Development Policy Centre Podcast

The 2013 Pacific and PNG Update provided a forum for the discussion of the latest economic, social and political developments in the region. The Update was hosted by the Development Policy Centre, and supported by: the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Economic Management Technical Assistance Project; and the Asia and Pacific Policy Studies, the flagship publication of the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU in partnership with Australian Aid, AusAID. The keynote address for the PNG update was delivered by UPNG Vice-Chancellor Albert Mellam on 'Reforms in the Higher Education Sector in PNG'. The keynote was introduced by ANU Deputy-Vice Chancellor Marnie Hughes-Warrington. Presentation slides are available from the Devpolicy events page: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/event-extra/past

The 2013 Pacific and PNG Update provides a forum for the discussion of the latest economic, social and political developments in the region. The Update was hosted by the Development Policy Centre, and supported by: the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Economic Management Technical Assistance Project; and the Asia and Pacific Policy Studies, the flagship publication of the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU in partnership with Australian Aid, AusAID. The 'public management and private sector development' consisted of: Matthew Dornan, Research Fellow at the Development Policy Centre, presenting on 'Infrastructure maintenance' Tobias Haque, World Bank Economist, presenting on 'Public financial management' Presentation slides are available from the Devpolicy events page: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/event-extra/past

The 2013 Pacific and PNG Update provides a forum for the discussion of the latest economic, social and political developments in the region. The Update was hosted by the Development Policy Centre, and supported by: the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Economic Management Technical Assistance Project; and the Asia and Pacific Policy Studies, the flagship publication of the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU in partnership with Australian Aid, AusAID. The 'Pacific gender update panel' consisted of: Peter Forau, from the Melanesian Spearhead Group, presenting on 'Women's disempowerment in Melanesia' Susan Ferguson, acting Principal Sector Specialist for Gender Equality at AusAID, presenting on 'Australia's Pacific gender initiative' Andrea Iffland, Regional Director of the Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office of the ADB, presenting on 'Economic empowerment of woman - experiences of the Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI)' Amanda Jupp, Project Manager at Coffey International Development, 'Women’s

The 2013 Pacific and PNG Update provides a forum for the discussion of the latest economic, social and political developments in the region. The Update was hosted by the Development Policy Centre, and supported by: the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Economic Management Technical Assistance Project; and the Asia and Pacific Policy Studies, the flagship publication of the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU in partnership with Australian Aid, AusAID. The panel consisted of: Seini O'Connor, Pacific Plan Adviser at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, presenting on 'The Pacific Plan and the future of Pacific Regionalism' Bob Warner, Director of Pacific Research Partnerships at the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU, presenting on 'Lessons in regional integration from the Caribbean' Matthew Dornan, Research Fellow at the Development Policy Centre, presenting on 'Pooled service delivery in the Pacific' Presentation slides are available from the Devpolicy events page: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au

The 2013 Pacific and PNG Update provides a forum for the discussion of the latest economic, social and political developments in the region. The Update was hosted by the Development Policy Centre, and supported by: the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Economic Management Technical Assistance Project; and the Asia and Pacific Policy Studies, the flagship publication of the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU in partnership with Australian Aid, AusAID. The panel consisted of: Seini O'Connor, Pacific Plan Adviser at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, presenting on 'The Pacific Plan and the future of Pacific Regionalism' Bob Warner, Director of Pacific Research Partnerships at the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU, presenting on 'Lessons in regional integration from the Caribbean' Matthew Dornan, Research Fellow at the Development Policy Centre, presenting on 'Pooled service delivery in the Pacific' Presentation slides are available from the Devpolicy events page: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au

The 2013 Pacific and PNG Update provides a forum for the discussion of the latest economic, social and political developments in the region. The Update was hosted by the Development Policy Centre, and supported by: the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Economic Management Technical Assistance Project; and the Asia and Pacific Policy Studies, the flagship publication of the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU in partnership with Australian Aid, AusAID. Panel 1b on small island states consisted of Tebao Awerica from the Office of Te Beretitenti on 'The economy in Kiribati' Siosi C. Mafi (Joyce), Governor of the Reserve Bank of Tonga, on 'The economy in Tonga' Seve Paeniu, an Independent Consultant, on 'Common challenges in micro states: Nauru and Tuvalu' Noumea Simi, Assistant CEO of the Samoa Ministry of Finance, on 'The economy in Samoa' Presentation slides are available from the Devpolicy events page: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/event-extra/past

The 2013 Pacific and PNG Update provides a forum for the discussion of the latest economic, social and political developments in the region. The Update was hosted by the Development Policy Centre, and supported by: the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Economic Management Technical Assistance Project; and the Asia and Pacific Policy Studies, the flagship publication of the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU in partnership with Australian Aid, AusAID. The session was opened by Professor Tom Kompas, Director of the Crawford School. Christopher Edmonds, Senior Economist in the Pacific Department of the ADB, provided a regional overview and launched the latest Pacific Economic Monitor. Panel 1a on Melanesia and Timor-Leste consisted of: Satish Chand, from UNSW, presenting on Growth and inequality in Melanesia Anthony Hughes, an independent consultant from the Solomon Islands, presenting on The economy in Solomon Islands Biman Prasad, from USP, presenting on The economy in Fiji Helder Lopes, Regional Economic P

Papua New Guinea recently completed its second national household consumption survey, potentially enabling poverty comparisons with baseline estimates from 14 years earlier. But the methods used by the recent 2009/10 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) differ in important ways from those of the 1996 PNG Household Survey (PNGHS) which makes poverty comparisons more difficult. This talk describes the two surveys and the poverty estimates derived from them, and discusses the apparent trends from the poverty comparisons that are possible. Special attention is paid to the poverty situation in Port Moresby, for which longer term comparisons are possible (by also using the Urban Household Survey of the 1980s) that are less affected by changes in survey methods. John Gibson is a Professor in the Department of Economics, University of Waikato and a Senior Research Associate of Motu Economic and Public Policy Research. Since receiving his PhD from Stanford University he has worked in Cambodia, China, Fiji, P

Two important trend reversals have taken place in global inequality over the last 25 years: the inequality between countries has started to decrease after two centuries of steady increase and the inequality within many countries has started to rise after a long period of stability, in particular in developed countries. After documenting this evolution, Francois Bourguignon, former Chief Economist at the World Bank, focused on two sets of questions. First, is globalisation the main cause behind this paradoxical change in global inequality? Second, if it is the case, what should be done to prevent further rises in within-country inequality that could derail the process of globalisation and, at the same time, the progress towards less unequal standards of living across countries? Francois Bourguignon is professor of economics at the Paris School of Economics and at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. He is a specialist in the economics of development, public policy, income distribution and

People with disability are among the poorest and most marginalised in developing countries. One estimate is that there are one billion people with disability worldwide, including 20% of the world’s poorest. The challenge of making development disability-inclusive has traditionally received little attention, but that is now changing. AusAID has been playing a leadership role with its Development for All strategy (2009-2014). Members of AusAID’s Disability-Inclusive Development Reference Group will be reflecting on their own personal stories, on reforms and programs they have been involved in, and on what is needed to obtain a fair go for people with disability in developing countries. Is disability-inclusive development just the latest aid fad? Can poor countries afford to look after their citizens with disability? What can donors do? What have they achieved? This esteemed panel addressed these questions and many more in what turned out to be a very rich and insightful discussion from the leaders in this impor

Having achieved historically unprecedented economic growth over recent years, African countries now face the challenge of structurally transforming their economies. However, the politics of how to do this remains controversial. The standard international advice on good governance and the adoption of a ‘golden thread’ of sound institutions is not supported by historical and comparative evidence. The key thing is not getting the right institutions but having a political settlement that allows economic rents to be harnessed to development purposes rather than used to cement a pragmatic bargain among ethically or otherwise divided elites. In view of the likely predominance in Africa of competitively clientelistic trajectories, attention should be focused on creative ways of mitigating their negative implications for economic transformation. These are among the headline findings of Africa Power and Politics Program (APPP) a five-year research program led by ODI with research teams in Ghana, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda,

Ume Wainetti is National Coordinator of the PNG Family and Sexual Violence Action Committee (FSVAC), the body charged with coordinating the national response to gender-based violence.She has years of experience in leading PNG’s response to gender-based violence. In this public forum, Ume Wainetti explored the gains made, the promising approaches, and the challenges ahead for an effective response to gender-based violence in PNG. In particular, she argued for the critical need to fill the missing gap in case management to ensure that survivors in PNG have a better chance of getting the services and support they need. Presentation slides are available from the Devpolicy events page: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/event-extra/past

In his universally acclaimed and award-winning book The Bottom Billion, Paul Collier argues that fifty failed states-home to the poorest one billion people on earth-pose the central challenge of the developing world in the twenty-first century. In this public lecture, Professor Collier explored how the private sector can engage to help the bottom billion. [Note: Variable sound level as Professor Collier paced at varying distances from recorder during presentation]

The annual aid budget is the most important event for the aid sector. And it is a time when the entire sector converges on Canberra for the budget lock up. Devpolicy seized this opportunity to host a morning-after aid budget breakfast at the ANU where we provided fresh but in-depth analysis on what the budget means for the sector. Devpolicy's Tony Swan and Stephen Howes delivered their analysis. We also heard from Angus Barnes, a member of the executive at IDC Australia, and the new head of Oxfam Australia Helen Szoke. This podcast includes Q&A from the event. Presentation slides are available from the Devpolicy events page: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/event-extra/past

Devpolicy Research Associate Tess Newton Cain sits down with Sina Retzlaff, Samoa country representative for the Pacific Leadership Program. A full transcript is available here: http://devpolicy.org/pacific-conversations/3.%20Transcript%20of%20interview%20with%20Sina%20Retzlaff.docx Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/in-conversation-with-sina-retzlaff-20130522-2/

Devpolicy Research Associate Tess Newton Cain sits down with Sir Mekere Morauta, Review Leader of the 2013 Pacific Plan Review. A full transcript is available here: http://devpolicy.org/pacific-conversations/2.%20Transcript%20of%20interview%20with%20Sir%20Mekere%20Morauta.doc Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/in-conversation-with-sir-mekere-morauta-20130408/

Rachel Kyte, Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank, spoke recent at the Development Policy Centre about the risk a 4 degree warmer world poses for development and the impact of sea-level rise, heat waves and extreme weather events globally, and in Australia and Oceania. Everyone will be affected by the changing climate, but the poor and vulnerable will suffer most. She argued that we must avoid a 4 degree warmer world and prepare for 2 degrees, and highlights action that would make the biggest difference. However, while climate change is a major threat, inclusive green growth is an opportunity. Ms Kyte outlined the World Bank Group’s efforts to catalyze climate-smart development and green growth. Rachel Kyte became Vice President of Sustainable Development at the World Bank in September, 2011. As such, she has overall responsibilities for the organization’s global work in agriculture, environment, energy, infrastructure, urban, and social development, along with global public goods issu

Frank Jotzo, Senior Lecturer at the ANU's Crawford School of Public Policy, sits down with Rachely Kyte, Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank. In this brief but wide ranging interview they discuss the risk a 4 degree warmer world poses for development, Australia's approach to combating climate change (in particular its price on carbon emissions), and the World Bank's role in combatting climate change.

Few would argue that a country’s development trajectory is not crucially influenced by its government’s ability to manage public resources. The stability of the economy, the delivery of basic services such as education and health - even the legitimacy of the state itself - all greatly depend on effective and equitable public finance management. In fragile and conflict-affected states, public finance reforms have been high on the agenda for both donors and governments alike -- and a key part of the picture has been how aid is delivered and managed. But what kinds of reforms and what kind of instruments have proved the most successful? And how can the international community best support the governments of fragile states? This seminar will explore these questions from the perspectives of both research and practice. Marcus Manuel and Alastair McKechnie will talk on the lessons emerging from ODI’s Budgets Strengthening Initiative, a project which provides ‘arms-length’ support to the governments of fragile states

Devpolicy Research Associate Tess Newton Cain sits down with Peter Forau, Director General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat, discussing their successes throughout 25 years of operation. A full transcript is available here: http://devpolicy.org/pacific-conversations/1.%20Transcript%20of%20interview%20with%20Peter%20Forau.docx A blog post is available here: http://devpolicy.org/peter-forau-on-why-the-melanesian-spearhead-group-is-a-success-20130305/