Author: Development Matters

Building resilience

Tackling data scarcity in developing countries through public-private partnerships

By Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh

In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) called for a data revolution. Five years on, data scarcity became a major concern during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article explores if public-private partnerships can be an effective means of addressing data gaps in developing countries and helping them to build back better.  

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Development Matters
School children in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
Africa, New social contract

Five ways to build resilience in Nigeria’s education system

By Adedeji Adeniran, Director of Research at the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA) and Thelma Obiakor, PhD Candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science

COVID-19 has compounded a long-standing learning crisis in many African countries, where millions of children were already out of school before the pandemic.

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Development Matters
Building resilience

Are emerging economies already engaging with Industry 4.0 technologies?

By Michele Delera, UNU-MERIT, Carlo Pietrobelli, UNU-MERIT and University Roma Tre, and Elisa Calza and Alejandro Lavopa, UNIDO[1]

There are many controversies among economists but one fact is undisputed: long-run productivity growth depends on the absorption and deployment of new technologies. Some estimates indicate that differences in technology diffusion account for a quarter of cross-country differences in per capita income. In the midst of a new Industrial Revolution driven by artificial intelligence, machine-to-machine communication, cloud computing and additive manufacturing, countries’ capacity to catch-up will likely depend on the speed with which they absorb these technologies. The implications for emerging economies are profound. New technologies may undermine the viability of labour-intensive development. Yet they may also open up new ways for developing countries to integrate in the global economy.

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Development Matters
Diverse group of women illustration
Français, Gender, Women and Girls, New social contract

Trois pistes d’action concrètes pour combler les lacunes en matière de données sur le genre

Par Deirdre Appel, Community Manager, Clearinghouse, PARIS21 et Fatoumata Ngom, Analyste des politiques, OCDE, Direction de la coopération pour le développement

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Moins de la moitié des données nécessaires au suivi de l’ODD 5, « Parvenir à l’égalité des sexes et autonomiser toutes les femmes et les filles », sont disponibles. Les données sur le genre sont bien plus que des données ventilées par sexe. Selon la Division de la statistique des Nations Unies, elles comprennent des données concernant exclusivement ou principalement les femmes et les filles, couvrent un large éventail de questions et réalités socio-économiques, et donnent un aperçu significatif des différences existant en matière de bien-être entre les femmes et les hommes, les filles et les garçons. Lors de l’élaboration de politiques publiques, si l’on ne parvient pas à saisir et à mesurer les problèmes liés au genre à l’aide de données solides et actualisées, les plus vulnérables de la société resteront au bord du chemin. Avec des données sur le genre en quantité et qualité suffisantes, on peut élaborer des politiques plus équitables qui tiennent compte du facteur genre, contribuant ainsi à une prospérité économique durable pour tous.

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Rural conflicts Africa
Africa, Building resilience

Conflicts are becoming increasingly rural in North and West Africa

By Steven M. Radil, U.S. Air Force Academy, Olivier Walther, University of Florida, Nicholas Dorward, University of Bristol, Matthew Pflaum, University of Florida and Marie Trémolières, Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC), OECD

Political violence is moving away from cities in North and West Africa, even as urban populations continue to grow at an unprecedented pace in the region. More than half of the violent events observed in 2021 took place in rural areas, against 20% a decade ago. The emergence of Jihadist insurgencies in the Sahel and its southern peripheries explains this ruralisation of conflict that affects a growing number of civilians and border regions.

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Development Matters
New social contract

Why we need to build trust and guarantee civic space to deal with global challenges    

By Gabriela Keseberg Dávalos, Head of Communications, Southern Voice, and Rita da Costa, Senior Counsellor, OECD Development Centre

With an ongoing pandemic, war raging in Ukraine and the executive in Sri Lanka collapsing like a house of cards, people around the world may wonder: is my government prepared for multiple overlapping and future crises? What will happen to me if I cannot work and provide for my family?

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Development Matters
A man and woman are seen in silhouette after breaching a border fence
New social contract

Shifting our approach on migration from security to development

By Xavier Savard-Fournier, International migration specialist & Reporter and analyst of international affairs

It is right under our eyes, yet it is still hard to see for some. Not everyone experiences the same warm, welcoming attitude when crossing borders to seek refuge. As scores of people flee the war in Ukraine, many people of colour experienced discrimination, violence and racism or were blocked at borders.  Based on the same security-led migration narratives, similar cases have occurred since the European migration crisis of 2015-2016.

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Development Matters
Jharkhand, India -Group of Indian school girls in class
Gender, Women and Girls, New social contract

Spiralling gender inequality is not inevitable: here’s how we can fix it

By Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director, Oxfam International

The more we listen to women’s rights leaders across the world, the harder it is to ignore the reality that we have been witnessing profound and staggering setbacks to gender equality.

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Development Matters
Anti-government protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 9, 2022
Asia, New social contract

Sri Lankans are crying for food, fuel and a government they can trust: The world needs to listen

By Elizabeth Holbourne, Speechwriter and Editor, OECD Development Centre

When I introduce myself as half Sri Lankan, people’s eyes usually light up as they tell me about the wonderful holiday they had there with family and friends. In a country once seen as one of the most rapidly developing nations in South Asia, Sri Lanka’s economic crisis spiralling into a humanitarian crisis could very well be a bellwether of what is to come in many other parts of the world.

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Diverse group of women illustration
Gender, Women and Girls, New social contract

Three ways to close the gender data gap

By Deirdre Appel, Clearinghouse Community Manager, PARIS21 and Fatoumata Ngom, Policy Analyst, OECD, Development Co-operation Directorate

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Less than half the data needed to monitor SDG 5, “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, is available. Gender data are about much more than sex-disaggregated data. According to the UN Statistics Division, they include data that affect women and girls exclusively or primarily, they span a wide range of socio-economic issues, and they provide meaningful insight into differences in wellbeing across women and men, and girls and boys. Failing to capture and measure gender issues with sound and timely data when designing policies, leaves the most vulnerable further behind. More and better gender data contribute to more equitable and gender-informed policy, all of which contribute to sustainable economic prosperity for all.

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Development Matters