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CGD Development Update: IFC Mega Mistake; Modernizing U.S. Foreign Assistance; CGD Videos

March 18, 2008

CGD Development Update | March 18, 2008

FEATURES

Modernizing Foreign Assistance for the 21st Century: An Agenda for the Next U.S. President

The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. PresidentRep. Howard Berman (D-CA), the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has vowed a major overhaul of U.S. foreign assistance. He joins a growing list of members of Congress and the defense, diplomacy and development community who recognize that U.S. foreign assistance programs are badly in need of modernization to meet the challenges of the 21st century. In this new essay, adapted from a forthcoming CGD book The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President, CGD senior fellow Steve Radelet offers a blueprint to align U.S. foreign assistance with American values and foreign policy goals: develop a National Foreign Assistance Strategy; create a new cabinet-level department for development policy; rewrite the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act; place a higher priority on multilateral assistance channels; and increase the quantity and improve the allocation of funding.

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Tata Ultra Mega Mistake: The IFC Should Not Get Burned by Coal

Tata Ultra Mega Mistake: The IFC Should Not Get Burned by CoalThe World Bank's commitment to clean energy faces a big test this month as the bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) considers funding a large coal-fired power plant in India. CGD senior fellow David Wheeler says the Tata Ultra Mega project is obsolete, unnecessary, ultra-dangerous for the planet, and mega-dangerous for the environmental reputations of the IFC and the World Bank Group. He asks why donor countries would continue supporting the World Bank Group if it takes billions for a newly-announced Clean Technology Fund with one hand and invests billions in coal-fired power with the other. Wheeler urges the World Bank Group to instead consider India's potential for solar thermal energy as a financially feasible renewable energy source.

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New Home for CGD Online Videos

CGD's online videos are now compiled on a single Web page. Watch CGD researchers discuss current initiatives and publications, catch video snippets from past events, and learn more about why global development matters. Events and research topics are added frequently so check back to watch new videos!

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Steve Radelet

Senior Fellow
Steve Radelet

Steve Radelet works on issues related to foreign aid, developing country debt, economic growth, and trade between rich and poor countries. He also leads CGD's Modernizing U.S. Foreign Assistance and MCA Monitor initiatives.

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About CGD

CGD is an independent think tank that works to reduce global poverty and inequality by encouraging policy change in the U.S. and other rich countries through rigorous research and active engagement with the policy community.

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About this Newsletter

The CGD Development Update is a weekly e-letter that provides information about rich country development policies, CGD events, initiatives, publications, and media citations