Author: Lia Beyeler

Asia

Appeasement Politics of Delhi’s Urban Governance

By Shailaja Chandra, Former Permanent Secretary of the Government of India and former Chief Secretary, Delhi; Former Executive Director, National Population Stabilisation Fund, India

Delhi is among the world’s top ten most populous cities with 18 million people. United Nations projections for 2025 predict that it will rank third, overtaking Sao Paolo, Mexico City, Dhaka, New York and Shanghai. Colossal challenges confront the city’s development, and finding money is the least of those problems. Delhi garners more resources than any other city in India, has the highest per capita income and wages, and boasts more private vehicles than the three metropolitans of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai combined. In early 2015, the new city government slashed the power tariff in half and provided 20 000 litres of free water for all residents — clearly affordable measures. Continue reading “Appeasement Politics of Delhi’s Urban Governance”

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Asia, Green transition

Bringing the Blue Skies Back to Beijing: How the Private Sector Can Green Growth in China

‌‌By Kate Eklin and Myriam Gregoire-Zawilski of the OECD Development Centre’s Emerging Markets Network (EMnet)

Last week, officials in Beijing declared an air pollution “red alert” for the first time since the monitoring system was implemented in 2013.[1] Pollution levels put life in the city on hold: factories shuttered, schools closed, traffic was restricted, fireworks were banned.

Continue reading “Bringing the Blue Skies Back to Beijing: How the Private Sector Can Green Growth in China”
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Africa, Food security, Green transition

Climate change: Effective mitigation and adaptation efforts could reduce food insecurity

In this guest contribution to the SWAC blog, Kirsty Lewis of the UK Met Office Hadley Centre explores the relationship between climate change and food insecurity in developing and least developed countries. The research projections paint both stark and cautiously optimistic pictures. Failure to adapt to and mitigate climate change will drastically increase food insecurity, however; successful adaptation and mitigation efforts could actually reduce vulnerability. … Continue reading Climate change: Effective mitigation and adaptation efforts could reduce food insecurity

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SDGs

Are the SDGs a major reboot or a sequel to the MDGs?

By Jan Vandemoortele, PhD, Co-Architect of the MDGs and a critical friend of the SDGs The main reason for putting together the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was to prevent the Millennium Declaration from falling into oblivion. A declaration issued by a world summit has a shelf-life of about six months. Beyond that period, its life is reduced to a small world, usually the summit’s sponsoring … Continue reading Are the SDGs a major reboot or a sequel to the MDGs?

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Latin America and the Caribbean

La paradoja latina: un ejemplo del enfoque de la OCDE hacia el bienestar


Por Mario Pezzini, el ex Director del Centre de Desarrollo de la OCDE y Martine Durand, la ex Directora y Jefa de Estadística en le Dirección de Estadística de la OCDE

La evaluación del desarrollo implica más que la valoración del PIB, y abarca muchos otros aspectos de la vida de las personas. Dichos aspectos varían de un país a otro, reflejando así diferencias históricas, valores sociales e instituciones. En Bután por ejemplo, el concepto de Felicidad Nacional Bruta está firmemente anclado en la formulación de políticas desde los años setentas, el cual se enfoca en la preservación del medio ambiente, la cultura, el desarrollo socioeconómico sostenible y equitativo así como el buen gobierno. Ecuador, por su parte, incorporó la filosofía indígena del Buen Vivir en su Constitución de 2008, la cual hace hincapié en el papel de la comunidad y del medio ambiente en la formación de la vida de las personas.

Continue reading “La paradoja latina: un ejemplo del enfoque de la OCDE hacia el bienestar”
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Policy

India’s Development Tug-of-War: Which side will win?

By Shailaja Chandra, Former Permanent Secretary of the Government of India and former Chief Secretary, Delhi; Former Executive Director, National Population Stabilisation Fund, India For a chaotic country full of argumentative Indians many of whom are poor and uneducated, India’s continuous economic growth (not prosperity) remains a surprise. But something else is even more striking. The country has the world’s largest youngest population: 27 million … Continue reading India’s Development Tug-of-War: Which side will win?

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Building resilience, Policy

Can the G20 make a difference for development?

By Federico Bonaglia, Senior Counsellor to the Director at the OECD Development Centre Can the G20 really make a difference for development? The short answer is yes. The long answer is that the G20 can actually do more and should not miss the opportunity offered by the SDGs to deepen its engagement on global development. How can we upgrade the development agenda? In a two-part … Continue reading Can the G20 make a difference for development?

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Africa, Food security

Urbanisation, structural change and the food system: The crucial role of rural-urban linkages

By Cecilia Tacoli,  International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)

Both urban and rural areas in West Africa are undergoing considerable transformation. As an ever greater proportion of the region’s population live – and will live – in urban centres, how can policies help ensure that rural residents are not ‘left behind’, and at the same time food production satisfies the needs of the growing urban population?

One theme of growing interest for policy makers is the potential role of rural-urban linkages in supporting inclusive and sustainable development that benefits both rural and urban people and enterprises. But what exactly do we mean by rural-urban linkages? Continue reading “Urbanisation, structural change and the food system: The crucial role of rural-urban linkages”

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Africa, Food security, Français

Dépasser l’agriculture, penser alimentation

À l’occasion de la Conférence Internationale sur l’Agriculture en Afrique de l’Ouest (ECOWAP+10) qui se tient à Dakar du 17 au 19 novembre, le Secrétariat du Club du Sahel et de l’Afrique de l’Ouest a préparé une analyse  des mutations de l’économie agro-alimentaire ouest-africaine et de ses implications pour la politique agricole. Ces mutations et leurs impacts sur la sécurité alimentaire ont également été récemment … Continue reading Dépasser l’agriculture, penser alimentation

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Africa

African cities can be actors of structural transformation

By Arthur Minsat, Economist, OECD Development Centre African nations are exploring how best to harness the potential of cities as agents of change to achieve progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. The current African Economic Outlook (AEO), jointly produced by the African Development Bank, the OECD Development Centre and the United Nations Development Programme, warns that policy makers … Continue reading African cities can be actors of structural transformation

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