This paper argues strongly in favour of a re-examination of the term 'sustainability' in internat... more This paper argues strongly in favour of a re-examination of the term 'sustainability' in international development research, policy and practice. It demonstrates that the term is understood pluralistically, being both environmental and economic. With economic interpretations, this paper identifies three clear understandings of 'sustainability' which effect programme design and, ultimately, their impact on poverty significantly. The paper argues that the ramifications of this definition go far beyond semantics and have a significant impact on the development outcomes realised by programmes that incorporate the term. Having evaluated these conceptions, the paper argues for sustainability in development as being interventions which alter the causes of poverty so that the process through which change occurs is improved in an adaptive and permanent way; a permanent increase in adaptability. Evidence is drawn from a review of the literature and policy documentation.
Education is one of the most significant and persistent development challenges globally. Despite ... more Education is one of the most significant and persistent development challenges globally. Despite 65 years of investment of aid money into education in developing countries, the number of children emerging with key skills remains critically low. While enrolment has increased, there is evidence that this is the result of target chasing and has had limited impact on educational outcomes. The limited impact of aid on education should not be surprising. At best, aid to education has provided only a small supplement to an already broken system. This paper proposes a framework for the analysis of the motivations of aid programmes, and then employs this framework to examine different approaches to education and the parameters according to which they have succeeded or failed. Using the framework to explain why prevailing approaches have resulted in the outcomes realized, the paper then examines the possibility for an alternative approach to be taken to intervention in education, one which attempts to change the way the education system operates to create a sustainable, large-scale impact. This potential is explored through an innovative programme being implemented in Lagos, Nigeria, which attempts to adopt such an approach.
Sustainability is a concept that has increasingly influenced development policy in the last two d... more Sustainability is a concept that has increasingly influenced development policy in the last two decades and yet the concept remains ill-defined. Understanding is either too narrow considering only the environmental impact of development or, as in much development practice, too loose, considering anything that continues to exist beyond the life of a programme. This panel aims to ask a more fundamental question from the perspective of the poor people whose lives development aims to improve; after a development programme has ended, what’s left behind? Drawing on established theories of dependency, the expanded conception of sustainability needs to consider how development programmes have altered the systems that underpin poverty rather than how the symptoms of that poverty have been alleviated in the short-term. The recent inclusion of systemic change objectives in development policy, including in ‘making markets work for the poor’ (M4P) approaches, signifies a recognition of this conception of sustainability incorporating economic considerations which is now being adopted in new areas including health and education. However, there persists a looseness in this understanding of what is sustainable, rather than simply sustained– articulated by Anand and Sen’s danger of underspecification (2000; 2037). If something is built in a development programme, it will remain built once the programme has ended but is this truly sustainable without a consideration without a consideration of the means through which new building might occur? This open themed panel seeks both theoretical and empirical submissions that engage with the economic definition of sustainability. Particular areas of interest include representations of sustainability and how the complexities of ‘sustainable’ development are communicated to the public, the difficulties of measurement with the indirect delivery of programmes that aim to deliver ‘means’ and not ‘ends’ together with the political implications this has, and the links between how sustainability is defined and the formulation of development policy.
This paper provides a review of current WASH programmes together with a new framework for their a... more This paper provides a review of current WASH programmes together with a new framework for their analysis. This framework focuses on effectiveness, sustainability and scale; approaches to intervention will therefore be assessed against these criteria. Using this, the paper finds a predominance of direct delivery approaches to WASH sector interventions, and a systematic bias against the inclusion of failed and of less direct forms of intervention in their analysis. The paper presents some emerging data from interventions that have implemented elements of systemic change in the WASH sector. It demonstrates their successes but also their failures in the context of broader political and economic constraints within a system. Ultimately, the paper argues for the adoption of systemic approaches to development programming in the WASH sector with a view to providing sustainable and large-scale change for poor people.
This paper is drawn from a wider research project examining the global production network surroun... more This paper is drawn from a wider research project examining the global production network surrounding the Ethiopian floriculture industry, as an example of a high-value non-traditional agricultural export (NTAE) commodity. The industry has grown rapidly in little over five years to become a key contributor to global floriculture trade, a growth in which international investment has played a significant role. This study examines the role of local and international labour in the growth of the industry at different levels. It examines the role that existing Ethiopian skills have played in the industry and how these skills have developed over time with the involvement of universities and international institutions in the implementation of training programmes. The role of international labour and how this has changed over time is also assessed using the data obtained in a quantitative survey and a number of and key informant interviews conducted in Ethiopia and the Netherlands in the period 2008-2010. Patterns of local and international migration that occur as a result of the industry are examined. All of these issues are assessed as they relate both directly to Ethiopian flower industry and to the various horizontally linked industries which employ varying degrees of local and international labour.
This paper examines the impact of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) from the perspective of a d... more This paper examines the impact of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) from the perspective of a developing country intending to increase export earnings from non-traditional agricultural export (NTAE) products. For developing countries that see the promotion of NTAEs as a development priority, policy decisions on intellectual property protection are integral and can impact upon other development concerns of food security and biodiversity. Here, I look at how this policy choice can influence a country’s outcomes in various aspects of the NTAE sector together with the impacts on other sectors in order to move towards an assessment of the overall developmental impact.
This paper argues strongly in favour of a re-examination of the term 'sustainability' in internat... more This paper argues strongly in favour of a re-examination of the term 'sustainability' in international development research, policy and practice. It demonstrates that the term is understood pluralistically, being both environmental and economic. With economic interpretations, this paper identifies three clear understandings of 'sustainability' which effect programme design and, ultimately, their impact on poverty significantly. The paper argues that the ramifications of this definition go far beyond semantics and have a significant impact on the development outcomes realised by programmes that incorporate the term. Having evaluated these conceptions, the paper argues for sustainability in development as being interventions which alter the causes of poverty so that the process through which change occurs is improved in an adaptive and permanent way; a permanent increase in adaptability. Evidence is drawn from a review of the literature and policy documentation.
Education is one of the most significant and persistent development challenges globally. Despite ... more Education is one of the most significant and persistent development challenges globally. Despite 65 years of investment of aid money into education in developing countries, the number of children emerging with key skills remains critically low. While enrolment has increased, there is evidence that this is the result of target chasing and has had limited impact on educational outcomes. The limited impact of aid on education should not be surprising. At best, aid to education has provided only a small supplement to an already broken system. This paper proposes a framework for the analysis of the motivations of aid programmes, and then employs this framework to examine different approaches to education and the parameters according to which they have succeeded or failed. Using the framework to explain why prevailing approaches have resulted in the outcomes realized, the paper then examines the possibility for an alternative approach to be taken to intervention in education, one which attempts to change the way the education system operates to create a sustainable, large-scale impact. This potential is explored through an innovative programme being implemented in Lagos, Nigeria, which attempts to adopt such an approach.
Sustainability is a concept that has increasingly influenced development policy in the last two d... more Sustainability is a concept that has increasingly influenced development policy in the last two decades and yet the concept remains ill-defined. Understanding is either too narrow considering only the environmental impact of development or, as in much development practice, too loose, considering anything that continues to exist beyond the life of a programme. This panel aims to ask a more fundamental question from the perspective of the poor people whose lives development aims to improve; after a development programme has ended, what’s left behind? Drawing on established theories of dependency, the expanded conception of sustainability needs to consider how development programmes have altered the systems that underpin poverty rather than how the symptoms of that poverty have been alleviated in the short-term. The recent inclusion of systemic change objectives in development policy, including in ‘making markets work for the poor’ (M4P) approaches, signifies a recognition of this conception of sustainability incorporating economic considerations which is now being adopted in new areas including health and education. However, there persists a looseness in this understanding of what is sustainable, rather than simply sustained– articulated by Anand and Sen’s danger of underspecification (2000; 2037). If something is built in a development programme, it will remain built once the programme has ended but is this truly sustainable without a consideration without a consideration of the means through which new building might occur? This open themed panel seeks both theoretical and empirical submissions that engage with the economic definition of sustainability. Particular areas of interest include representations of sustainability and how the complexities of ‘sustainable’ development are communicated to the public, the difficulties of measurement with the indirect delivery of programmes that aim to deliver ‘means’ and not ‘ends’ together with the political implications this has, and the links between how sustainability is defined and the formulation of development policy.
This paper provides a review of current WASH programmes together with a new framework for their a... more This paper provides a review of current WASH programmes together with a new framework for their analysis. This framework focuses on effectiveness, sustainability and scale; approaches to intervention will therefore be assessed against these criteria. Using this, the paper finds a predominance of direct delivery approaches to WASH sector interventions, and a systematic bias against the inclusion of failed and of less direct forms of intervention in their analysis. The paper presents some emerging data from interventions that have implemented elements of systemic change in the WASH sector. It demonstrates their successes but also their failures in the context of broader political and economic constraints within a system. Ultimately, the paper argues for the adoption of systemic approaches to development programming in the WASH sector with a view to providing sustainable and large-scale change for poor people.
This paper is drawn from a wider research project examining the global production network surroun... more This paper is drawn from a wider research project examining the global production network surrounding the Ethiopian floriculture industry, as an example of a high-value non-traditional agricultural export (NTAE) commodity. The industry has grown rapidly in little over five years to become a key contributor to global floriculture trade, a growth in which international investment has played a significant role. This study examines the role of local and international labour in the growth of the industry at different levels. It examines the role that existing Ethiopian skills have played in the industry and how these skills have developed over time with the involvement of universities and international institutions in the implementation of training programmes. The role of international labour and how this has changed over time is also assessed using the data obtained in a quantitative survey and a number of and key informant interviews conducted in Ethiopia and the Netherlands in the period 2008-2010. Patterns of local and international migration that occur as a result of the industry are examined. All of these issues are assessed as they relate both directly to Ethiopian flower industry and to the various horizontally linked industries which employ varying degrees of local and international labour.
This paper examines the impact of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) from the perspective of a d... more This paper examines the impact of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) from the perspective of a developing country intending to increase export earnings from non-traditional agricultural export (NTAE) products. For developing countries that see the promotion of NTAEs as a development priority, policy decisions on intellectual property protection are integral and can impact upon other development concerns of food security and biodiversity. Here, I look at how this policy choice can influence a country’s outcomes in various aspects of the NTAE sector together with the impacts on other sectors in order to move towards an assessment of the overall developmental impact.
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Papers by Dr. Ben Taylor
This open themed panel seeks both theoretical and empirical submissions that engage with the economic definition of sustainability. Particular areas of interest include representations of sustainability and how the complexities of ‘sustainable’ development are communicated to the public, the difficulties of measurement with the indirect delivery of programmes that aim to deliver ‘means’ and not ‘ends’ together with the political implications this has, and the links between how sustainability is defined and the formulation of development policy.
This open themed panel seeks both theoretical and empirical submissions that engage with the economic definition of sustainability. Particular areas of interest include representations of sustainability and how the complexities of ‘sustainable’ development are communicated to the public, the difficulties of measurement with the indirect delivery of programmes that aim to deliver ‘means’ and not ‘ends’ together with the political implications this has, and the links between how sustainability is defined and the formulation of development policy.