HUMAN DEVELOPMENT – Page 109

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT2014-04-152023-07-10

Financing Aid in a New Era

By Jon Lomøy* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

PARIS (IDN | OECD) – By the end of 2015, when the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) come to term, the international community is expected to approve a new sustainable development agenda. All indications are that this will be a unique and universal agenda, focusing on the eradication of extreme poverty, but also addressing broader environmental, economic and social sustainability challenges. Finding the means to finance this broad agenda, and to make that financing work to produce maximum results without duplication or gaps, will be a challenge.

USA and Canada2014-04-042023-07-12

Shale Oil Gas Pitches US Against Saudi Arabia

By Joergen Oerstroem Moeller*

SINGAPORE (IDN | YaleGlobal) – Shale oil and gas has been labeled a game changer. Statistics would suggest that, yes, the new technologies and discoveries associated with hydraulic fracking change the energy picture and economic outlook, in particular for the United States, but less so than predictions would have it a year or two go.

The greater impact won’t be on the US economy, but rather US-Saudi relations and stability for the Middle East. President Barack Obama met King Abdullah March 28, and both leaders recognize that the geopolitical ground shaped by their common interest in stable oil prices has shifted, creating a new imbalance that could spill over into Mideast security policy.

USA and Canada2014-04-022023-07-12

And Now The Obama Doctrine

An Analysis by Gary Sick*

WASHINGTON D.C. (IDN | POMEPS) – Over the past quarter century, the most accurate single factor to explain security developments in the Gulf, as well as the best predictor of the future, has been and is U.S. policy in the region. Since it began to be a significant force, U.S. policy has undergone at least five major shifts. The current policy, which I will call the Obama Doctrine, represents the latest, and possibly one of the most important, iterations.

The United States has become the dominant military, diplomatic, and economic presence in the Gulf. It is, in effect, a leading Gulf power. This has become such an accepted condition that it is easy to forget just how recent and exceptional it is.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT2014-03-232023-07-10

Where ‘North’ And ‘South’ Learn From Each Other

By Ramesh Jaura | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

BERLIN (IDN) – The Cuba missile crisis was moving towards a peak when President John F. Kennedy proposed in May 1961 the creation of a Development Centre at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to bridge the industrialised nations and the developing world. The Centre has meanwhile developed into a forum not only for South-South but also South-North and North-South cooperation, enabling the industrialised countries “to learn from, and maybe import, some of the policy experiences of the South”, says its director Mario Pezzini.

PLANET EARTH2014-03-202023-07-10

World’s River Basins Are Increasingly Stressed

By Andrew Maddocks and Paul Reig*
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | WRI) – The world’s 100 most-populated river basins are indispensable resources for billions of people, companies, farms, and ecosystems. But many of these river basins are also increasingly at risk.

As water demand from irrigated agriculture, industrialization, and domestic users explodes, major rivers on several continents are becoming so depleted that they sometimes fail to reach their ocean destinations. Add climate change, nutrient and chemical pollution, and physical alterations like dams and other infrastructure development to the mix and it’s clear that many communities rely on water resources that face an increasingly risky future.

USA and Canada2014-03-202023-07-12

Jobs Fails To Keep Pace As US Economy Grows

By Ashok Bardhan* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

BERKELEY (IDN | Yale Global) – The US economy seems to suffer from a bout of schizophrenia, as it cannot decide whether it’s doing well or not. There has been stable, albeit not spectacular, growth in the post-crisis phase, but analysts point to many headwinds. The bubble word is back, this time in the stock markets, and above all else increasing employment seems stubbornly resilient to macro-management.

USA and Canada2014-03-122023-07-12

China Striving For New Economic Balance With US

By Stephen S. Roach* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

NEW HAVEN (IDN | YaleGlobal) – Once again, all eyes are on China. Emerging markets are being battered in early 2014, as perceptions of resilience have given way to fears of vulnerability. And handwringing over China is one of the major reasons.

Of course, Federal Reserve tapering – reductions of the US central bank’s unprecedented liquidity injections – has also been a trigger. That makes it much tougher for emerging economies overly dependent on global capital flows – namely, India, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa, and Turkey – to finance economic growth. But the China factor looms equally large. Longstanding concerns about the dreaded hard landing in the Chinese economy have once again intensified. If China falls, goes the argument, reverberations to other emerging markets and the rest of the global economy will be quick to follow.

USA and Canada2014-03-072023-07-12

USA Practicing ‘Non-Aligned Strategy’ in Asia

By Chintamani Mahapatra* | IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

NEW DELHI (IDN) – As territorial and maritime disputes in Asia have sparked regional cold wars, the United States appears to have adopted a non-aligned strategy to navigate in troubled political space of the continent.

Non-alignment as a diplomatic instrument of state craft has been known to American Administrations for centuries. Although the term “non-alignment” was not used, the need of such a strategy was first articulated by first President of the United States – George Washington. In his farewell address, Washington warned against the folly of getting involved in the European entanglements.

Education2014-02-222023-07-10

Educating for Sustainable Development

By Hirotsugu Terasaki* | IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

TOKYO (IDN) – According to UNESCO, ESD (Education for Sustainable Development), is “about enabling us to constructively and creatively address present and future global challenges and create more sustainable and resilient societies.”

The Great Earthquake which shook East Japan in March 2011 served as an important impetus for me to rethink the idea of “resilient societies.” My organization, the Soka Gakkai, mounted major relief efforts soon after the disaster struck. Living in Tokyo, I found that the degree of direct damage was relatively minimal, however, two months after the quake I visited the disaster-stricken areas of East Japan. Towns there had been entirely engulfed by the tsunami waves and everything was swept away along much of the coastline. I was speechless as I saw the horrifying devastation which was beyond my imagination.

Latin America & the Caribbean2014-02-022023-07-12

Good News On Latin America and the Caribbean

By Daniela Estrada | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

SANTIAGO DE CHILE (IDN) – Latin American and Caribbean countries registered an average global deficit of 2.4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013, but their fiscal revenues rose and kept their public debt situation stable, giving them more room to increase investment and social spending, according to a new study by the UN Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean (ECLAC).