Development and Global Health

International organizations, governments, and private actors argue that participation in Global Value Chains (GVCs) is a promising development opportunity. Yet, the discussion around GVCs neglects to a large part the social consequences of GVC participation. To assure inclusive GVCs, we need better data, a rethinking of how countries join value chains, and an emphasis on protective institutions.

Ghana is losing revenue from its oil resources due to ineffective taxation, bad contracts and institutional weakness. It requires contract renegotiation and implementation of a wind-fall profit tax in order to maximize revenue from the country’s oil.

Illicit financial flows have staggering consequences for global health and development in the world’s poorest countries. Existing policies address this issue but their success is limited by a paradigm of centralization. Blockchain and mobile technologies have enabled new policy possibilities around a paradigm of decentralization and disaggregation to a wider range of stakeholders.

For decades, foreign aid has failed to create a pluralist democracy in Cambodia. With the upcoming election, this provides international donors and investors renewed opportunity to revisit their human rights efforts in the country.

In Ethiopia, scarcity of land is becoming a challenge for a country that is highly dependent on agriculture. New economic activities that reduce pressure on land are necessary, and beekeeping can be part of a solution.

Microfinance is based on the idea that people can be lifted out of poverty through the help of microloans. It has become a key part of the global development strategy, as a bottom-up poverty alleviation tool. But despite its wide popularity, various studies have shown that its effects have generally been far from beneficial to the poor.