CGD research on fragile states examines how rich countries and other development actors can best assist fragile states and their citizens; related work focuses on understanding the transition from immediate post-conflict assistance to longer-term development assistance.
Program goals include
- understanding the causes and consequences of state fragility;
- determining opportunities for policy intervention and the sequencing of such interventions;
- finding ways to improve the effectiveness of aid to fragile states; and,
- identifying turning points that signal when donors should shift from post-conflict to longer-term development assistance.
CGD research on fragile states examines how rich countries and other development actors can best assist fragile states and their citizens; related work focuses on understanding the transition from immediate post-conflict assistance to longer-term development assistance.
Program goals include
- understanding the causes and consequences of state fragility;
- determining opportunities for policy intervention and the sequencing of such interventions;
- finding ways to improve the effectiveness of aid to fragile states; and,
- identifying turning points that signal when donors should shift from post-conflict to longer-term development assistance.
CGD senior fellow Vijaya Ramachandran leads this research to help inform and influence policymakers and practitioners working on post-conflict reconstruction and development in difficult environments.
Together with CGD visiting fellow Satish Chand, professor of economics at the University of New South Wales, Ramachandran has commissioned a series of papers by currently or recently active aid practitioners in post-conflict assistance programs. Drawing upon these papers, Ramachandran and Chand plan to develop practical guidelines to help policymakers and practitioners examine and respond to on-the-ground challenges. Areas of interest include an analysis of donor relationships with the military, the sequencing and coordination of donor activity in post-conflict settings, the value of the European Union’s Stability Instrument, the revival of basic public services in post-conflict countries, and the incentives of government actors in various post-conflict settings.
Previous CGD work on weak and fragile states includes the following working papers, books and reports:
- Civil War: A Review of Fifty Years of Research, a working paper by Christopher Blattman, a non-resident fellow and former CGD post-doctoral fellow currently at Yale University, and Edward Miguel of the University of California at Berkeley. The paper investigates how civil wars begin, how the actors are organized, and what economic effects civil wars have on their societies.
- Africa’s Private Sector: What’s Wrong with the Business Environment and What to do About It, by Ramachandran with Alan Gelb and Manju Kedia Shah. The book uses enterprise survey data from over 5,000 businesses to explore the roadblocks to private-sector growth in African countries emerging from many years of conflict, including Angola, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- The Pentagon and Global Development: Making Sense of the DoD's Expanding Role ,
a working paper by Stewart Patrick and Kaysie Brown, former CGD researchers now based at the Council on Foreign Relations. The paper looks at the growing involvement of the Department of Defense (DoD) in providing U.S. foreign aid.
- Short of the Goal: U.S. Policy and Poorly Performing States, an edited volume outlining strategies for aid to countries consistently at risk of failure.
- On the Brink: Weak States and U.S. National Security. This report was prepared by a high level, bipartisan commission of academics, former government officials, and business leaders who sought to draw attention to the dangers that fragile states pose for the United States and offered practical suggestions for ways to respond.
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Nancy Birdsall testifies before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade on rebuilding Haiti's competitiveness and private sector. March 16, 2010.
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I'm joined on the Wonkcast this week by Julius Kiiza, a visiting fellow here at the Center for Global Development. Julius is an associate professor at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and is spending time at CGD on a grant from the Canadian International Development Research Center. His research addresses the prospects for aid effectiveness and development in northern Uganda.
Julius tells me that northern Uganda has presented a difficult paradox for aid donors. For years, the country as a whole has been touted as a success story, and a potential model for other developing countries. It boasts one of the fastest rates of economic growth in all of Africa and has cut poverty nearly in half since 1992. However, Julius explains, the north of the country has made very little progress during that time. While the national poverty rate is around 30%, the poverty rate in the north is still around 60%.
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This paper builds an analytical framework that models predation (banditry) and production as part of the choice of a rational utility-maximising agent.
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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.”
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This paper examines how the lack of recognition of Somaliland by the international community—and the consequent ineligibility for foreign financial assistance—has shaped the region's political development. It finds evidence that Somaliland’s ineligibility for foreign aid facilitated the development of accountable political institutions and contributed to the willingness of Somalilanders to engage constructively in the state-building process.
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Does foreign military assistance strengthen or further weaken fragile states facing internal conflict? In a new working paper, CGD post-doctoral fellow Oeindrila Dube and co-author Suresh Naidu find that U.S. military assistance to Colombia may increase violence and decrease voter turnout, undermining the perceived value of foreign military assistance.
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Previous research on post-conflict reconstruction holds that sustainable institution building is an indigenous process. This paper, however, contributes to a new understanding of small-scale external interventions. Through a randomized field study in Liberia, the authors find that the IRC’s community-driven development projects positively impact social cohesion and democratic decision-making in villages.
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Continuing CGD’s work on weak and fragile states, Aila Matanock of Stanford University investigates why and when states delegate governance functions to others—and why the other agrees to take on the responsibilities. A survey of what works in Melanesia points toward potential solutions to promote stability worldwide.
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CGD visiting fellow Ruhu Ribadu testifies before the House Financial Services Committee about the effects of corruption on democracy, global markets, and the poor in developing countries. He suggests how the United States could help put an end to corrupt practices.
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Senior fellow Todd Moss investigates how the aftershocks of the global economic downturn are affecting Africa. African countries that take the right steps to mitigate the pain will be poised to benefit from the eventual recovery; those that don't will be left behind.
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This paper builds an analytical framework that models predation (banditry) and production as part of the choice of a rational utility-maximising agent.
-
This paper examines how the lack of recognition of Somaliland by the international community—and the consequent ineligibility for foreign financial assistance—has shaped the region's political development. It finds evidence that Somaliland’s ineligibility for foreign aid facilitated the development of accountable political institutions and contributed to the willingness of Somalilanders to engage constructively in the state-building process.
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Does foreign military assistance strengthen or further weaken fragile states facing internal conflict? In a new working paper, CGD post-doctoral fellow Oeindrila Dube and co-author Suresh Naidu find that U.S. military assistance to Colombia may increase violence and decrease voter turnout, undermining the perceived value of foreign military assistance.
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This paper evaluates an intervention aimed at improving road safety in Kenya, in which long-distance minibus passengers were encouraged to speak up and admonish their driver when they felt their safety was being compromised. Evocative messages designed to empower passengers were placed in a random sample of more than 1,000 minibuses. Comprehensive insurance claims data suggest the stickers reduced accidents by between one-half and two-thirds, and driver and passenger surveys indicate that passenger heckling contributed to this reduction.
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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.
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Senior fellow Todd Moss investigates how the aftershocks of the global economic downturn are affecting Africa. African countries that take the right steps to mitigate the pain will be poised to benefit from the eventual recovery; those that don't will be left behind.
-
Continuing CGD’s work on weak and fragile states, Aila Matanock of Stanford University investigates why and when states delegate governance functions to others—and why the other agrees to take on the responsibilities. A survey of what works in Melanesia points toward potential solutions to promote stability worldwide.
-
I'm joined on the Wonkcast this week by Julius Kiiza, a visiting fellow here at the Center for Global Development. Julius is an associate professor at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and is spending time at CGD on a grant from the Canadian International Development Research Center. His research addresses the prospects for aid effectiveness and development in northern Uganda.
Julius tells me that northern Uganda has presented a difficult paradox for aid donors. For years, the country as a whole has been touted as a success story, and a potential model for other developing countries. It boasts one of the fastest rates of economic growth in all of Africa and has cut poverty nearly in half since 1992. However, Julius explains, the north of the country has made very little progress during that time. While the national poverty rate is around 30%, the poverty rate in the north is still around 60%.
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Previous research on post-conflict reconstruction holds that sustainable institution building is an indigenous process. This paper, however, contributes to a new understanding of small-scale external interventions. Through a randomized field study in Liberia, the authors find that the IRC’s community-driven development projects positively impact social cohesion and democratic decision-making in villages.
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In a presentation delivered at NYU's Aid Watch Conference, CGD president Nancy Birdsall, in a session on accountabilty, spoke about Cash on Delivery Aid, a way for donors to transfer money that could make aid-dependent governments accountable for outcomes to their citizens -- instead of for inputs to their donors.
View the Slides
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Chris Blattman, Non-Resident Fellow Chris Blattman is an assistant professor of political science and Economics at Yale University. In addition to being a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development, Chris is a Research Affiliate with Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), a board member of the Journal of Globalization and Development (JGD), and a member of the International Growth Center (IGC). He also acts as a consultant and adviser to the World Bank, UNICEF, the UN Peacebuilding Fund, Uganda’s Office of the Prime Minister, and Liberia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.
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Satish Chand, Visiting Fellow Satish Chand was a visiting fellow at CGD from August to December 2007 and is an associate professor at the Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government at Australia National University (ANU). At ANU, he also directs the Pacific Policy Project, where he edited the volume “Pacific Islands Regional Integration and Governance” (2005).
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Michael Clemens, Research Fellow Research Fellow Michael Clemens leads CGD’s Migration and Development initiative. This work investigates how rich countries’ regulation of international movement by people from poor countries shapes the lives of the people who move as well as those who do not.
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Ruth Levine, Vice President for Programs and Operations, and Senior Fellow Ruth Levine is an internationally recognized expert on global health and health policy. She is a health economist with more than 15 years of experience designing and assessing the effects of social sector programs in Latin America, Eastern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. In addition to serving as CGD's vice president for programs and operations, she leads the Center's work on global health policy, including chairing a series of working groups on key policy and finance constraints to the effective use of donor funding for health programs in low-income countries.
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Todd Moss, Vice President for Corporate Affairs, and Senior Fellow Todd Moss works on U.S.-Africa relations and financial issues facing sub-Saharan Africa, including policies that affect private capital flows, natural resource management, debt, and aid.
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Vijaya Ramachandran, Senior Fellow Vijaya Ramachandran's areas of expertise are private-sector development, entrepreneurship, and foreign direct investment. She also manages CGD's work on fragile states, which focuses on the delivery of post-conflict assistance.
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Nicolas van de Walle, Non-Resident Fellow Nicolas van de Walle (Ph.D. Princeton University, 1990) is the John S. Knight Professor of International Studies and the Director of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies at Cornell University and is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Global Development.
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Peace-Building without External Assistance: Lessons from Somaliland - Working Paper 198
- Jan 11, 2010
This paper examines how the lack of recognition of Somaliland by the international community—and the consequent ineligibility for foreign financial assistance—has shaped the region's political development. It finds evidence that Somaliland’s ineligibility for foreign aid facilitated the development of accountable political institutions and contributed to the willingness of Somalilanders to engage constructively in the state-building process.
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How the Economic Crisis Is Hurting Africa--And What to Do About It
- May 8, 2009
Senior fellow Todd Moss investigates how the aftershocks of the global economic downturn are affecting Africa. African countries that take the right steps to mitigate the pain will be poised to benefit from the eventual recovery; those that don't will be left behind.
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Heckle and Chide: Results of a Randomized Road Safety Intervention in Kenya - Working Paper 169
- Apr 15, 2009
This paper evaluates an intervention aimed at improving road safety in Kenya, in which long-distance minibus passengers were encouraged to speak up and admonish their driver when they felt their safety was being compromised. Evocative messages designed to empower passengers were placed in a random sample of more than 1,000 minibuses. Comprehensive insurance claims data suggest the stickers reduced accidents by between one-half and two-thirds, and driver and passenger surveys indicate that passenger heckling contributed to this reduction.
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