Global Development: Views from the Center

Why Not Do for Haiti Now What We’ve Already Done for Africa?

Kimberly Ann Elliott — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:34:02 +0000

Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, eligible countries can export apparel to the United States duty-free, using fabric and other inputs from wherever it is produced most cost-effectively, as long as the fabric is cut and sewn in the African beneficiary country. Under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act, as I [...]

Obama’s First Budget Request: Modest Increases but Strong Signaling for Development

Sarah Jane Staats — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:53:28 +0000

More on the FY11 Budget MCC Slated for $1.28 Billion in FY2011 Budget Request Todd Moss’ Expert Commentary on President Obama’s 2011 Budget Request U.S. Global Health Initiative: An Opportunity to Provide Short (and Useful) Comments on a Tall Order President Obama’s first full budget request hit the streets Monday. Since then, Washington has been scrambling to decipher the [...]

Post-Davos: Reflections on Key Development Issues

Nancy Birdsall — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:05:32 +0000

Financial regulation – what to do about the banks – dominated the headlines from Davos. But this year development issues were also prominent in one form or another. First, climate change. A cloud analysis of topics of the day at Davos would include in big prominent letters Copenhagen/Climate. I sat in on: A distinguished panel “From Copenhagen [...]

Impact Evaluation Has Come So Far!

William Savedoff — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:00:07 +0000

Last week, I attended the board meeting of 3ie (International Initiative for Impact Evaluation), which took place during the Global Development Network’s 11th annual conference. While 3ie is quite new and the Board is working on its strategy and governance, the organization is clearly off to a good start. I was delighted to learn that [...]

For Haitians’ Sake, Drop the “Drop the Debt”

David Roodman — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:50:47 +0000

As I blogged Monday, the Haiti government owes the rest of the world about $1.25 billion. Seems like a lot of money. Inevitably, groups such as the One Campaign, Oxfam International, and the Jubilee Debt Campaign have seized the moment to call on Haiti’s creditors to cancel the debt. And they have a point: can [...]

CGD’s Steve Radelet Joins the U.S. Government

Nancy Birdsall — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:31:53 +0000

As many of you who closely track U.S. development policy doubtlessly already know, one of CGD’s first senior fellows, Steve Radelet, joined the U.S. government this week as a senior advisor on development in the office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. For me personally this is a bittersweet moment. Sweet because I know that [...]

CGD State of the Union Bingo: Big on Fun, Little on Development Content

Sarah Jane Staats — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:40:33 +0000

CGD’s seventh annual State of the Union bingo party last night, which had a nice shout out from the Washington Post’s Reliable Source and video coverage from Amy Cross at Medill News Service, had a record 230 unabashedly wonkish guests in attendance at the Exchange to watch the speech, ink dabbers in hand, eager to [...]

One More (Insurmountable?) Challenge for Haitian Reconstruction

Todd Moss — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:51:04 +0000

As the international response to Haiti’s earthquake shifts from emergency rescue to longer term reconstruction, things are inevitably going to get harder. There are some very good ideas floating out there, not least Michael Clemens’ golden door visa proposal and Jeff Sachs’ urging for a recovery trust fund (It’s too bad he couldn’t resist swathing [...]

New and Improved: Much Ado (and To Do) about Innovation in Development

Tom Bollyky — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:00:37 +0000

“Innovation” is popping up everywhere you turn these days. In her recent speech at the Center for Global Development, Secretary Clinton cited “innovation” as one of the priorities of U.S. development policy. Both the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Department of Treasury are exploring ways to more systematically include “innovation” [...]

Migration and Haiti Updates: Senegal Opens Doors as Washington Commuters Vote

Lawrence MacDonald — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:55:01 +0000

Senegal, the ancestral home of many Haitians, has offered to accept for resettlement as many Haitians as want to come. “The repeated calamities that befall Haiti prompt me to propose a radical solution – to take measures to create somewhere in Africa . . . the conditions for Haitians to return,” Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade announced. According [...]