Institute of Development Studies
Annual Report 2011
Globalisation
Over the last year, our work on access to markets, aid for trade, and the politics of local investment has helped shape thinking and influence policy in the EU, China, Indonesia and elsewhere. This year we have forged deeper links with the private sector through partnerships with the International Business Leaders Forum, UN Global Compact, Business Action for Africa and Business Fights Poverty, as well as with the Social Innovation Centre at INSEAD, the global business school. We are building on these links to design innovative ways of evaluating the impact of inclusive business strategies and private sector engagement on development outcomes.
We have also undertaken pioneering work integrating climate change and economic models to estimate the costs of climate change adaptation. Going forward, we will be working with IDS’ new Climate Change Team to explore the impact of alternative approaches to climate change finance.
Highlight
Being present where it counts:
UK Public Opinion Monitor informs debate on public support for aid
In 2010, IDS launched the UK Public Opinion Monitor (UKPOM), a unique project aiming to understand public support for development. By regularly surveying a panel of 6,000 people in the UK, we can understand how attitudes change over time, and what factors drive these changes. The UKPOM has become the key information source on UK public support for development, not only for DFID but also for the wider development community. The first round of UKPOM survey results, launched just before the UN MDG Summit, generated 26 media articles including coverage in the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian and on the BBC. It promoted comment and debate from across the development sector, from the European Commission, the UK government and the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development.
Viewpoint
Lalith Goonatilaker:
Director, Trade Capacity Building Branch, UNIDO
Many lower-income countries have voiced a demand for trade related policy advice on national development priorities. UNIDO and the Globalisation Team at IDS have worked together to develop an original analysis of border rejections of developing countries’ exports, quantifying the monetary losses from detentions and rejections. Together we published the 2010 Trade Standards Compliance Report, which developed a benchmarking tool to measure how well developing countries comply with international market requirements. This helps to establish the costs and benefits of investments by donors and national governments in compliance capacity. IDS’ input has enabled UNIDO to develop an innovative public good that supports countries without national research capacities to trade their way out of poverty in sectors such as fisheries and horticulture.
Highlight
Being present where it counts:
IDS joins the debate on financial transaction taxes with a systematic review of the evidence
Last year, as Western governments struggled to balance their budgets, a coalition of NGOs, unions and others launched a campaign for a ‘Robin Hood Tax’ on financial transactions to raise money for poverty alleviation. But does such a tax make sense? Globalisation Team Leader Neil McCulloch undertook a systematic review for the Department for International Development (DFID) of the evidence both for and against such financial transaction taxes (FTTs). This research was presented to policymakers and influencers in Westminster and was reported in the UK national media. Contrary to the views of many in the financial sector, the evidence from IDS suggests that a tax is feasible, and in the UK alone could raise as much as the entire UK aid budget. However, there is little evidence that a tax would stabilise financial markets. Plans are now underway to present this evidence to EU policymakers as the French attempt to use their 2011 G20 Presidency to keep FTT s firmly on the international policy agenda.
Highlight
Being present where it counts:
IDS researchers outline the changes required to ensure food security for nine billion people by 2050
In January 2011 Foresight, the UK government’s think tank, published a report calling for the urgent redesign of the global food system, bringing sustainability centre stage. As members of the project’s Lead Expert Group, IDS’ Lawrence Haddad and Sherman Robinson made key contributions to the final report, and Dirk Willenbockel and Xavier Cirera prepared background papers. The project explored the pressures on the global food system between now and 2050 and identified the decisions that policymakers need to take today, and in the years ahead, to feed a rising population sustainably and equitably. The report caught the attention of politicians, media and policymakers across the globe, with support from Caroline Spelman, the Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and from the OECD Secretary General.
Download the Globalisation section of our Annual Report