China's Development Finance to Africa: A Media-Based Approach to Data Collection (Event Video)
5/1/13
How big is China’s aid to Africa? Does it complement or undermine the efforts of traditional donors?
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CGD's weekly Global Prosperity Wonkcast, event videos, whiteboard talks, slides, and more.
Haiti: Where Has All the Money Gone? – Vijaya Ramachandran and Julie Walz
5/15/12
Since the 2010 earthquake, $6 billion has been disbursed in official aid to help the people of Haiti. Nearly all of it has gone to intermediaries such as international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private contractors. Yet there has been a surprising lack of reporting on how the money has been spent. CGD senior fellow Vijaya Ramachandran and research assistant Julie Walz try to follow the money in a new CGD policy paper: “Haiti: Where Has All the Money Gone?” They joined me on this week’s Wonkcast to explain their findings.
Military and Development, a Not-So-Unlikely Pair — Vijaya Ramachandran and Julie Walz
11/29/11
The U.S. military has become increasingly involved in economic development, fulfilling roles normally played by USAID and other development NGOs. My guests this week, senior fellow Vijaya Ramachandran and research assistant Julie Walz, discuss their recent paper written with Gregory Johnson on the Commander’s Emergency Response Program (CERP), which provides funds for development projects in Afghanistan as part of the military’s development operations. While Vij and Julie are not advocating for or against military involvement in development, they recognize its occurrence and offer practical recommendations.
The Untapped Potential of Global Public Investors: Vijaya Ramachandran
3/21/11
Looking for an investor with billions? Want to know where the money is? If you’re a country with a sound financial and political record seeking money for infrastructure, you can find it in the hands of “global public investors” (GPI’s), a growing group of little-known foreign investment vehicles on the prowl for safe investment opportunities.
My guest on this show is Vijaya Ramachandran, senior fellow at CGD, who contributed to a new new report from the Brookings Institute on GPI’s, a term the report authors coined to include such entities as sovereign wealth funds, foreign government employee pension funds, and foreign currency reserve funds.
Five CGD Experts on the Seoul G-20 Summit
11/8/10
G-20 leaders gathering in Seoul this week face a full plate of issues, most prominently the effort to stave off beggar-thy-neighbors currency devaluations. This week on the Global Prosperity Wonkcast, we've distilled highlights from a private briefing I organized where five CGD experts shared their views on key issues facing the G-20, and their implications for poor people not represented at the table. Snippets below—listen to the full 30-minute Wonkcast for the rest of the story or scroll to the bottom of this page for full event video. If you'd like a bit of historical background on the G-20 and how it came into its current role, listen to my introductory remarks (they're about 6 minutes long) that give some context for the rest of the discussion.
The Gulf Gusher & Africa’s Offshore Oil Boom: Todd Moss and Vijaya Ramachandran
6/22/10
As the BP well in the Gulf of Mexico continues to spew thousands of barrels of oil each day, media attention has been focused on the toll on nearby economies and ecosystems and on the U.S. political response. On this edition of the Global Prosperity Wonkcast, we look beyond the Gulf of Mexico to explore what implications America’s biggest environmental disaster might hold for the new offshore oil boom getting underway in Africa.
My guests are Vijaya Ramachandran and Todd Moss, both senior fellows here at the Center for Global Development.
Fragile States: Development in the World’s Basket Cases
1/19/10
My guest this week is Vijaya Ramachandran, a senior fellow here at the Center for Global Development. Vij directs the Center’s research on fragile states—countries where, often due to recent or ongoing conflict, the basic functions of government are weak or nonexistent. These states present special challenges to aid donors and practitioners, both in planning how to give aid effectively and in delivering it.
Vij explains that learning how to respond to state fragility will hold benefits for development even in more functional states. “”We certainly have a set of countries that are a complete puzzle to policymakers, to development practitioners, to the foreign assistance community,” she explains. “But there are other countries that have weaknesses within them, elements of fragility. They might not be fragile overall, but they may have certain areas that are in need of assistance, or they may at different points in time present as cases that are representative of very weak states.”
CGD Special Discussion with David Gergen on Obama's Global Development Policy (Event Video)
1/17/09
Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report, and a senior political analyst for CNN, David Gergen joined CGD president Nancy Birdsall, and CGD senior fellows who authored essays in our recent book, The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President, for a lively discussion of the prospects for improved U.S. development policy under President Barack Obama.
Demographic Factors Influencing Infrastructure Demand in Developing Countries (Event Video)
12/30/08
In this video, Johns Hopkins University senior adjunct professor Peter Heller and Center for Global Development senior fellow Vijaya Ramachandran give a lecture on the importance of infrastructure in developing countries.
The Tanzanian President Provides Perspective on Roads and Power in Tanzania (Event)
9/24/08
Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete reflects on the infrastructure challenges that face Tanzanian businesses with remarks from CGD and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.