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Advocating For a Better Economic Environment for Refugees
Refugee youth in Kakuma Refugee camp embody the endurance of the human spirit. A study carried out by the International Financial Corporation (IFC) in 2018 took a unique look at Kakuma Refugee Camp a...
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The Baker’s Son

Nineteen year old Sadaar's father started a bakery several years ago, shortly after his family returned to Kabul. They lived in Peshawar, Pakistan for years as refugees, waiting for a time when they could return to their native Kabul, surrounded by the towering Parwan mountains. As we walked up to t...

Hope Grows in the Killing Fields

Jan Mohammad, Governor of Uruzgan Province, has known little but war throughout his life.  A man with one eye, uneducated, yet wise from years of conflict against the Russians and the Taliban.  His militia is everywhere, and when we arrive in a military convoy from the U.S. military base in Tarin ...

Development Banks and Anti-Corruption

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is taking the necessary steps to hold companies accountable for corrupt behavior. [ADB] last year banned 40 firms and 22 individuals from working for the multilateral agency due to corruption, the Manila-based bank said today. Since the bank began investigating corr...

Help Africa Help Itself

Is "doubling aid and forgiving debt" a good strategy for eliminating poverty in Africa?  Bill Easterly certainly doesn't think so.  He argues that such a strategy is not enough for getting the continent on the path of economic growth and prosperity in his op-ed in the Washington Post.  The title ...

Revising the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention

When the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention was drafted in 1997 and entered into force in 1999, it was a significant step forward, to say the least, for efforts to combat bribery in international business transactions.  Yet, more needs to be done, says a new report released by the Center for Global Devel...

Update on the Russian NGO Law

The passing of the Russian law on NGOs [see my earlier post on this] has stirred up a lot of controversy over the past several months.  But, did the international development community and Russian NGOs worry too much too soon?  Or not?  Here is what the Moscow Times has to say: Despite sizzlin...

Overcoming obstacles to information

Language is the most fundamental unit in information gathering. Without it, human beings would have a limited capacity to communicate. Language has often been the cause of miscommunication and misunderstanding, a problem that is exacerbated by the lack of precision in translation. Sometimes, ther...

On Corruption in Africa

The Institute of Public Policy Analysis in Nigeria is soon to release a report on corruption (in its February Newsletter), which suggests that foreign aid contributes to the problem as elites skim off their portion at every level. Dr. Kasper, the author of the report, argues that 'corruption is a bl...

Russian Parliament Ratifies the U.N. Convention Against Corruption

Today, the Russian parliament – the State Duma – ratified the U.N. Convention Against Corruption.  It took just over 2 years for Russia to ratify the Convention, which the country signed in December of 2003, and the ratification did not go easy: The voting was preceded by emotional s...

New President for Haiti

After much fanfare that a clean election had taken place in Haiti last weekend, social turmoil ensued as presidential aspirant, Rene Preval, appeared unable to win the election in the first round. Yesterday, the Haitian electoral council voted 7 to 2 to disqualify more than 80,000 blank ballots that...

Blogging for Democracy in Nepal

In recent weeks, the Nepalese government has stepped up attacks on free media, targeting those who have openly criticized the actions of the King and the security forces.  Usually, shutting down media offices and taking copies of newspapers and magazines out of circulation while controlling TV and ...

Supporting “Cyber-Dissidents”

To continue on the topic of the previous post, Reporters Without Borders published a handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents.  The handbook, for example, has a story from Nepal to illustrate the challenges and the success story of getting Radio Free Nepal off the ground.  I have to admit, I li...

Message in a Bottle

Some stories cry out to be told, even if they may not be told fully. Imagine sitting in a cell, shackled by a totalitarian regime because your political beliefs are strong enough to pose a real threat.  The food is nothing to write home about – but the intellectual fodder is another story. Your...

Can We Interest You in Yet Another New Iraq Strategy?

Just today another deadly car bomb was set off at a marketplace in the suburbs of Baghdad, demonstrating the extremely difficult obstacles affecting the reconstruction of Iraq and its economy. Last week, the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy released its latest report on I...

China Discriminating Against Russia?

A Russian Minister of Agriculture thinks China is discriminating against Russia: "I believe China is pursuing a discriminatory policy against Russia," Gordeev said, quoted by the Itar-Tass agency. He explained that "currently China is importing some 6-7 million tons of grain annually, but Russia is ...

Controlling the Internet

It is no secret that the Chinese government exerts heavy control over the Internet.  But if you think the government shuts down/controls access to only pro-market liberal websites, think again.  Apparently, the government has also shut down websites that are critical of free market reforms: China...

Management Quality and Productivity

A new study from McKinsey confirms the "common assumption" that management matters - well managed companies outperform their poorly managed competitors. We found a solid link between how well managers adopt proven best practices—such as lean-production methods on the shop floor and techniques for ...

The War on Poverty…in Africa

Kurt Hoffman of the Shell Foundation shares his views on combating poverty, leaving a place for charity as an important part of addressing immediate needs but putting emphasis on economic growth as an ultimate solution. Charity can undoubtedly be used to relieve suffering, educate children, provide ...

From Gang Members to Business Owners?

Did the title catch your eye?  Is it possible to turn the source of social unrest and instability into business people who contribute to the development of their countries, not stifle private enterprise?  See a full story via the PSD Blog....

Informality in Guatemala: A Growing Problem

The National Economic Research Center (CIEN) released some initial findings of its CIPE sponsored informal sector project this past week. According to their research, 75% of the economically active population in Guatemala is employed in the informal sector. This makes Guatemala the country with the ...
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