Development Policy Centre Podcast

Inequality is on the rise globally and in Australia. The richest 85 people own the same wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion people. World leaders and global economic institutions are increasingly raising the alarm about the risk extreme economic inequality poses to social stability and the strength and sustainability of economic growth itself. While some economic inequality is essential to drive growth and progress, the extreme levels of wealth concentration occurring today threaten to exclude hundreds of millions of people from realising the benefits of their talents and hard work. Extreme economic inequality is damaging and worrying for many reasons: it is morally questionable; it can have negative impacts on economic growth and poverty reduction; and it can weaken the social fabric. It also compounds other inequalities, such as those between women and men. Oxfam International’s Executive Director Winnie Byanyima is a grass-roots activist, human rights advocate, senior international public servant, and world

Joe Nathan is the Prime Minister of Vanuatu. Tess Newton Cain is a Research Associate at the Development Policy Centre. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/political-instability-the-msg-and-regional-politics-an-interview-with-prime-minister-joe-natuman-of-vanuatu-20141113/

Many young people are interested in a career in international development. Thousands volunteer in development organisations across the country, and development studies and international relations are some of the most popular undergraduate university courses in Australia. The appeal of a career that combines doing good with international travel is undeniable. But the popularity of the field also makes it competitive, and it can be tough for students to know where to start. This public seminar, hosted by the Development Policy Centre and the ANU Aid and Development Learning Community, gave students the chance to hear from those working in the development sector. Our panelists spoke about their own careers in the aid program, NGOs and the private sector. Students also heard about some of the entry points to a development career, such as volunteering, and had the chance to ask questions. Speakers: Jacqui De Lacy, Abt JTA; Chris Adams, ACFID; Alwyn Chilver, GRM International; Ashlee Betteridge, Development Policy

Voice and Agency: empowering women and girls for shared prosperity is a major new report by the World Bank that shines a spotlight on the value of empowerment, the patterns of constraints that limit their realization, and the associated costs, not only to individual women but to their families, communities, and societies. It highlights promising policies and interventions, and it identifies priority areas where further research and more and better data and evidence are needed. In this public event, Jeni Klugman, Senior Adviser, The World Bank Group and Fellow, Kennedy School, Harvard University, presented the report’s main findings. We also assembled a great panel to discuss the report, consisting of: Elizabeth Broderick, Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission; Dame Carol Kidu, former Papua New Guinea Member of Parliament, Minister for Community Development and advocate for women’s rights; and Ewen McDonald, Deputy Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The event will

In this public seminar, Dr Jude Howell, Professor of International Development at London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), argued that the securitisation of NGOs post-9/11 has raised both practical issues about aid delivery and the security of NGO workers, as well as broader questions around the purpose of aid and development of civil society. Dr Jude Howell is Professor of International Development at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE). She was Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science Centre for Civil Society between 2003 and 2010, running a wide range of internationally focused research projects and events on civil society. She was Director of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) research programme on non-governmental public action and Series Editor of the Palgrave Press book series on Non-Governmental Public Action, in which her book The Global War on Terror, Aid and Civil Society (with Jeremy Lind), 2009, appears. She has written e

Based on Key Indicators 2014, a flagship publication of the Asian Development Bank, this presentation argued that conventional wisdom on poverty measurement fails to consider significant challenges of food insecurity, increasing inequality and rising vulnerability. Once these additional elements are brought in, the hope for an Asia free of poverty by 2020 looks unlikely. Instead, it is more likely poverty will remain prevalent in Asia beyond even 2030. Dr Guanghua Wan is Principal Economist and Head, Poverty-Inequality Research Group, the Asian Development Bank. Previously, he was Senior Economist in the United Nations and taught in a number of Universities in Australia and China. Trained in development economics and econometrics, Dr Wan is an award-wining scholar on the Chinese economy and an expert on Asia, with an outstanding publication record of more than 100 professional articles and a dozen books including two by Oxford University Press. An honorary professor of over ten top institutions in China inclu

Tess Newton Cain and Amanda Donigi, publisher of Stella magazine, met recently in Vanuatu. This is a recording of their conversation. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/telling-stories-of-and-for-melanesian-women-an-interview-with-amanda-donigi-20140910/

When they are surveyed, Australians appear to be supportive of aid work. Yet beyond the presence of nominal, high-level support, little is known about the nature of their support for aid, or the type of Australian most favourable to aid giving. Are aid supporters predominantly wealthy? Or religious? Or educated? Or young? And is support coupled with particular political or ideological beliefs? Even less is known about the depth of the Australian public’s commitments to aid giving — the extent to which people are actually willing to support aid work when it comes at a cost. In this public seminar, the authors of a Development Policy Centre Discussion Paper presented findings from analysis of two new datasets – one based on surveyed support for government aid, and one based on actual private donations to aid non-governmental organisations (NGOs). They discussed the socioeconomic and political traits most strongly associated with support for government aid, traits most strongly associated with NGO donations, and

In 2012, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) convened the Executive Council on Development—a bipartisan group of leaders from government, business, nongovernmental organisations, and philanthropy—to explore how the US government and private sector can work together to support the economic success of developing countries. In this public lecture, Daniel F Runde and Anna Saito Carson of the Project on US Leadership in Development at CSIS discussed the Council’s findings and the recommendations of their final report, Our shared opportunity: a vision for global prosperity. The report provides a targeted set of recommendations for the US government and private sector, calling for a greater reliance on business, trade, and investment tools to achieve better development outcomes. It also outlines specific recommendations to elevate broad-based growth to the centre of US development policy; align federal agencies with the private sector for better development outcomes; and better leverage busines

Women in Papua New Guinea are chronically under-represented in all levels of government and business and face barriers to achieving a tertiary education. Those who do succeed must navigate a male dominated workforce, while a small formal sector and rising unemployment limit opportunities. This event brought two prominent female professionals from Papua New Guinea to ANU to speak about their own experiences in this challenging environment and to share ideas on what can be done to increase women’s participation in the workforce, tertiary education and more widely. The speakers discussed challenges they have faced working in the public and private sectors and provided insights into the opportunities available to the new generation of Papua New Guinean women. Avia Koisen is a civil lawyer with more than 18 years’ of experience and is Principal of Koisen Lawyers, her own civil law firm in Port Moresby. Mrs Koisen is also one of the founding members and currently the Interim President of the Papua New Guinea Women’

Jonathan Pryke sits down with Andrew Leigh, the Federal Member for Fraser and Shadow Assistant Treasurer. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/inequality-should-developing-countries-be-worried-an-interview-with-andrew-leigh-mp-20140724/

Tess Newton Cain sits down with Fred Samuel Tarisongtamate, the Government Chief Information Officer for Vanuatu.

Stephen O’Brien has been a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom for nearly 15 years. For two and a half years from 2010 he was a development minister in the Department for International Development. He is currently the UK Prime Minister’s envoy to the Sahel. A few weeks ago Jonathan Pryke sat down with Stephen, who was visiting Canberra in his capacity as the Global Advocate for the Roll back Malaria Partnership (RMP), an area in which he has had a personal passion for more than 30 years. This is a podcast of that interview. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/the-roll-back-malaria-partnership-global-advocate-stephen-obrien-on-its-role-and-the-challenges-of-fighting-malaria-20140704/

The PNG Update discussed and debated the latest economic and social developments in PNG. This event was multidisciplinary in nature. The conference presented papers from academics and practitioners on the following topics: PNG’s economic outlook Strategies to convert the resource boom into development Social issues in a booming economy Facilitating broad economic development – agriculture, fisheries, tourism etc SMEs and economic competitiveness Margaret Adamson is Australia’s Deputy Head of Mission to Papua New Guinea. More details on the PNG Update can be found here: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/png-and-pacific-updates/png-update

The PNG Update discussed and debated the latest economic and social developments in PNG. This event was multidisciplinary in nature. The conference presented papers from academics and practitioners on the following topics: PNG’s economic outlook Strategies to convert the resource boom into development Social issues in a booming economy Facilitating broad economic development – agriculture, fisheries, tourism etc SMEs and economic competitiveness The Hon Mr. Patrick Pruatich is Treasurer of the Government of Papua New Guinea. More details on the PNG Update can be found here: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/png-and-pacific-updates/png-update

The 2014 Pacific Update consisted of two days of panel discussions, including country updates from around the Pacific and panel sessions on: aid to the Pacific; regionalism and the Pacific Plan Review; fisheries management; and skills and labour mobility. Ron Duncan is an Emeritus Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU. More details on the Pacific Update can be found here: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/png-and-pacific-updates/pacific-update

The 2014 Pacific Update consisted of two days of panel discussions, including country updates from around the Pacific and panel sessions on: aid to the Pacific; regionalism and the Pacific Plan Review; fisheries management; and skills and labour mobility. Yongzheng Yang is the IMF Resident Representative for Pacific Island Countries. Christopher Edmonds is Senior Economist, Pacific Department, ADB. More details on the Pacific Update can be found here: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/png-and-pacific-updates/pacific-update

Alice Albright, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), was in Canberra in May to meet with the Australian Government ahead of its upcoming funding replenishment. Ms Albright has a long and distinguished career in finance and development, having worked as a banker, then spending eight years in GAVI until taking the role of COO of Exim Bank from 2009 to 2013. While she was in Canberra Jonathan Pryke sat down with her to talk about GPE, and their mission to Australia. You can read a summary of their conversation here: http://devpolicy.org/the-global-partnership-for-education-ceo-alice-albright-on-opportunities-and-challenges-20140604

Tess Newton Cain sits down with Elise Huffer, culture Adviser for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), where she works on the Human Development Program. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/cultural-economics-elise-huffer-discusses-opportunities-for-the-pacific-20140519/

Mel Dunn, URS and IDC Australia; Professor Stephen Howes, Development Policy Centre; Joanna Lindner, Australian Council For International Development; Dr Anthony Swan, Development Policy Centre. The Australian aid budget has doubled in the past decade, but with the change of government in September, this unprecedented growth has now been brought to a grinding halt. While the Coalition has committed to keep aid around the $5 billion mark in real terms, it remains to be seen whether this commitment will survive the budget process. There are also still many unanswered questions on which sectors may be affected and which countries will be the winners and losers in any reprioritisation. What new programs will emerge to fit the government’s focus on aid for trade and economic diplomacy? How will the aid budget look now that AusAID has been deeply integrated into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade? What will happen to climate change programs? How will multilaterals and NGOs fare? From the macro context to s