Development Drums

Stefan Dercon is Professor of Economic Policy and Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies at the University of Oxford. He is a former DFID chief economist and a policy advisor to the UK foreign secretary. Stefan Dercon argues that countries develop if they achieve an elite bargain, in which the country’s […]

Bestselling author Todd Moss is a former senior State Department official who led America’s response to coups and crises in West Africa. He is also my colleague at the Center for Global Development, where he is a Senior Fellow and Chief Operating Officer.

Morten Jerven explains why we know less than we should about what is happening in African economies, and why this is leading economists to the wrong recommendations. His first book, Poor Numbers: How We are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to Do About It explained the problems with Africa’s economic data; an his […]

Varun Gauri talks about the relevance of behavioural economics to international development.

Everyone seems to be talking about the data revolution these days. In this episode of Development Drums, I speak with two people who have thought more about what it is, how to make it happen, and what it means for development than just about anyone else.

In this episode of Development Drums, I speak with Ben Ramalingam and Stefan Dercon about whether complexity and systems thinking offers actionable insights for better development interventions.

Nina Munk’s latest book, The Idealist, is about Jeffrey Sachs and the Millennium Villages Project. It is also a book about the efforts that people in industrialised countries make to help poor people. It is a book about vision, passion and hubris. In this episode of Development Drums, Nina Munk tells the story of how she came to write the book, and what she learned about Jeff Sacha, and about development aid, as she did so.

Professor Angus Deaton talks about his book, The Great Escape, which brings together his research into health, well-being, and economic development. The podcast includes a discussion in the second half of Professor Deaton's criticisms of the aid industry.

Daron Acemoğlu and James Robinson talk about their best-selling book, Why Nations Fail.

Full interview with Bob Geldof

This podcast presents the edited version (about half an hour) of a longer interview with Bob Geldof; if you prefer you can listen to the full interview (1 hr 15 minutes) in episode 39 of Development Drums instead. Bob Geldof is a singer, songwriter, author, actor and part-time political activist. As lead singer of the […]

Duncan Green, Senior Strategic Adviser at Oxfam, talks about his book From Poverty to Power.

Rakesh Rajani and Martin Tisné discuss accountability and openness.

Michael Clemens from the Center for Global Development talks about the relationship between migration and development.

In this episode, Owen talks with author and economist Diane Coyle about her latest book ‘The Economics Of Enough, How To Run The Economy As If The Future Matters’. In the first section, Diane shares her thoughts on economic growth as a satisfactory goal for economic and social policy, and discusses the measure of Gross Domestic […]

This is a special edition of Development Drums. Instead of interviewing a guest, as normal, we bring you a presentation on Complexity and Development by Owen Barder. This is the audio-only version of an online presentation with slides, which is available from the Center for Global Development. You can also download the slides and full transcript. […]

Andrea Cornwall of the Institute of Development Studies and Prue Clarke of New Narrative discuss gender and development.

Center for Global Development Senior Fellow David Roodman talks about his latest book ‘Due Diligence, An Impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance’. David discusses the evidence surrounding the effects of microfinance on the lives of the world’s poor and its implications on aid donors, within the context of his book’s key findings. David then goes on to speak about […]

In this episode we interview four of the five candidates for the next president of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development on their vision for the Bank's future.

Toby Ord is a moral philosopher at Balliol College, Oxford and the president of Giving What We Can, an international society dedicated to eliminating poverty in the developing world. In this interview, Toby firstly talks about consequentialism and the implications for development, with particular focus on cost-effectiveness. Secondly, Toby explains his personal decision to donate a substantial proportion of his income to the developing world, and shares […]

Tim Harford is a journalist at the Financial Times and the author of The Undercover Economist and, most recently, of Adapt: Why Success Always Begins with Failure. In this interview, Tim talks about the implications for development of his idea that successful complex systems emerge from a process of trial and error.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair talks about his Africa Governance Initiative, about globalization, development, democracy and governance in Africa, leadership, the role of the Department for International Development, and his own future.

Professor Deborah Bräutigam discusses her book, The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa about China Africa relations.  Professor Bräutigam blogs at chinaafricarealstory.com. Running time 1 hour 1 minute; size: 29.6 Mb. Download transcript (pdf)

Malini Mehra from the Center for Social Markets and Alex Evans from the Center on International Cooperation at NYU discuss ten big global challenges for development.

Andy Sumner (IDS) and Claire Melamed (ODI) discuss the implications of Andy's paper, Global Poverty and The New Bottom Billion.

Peter Gill talks on Development Drums about his new book, Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid.

Roger Thurow and Scott Kilman talk about their book Enough: Why The World’s Poorest Starve In An Age of Plenty. Download transcript (pdf)

In this edition of Development drums, Owen talks to Rachel Glennerster, Director of the Poverty Action Lab, about rigorous evaluation of development programmes. Rachel explains how rigorous evaluation techniques can give important insights into the effectiveness of development programmes.  She explains the role (and limitations) of randomised controlled trials, and she addresses some of the […]

Daniel Kaufmann and Mushtaq Khan debate the role and importance of tackling corruption as part of a development strategy. Download transcript (pdf)

Guest presenter Alison Evans, Director of ODI, interviews Owen Barder about his new paper, Beyond Planning: Markets and Networks for Better Aid, and Roger Riddell, author of two key books on aid and a non-executive director of Oxford Policy Management. This podcast is in collaboration with the Overseas Development Institute. Download transcript (pdf)

Daryl Colliins and Jonathan Morduch discuss their book, co-authored with Stuart Rutherford and Orland Ruthven, Portfolios of the Poor. Forty percent of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day. You may be surprised by the extent to which they use financial services.  Daryl and Jonathan describe their work and their findings. Running […]

President Obama spoke in Ghana on July 11, 2009 about US policy towards Africa. In this episode of Development Drums, Todd Moss and Chris Blattman join me to talk about the speech, and what it means for the US and Africa. President Obama’s speech Chris Blattman’s blog Comments on the speech from Bill Easterly Comments […]

Alan Beattie, World Trade Editor of the Financial Times, talks about his new book, False Economy: A Surprising Economic History of the World, with Professor Robert Wade of the London School of Economics. Running time 41 minutes; size 17.8 Mb. Download transcript (pdf)

Professor Peter Singer talks on Development Drums about his new book, The Life You Can Save. This book sets out an ethical case for why people should give more money to people in developing countries. Here are the links mentioned in the podcast. The Life You Can Save website Buy The Life You Can Save […]

Matthew Bishop and Mike Green talk about their book, Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World and Why We Should Let Them Running time 1 hour 5 minutes; size 33.8 Mb. Download transcript (pdf)

Andrew Mitchell MP, the shadow Secretary of State for International Development in the British Conservative party, talks about whether and how UK policy on development would change if the Conservatives win the next General Election. Download transcript (pdf) Running time 25 minutes 56 seconds; size 16.9 Mb

The authors of the WrongingRights blog, Kate Cronin-Furman and Amanda Taub, help to clear up the mysteries of international criminal law. Running time: 46 minutes 47 seconds. Size: 22Mb Download transcript (pdf) In this episode of Development Drums we talk about the International Criminal Court and the arrest warrant that has been issued for the […]

Nancy Birdsall (CGD) and Simon Maxwell (ODI) reflect on the London Poverty Summit on 9th and 10th March; and Minouche Shafik (DFID) talks about the forthcoming DFID White Paper.   Running time: 1 hour and 11 minutes. File size: 32.4 Mb Download transcript (pdf) The British Government held a 2 day conference on 9th and […]

Paul Collier talks about his prize winning book The Bottom Billion, and his new book published this month in the UK, Wars Guns and Votes.

Are donors living up to their promises? Eckhard Deutscher (Chair of the Development Assistance Committee) and Richard Carey (Director of the Development Cooperation Directorate of the OECD) talk about the 2009 Development Cooperation Report, progress towards increasing aid and the way it is delivered, and the work of the DAC.

Jonathan Glennie talks about his new book, The Trouble With Aid. Jonathan Glennie is the Christian Aid country representative in Bogota, Colombia, and he campaigned as part of Make Poverty History. His new book, The Trouble With Aid, argues that when you take into account all the effects that aid has, it can do more harm than good.  In this episode of Development Drums, Jonathan explains why he thinks that many countries should make it a priority to reduce their dependence on aid. Download transcript (pdf)

The food crisis and international tax reform, discussed by Alex Cobham (Christian Aid) and Stephen Devereux (Institute for Development Studies). Running time: 52 minutes. File size: 20Mb. Download transcript (pdf) In this episode of Development Drums, we discuss the continuing food crisis. What are the causes, and are we doing enough to tackle it?  We discuss policies to increase the incomes of farmers, and the impact of social transfer programmes.    We also look ahead to the forthcoming conference in Doha to discuss financing for development, particularly at proposals to reform the international tax rules so that developing countries get paid more tax. And we mourn the passing of Miriam Makeba.

What will the US elections means for US foreign assistance? Guests Ruth Levine (Center for Global Development), Paul O’Brien (Oxfam America) discuss the implications for US foreign assistance of the US elections.  Dana Hovig (Marie Stopes International) explains the US global gag rule. Download Transcript (pdf) Running time: 51 minutes. File size: 24 Mb In this episode of Development Drums, we look at what President-Elect Obama and an increased Democrat majority in Congress might mean for US foreign assistance to developing countries.  Will the new administration implement administrative and legal reforms that enables US aid to be more effective?  Will the administration be able to double foreign assistance as they pledged during the campaign?  Who might be put in charge of an “elevated” agency to oversee aid? The panel is cautiously optimistic that change will come, but it will be incremental. Dana Hovig explains the Mexico City Policy, known as the Global Gag Rule.  Fist implemented by Ronald Reagan, it was overturned by Bill Clinton on his first day in office, and reinstated by George W. Bush on his first day.  But the panel does not expect President Obama to tackle this on his first day. Links Modernising Foreign Assistance Network Center for Global Development OxfamAmerica – aid reform Mexico City Policy (Global Gag Rule) Marie Stopes International Obama-Biden Foreign Policy Declaration of interest: my partner works for Marie Stopes International.

Backgrounder on Eastern Congo with Patrick Smith. In this additional episode of Development Drums, Patrick Smith, editor of Africa Confidential, explains what is happening in the Eastern Congo. Download transcript (pdf) Running time: 19 min 43 seconds; File size 7 Mb.

With Shanta Devarajan and Sheila Page.  Discussion of the impact of the economic crisis on developing countries, the food crisis, moves towards a new Free Trade Area for Africa, and the Mo Ibrahim Prize for good governance. Download transcript (pdf) Running time: 36 min 38 secs; File size: 15Mb Shantayanan Devarajan is the Chief Economist of the World Bank’s Africa Region.  Since joining the World Bank in 1991, he has been a Principal Economist and Research Manager for Public Economics in the Development Research Group, and the Chief Economist of the Human Development Network, and of the South Asia Region.  Shanta maintains the Africa Can blog. Sheila Page is a specialist in trade at the Overseas Development Institue. Links to topics discussed The impact of the economic crisis on developing countries Will the financial crisis reduce foreign aid? | Shanta’s Blog: Africa Can Economic crisis threatens to destabilize developing countries – Los Angeles Times FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment – The best recipe for avoiding a global recession The Mo Ibrahim Prize for African Governance The Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership Chris Blattman’s Blog: No to Mo money Botswana’s Ex-President Wins Leadership Prize – NYTimes.com Festus Mogae: Africa’s Good Leader – TIME African Free Trade Zone Agreed BBC NEWS | Business | African free trade zone is agreed allAfrica.com: Africa: Economic Community Target Gets Fresh Impetus Food crisis Food crisis in retreat, but ‘major emergency’ still exists – International Herald Tribune FT.com | The Economists’ Forum | Food crisis is a chance to reform global agriculture Food and the poor | The new face of hunger | The Economist

With guests Ngaire Woods and David Roodman. Discussion of proposals for reform of the global system, the impact of the financial crisis on aid, and the impact on developing countries more generally. File size: 15MB Running time: 46 minutes . Recorded 23 October 2008. Download transcript (pdf) Ngaire Woods is Professor of International Political Economy at Oxford University, and the Director of the Global Economic Governance Programme, which is a research programme investigating how global institutions could better respond to the needs of developing countries. David Roodman is at the Center for Global Development in Washington DC. David is the architect of the Commitment to Development Index which ranks the world’s richest countries based on their adoption of policies that affect developing countries David Roodman’s article about the impact on aid of previous financial crises Ngaire Woods’s article in the Guardian Ngaire Woods’s The Globalizers

With guests Peter daCosta in Kinshasa and Professor Adrian Wood of Oxford University Download transcript (pdf) We’ve done our best to respond to feedback: the sound quality is better more voices voices from the South more, shorter items more random bits of music Please tell us what you think. Links to items discussed in the show: 1. Should donors cap aid to Africa? Adrian Wood article in FT Discussion at CGD blog 2. Zimbabwe – How should the international community react? Tsvangirai appeals for aid Economist article 3. Billions wasted in aid, according to Care Press release Care report Press report Guardian article 4. World Bank Doing Business Report World Bank report BBC News story Many thanks to my sister Virginia for providing a studio for Adrian; and to Bob Smith for the jingle.

With guest Simon Maxwell of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI).  Download transcript (pdf) Discussion of: Accra High Level Forum Accra Agenda for Action (pdf) Simon Maxwell Blog Report on Accra UN MDG Gap Task Force Report UK National Security Strategy World Bank Press Release on new poverty statistics World Bank paper – The developing world is poorer than we thought, but no less successful in the fight against poverty Many thanks to Bob Smith for providing the Development Drums jingle.