases of dev

During her first visit to Vanuatu as Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), Dame Meg Taylor took some time to chat with Tess Newton Cain for Pacific Conversations. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/regionalism-sub-regionalism-and-womens-empowerment-an-interview-with-dame-meg-taylor-20150308/

The Seasonal Worker Program (SWP) was established in 2008, initially as a pilot, then in 2012 as a permanent program, to help meet the labour needs in Australia’s horticultural sector and to provide labour mobility opportunities to Pacific islanders. Despite continuing growth, the SWP remains small in comparison both to the overall number of workers operating in the sectors it covers and to New Zealand’s equivalent Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme. For the SWP, the binding constraint remains low employer demand. Why aren’t more employers demanding SWP workers? And what reforms would increase employer demand? Jesse Doyle from The World Bank and Stephen Howes from ANU presented findings from a joint World Bank-ANU survey undertaken in 2014 of employers and industry associations across the Australian horticulture industry, and it was followed by a panel discussion with stakeholders involved with seasonal migration. Mr Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Vice President for East Asia and Pacific, chaired this publ

This panel included the following presentations: All talk and no action: has the Pacific regional health architecture improved over the last five years? — Joel Negin, Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in International Public Health, The University of Sydney Tertiary scholarships in Pacific Island States: a public policy challenge and emerging responses — Stephen Close, Human Development Specialist, World Bank Trends in aid to the Pacific islands: Budget support, conditionality and effectiveness — Matthew Dornan and Jonathan Pryke, The Development Policy Centre

This panel included the following presentations: Understanding conflict, development, and statebuilding: frontier dynamics in central Sulawesi, Indonesia Rachel Diprose, University of Melbourne Drugs and development in the Afghan-Tajik borderlands Jonathan Goodhand, University of Melbourne Anxious integration: development in Sri Lanka’s post-war frontier Bart Klem, University of Melbourne and Thiruni Kelegama, University of Zurich

While aid from traditional donors has ebbed and flowed over recent years, countries like India and China, who have been quietly supporting south-south cooperation for more than 50 years, are rapidly scaling up their development assistance. Conservative estimates indicate that non-DAC aid surpasses USD10B per annum and will account for at least USD50B in aid or aid-like flows by 2025. India is at the forefront of this sea change. India’s commitment to south- south cooperation has its historical roots in the Non Aligned Movement which provided an instrument through which national governments could assert their sovereignty and that of others outside of the cold war power blocs. Today this soft power tool of Indian foreign policy is supporting the development of its neighbours and friends including Afghanistan, Myanmar, and increasingly partners in Africa. This panel explores the evolution and contemporary influence of India’s soft power in development cooperation and its impact on the global dynamics of aid.

The changing aid landscape has implications both for donors and recipient countries. This panel explores what the new aid landscape means from a partner country perspective. Speakers discussed how the development/aid landscape in their countries has changed over the years with the emergence of new actors and new forms of finance, the opportunities and challenges new modalities and diverse partnerships offer, and how partner governments are managing this new situation in terms of public financial management, aid coordination, public perceptions and expectations.

Kylie Charlton is Managing Director and Co-founder of Unitus Capital.

Drawing on the findings of a multi-decade aid allocation analysis, and of a survey of developing country governments, Robin Davies contests the orthodoxies that the end of aid is night. He foresees a continuing and substantial role for both aid and specialised aid delivery agencies, while arguing for renewed attention to several major aspects of aid effectiveness.

Tanya Plibersek, Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development, delivered the opening address at the 2015 Australasian Aid Conference.

During his recent visit to Canberra, Stephen Howes spoke to Dr Mark Dybul, the head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/the-future-of-the-global-fund-20150223/

Tess reached out across the International Date Line to talk with the Premier of Niue, Toke Talagi. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/tourism-regionalism-and-niues-quest-for-self-sustainability-an-interview-with-premier-toke-talagi-20150129/

Sir Richard Feachem is Director of the Global Health Group at UCSF Global Health Sciences, Professor of Global Health at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley. From 2002 to 2007, Sir Richard served as founding Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Gabriele Bammer is a Professor at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/research-policy-and-the-private-sector-professor-sir-richard-feachem-on-malaria-20150106/

Has PNG been able to translate its economic boom into services for ordinary people? Based on research undertaken jointly by the National Research Institute (NRI) and the Development Policy Centre, ANU, the report ‘A lost decade? Service delivery and reforms in Papua New Guinea 2012-2012’ compares two surveys in 2002 and 2012 of some 360 primary schools and health care clinics across the country, from the national capital to the most remote districts. It assesses progress on health and education service delivery over time, and analyses the impact of important policy reforms. The report was launched in Australia by the PNG High Commissioner, Charles W. Lepani. Speakers included Dr Thomas Webster, Director of NRI and Professor Stephen Howes, Director of the Development Policy Centre. This public seminar was presented by the Development Policy Centre at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.

The 2014 elections in Solomon Islands brought an intriguing mix of change and continuity. For the first time ever a sitting prime minister lost his seat. Yet the average incumbent survival rate was much higher than usual. The elections were preceded by the passage of legislation designed to promote political parties, and the number of candidates associated with parties increased considerably. Yet the proportion of winning candidates who were independents was actually unusually high. Meanwhile, on the campaign trail it was easy to find the rhetoric of good governance and change, but election results themselves suggest that, typically, constituency level electoral contests were won or lost through the usual mechanisms. On the other hand, new civil society groups and social media - possibly - could be seen to be playing a larger role in elections in 2014 than in previous years. In this seminar Terence Wood talked on the recent elections in Solomon Islands and the results that have emerged from them. He also disc

With the conclusion of the first democratic transition of power in the country’s history and the continuing drawdown of foreign troops, what do the people of Afghanistan think are the most critical issues facing the country? This survey, based on face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of nearly 9,300 Afghan citizens, reveals their views on security, national reconciliation, the economy, development and essential services, governance and political participation, corruption, justice, gender equality, and access to information. Conducted across the country’s 34 provinces, The Asia Foundation’s series of annual surveys in Afghanistan provides an unmatched barometer of Afghan public opinion over time, serving as a resource for policymakers in government, the international community and the broader Afghan public. This event featured experts from The Asia Foundation, as well as a commentary from Professor William Maley, Director of the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy, ANU. Professor Ian Mc

Corruption in Papua New Guinea is widely accepted to be a major development challenge. The fight against it was recently bolstered by the introduction of a new anti-corruption taskforce. In 2011 Taskforce Sweep, a multi-agency anti-corruption taskforce, was set up by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to investigate, prosecute and recover the proceeds of crime. The agency was initially successful in recouping corrupt funds, instigating numerous arrests and prosecuting a senior politician. But in 2014 Prime Minister O’Neill ordered the agency disbanded after O’Neill himself was served with an arrest warrant over his alleged role in a corruption scandal. While the legality of the PM’s decision is being decided in the courts, Taskforce Sweep continues to operate in an increasingly difficult environment. In this presentation, the Chairman of Taskforce Sweep, Sam Koim, reflected upon his experiences in fighting corruption in PNG. He explained the institutional arrangements that led to Sweep’s initial success and outline

Half of all countries in the world have eliminated malaria, mostly since the Second World War. Ambitious strategies are now being put in place to eradicate human malaria worldwide by 2050 and to eliminate malaria in the Asia Pacific region by 2030. The Asia Pacific goal has recently been discussed at the East Asia Summit in Myanmar. Sir Richard presented the historical progress with malaria elimination and the prospects and requirements for global eradication by 2050. He focused on recent dramatic progress in Asia Pacific and the Asia Pacific goal of malaria freedom by 2030. Sir Richard drew attention to the successful elimination (re-elimination) in Sri Lanka, and the striking progress in countries such as China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Outstanding challenges, such as artemisinin resistance in the Mekong Region and malaria caused by Plasmodium knowlesi, was discussed. The political and financial requirements for malaria elimination in Asia Pacific was also elaborated. Sir Richard Feachem is Director

Tess Newton Cain and Lalotoa Mulitalo, who is a Law Lecturer at the University of the South Pacific, met recently in Vanuatu. This is a recording of their conversation. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/legal-challenges-law-reform-and-legal-education-an-interview-with-lalotoa-mulitalo-201401204/