Gilles Carbonnier

Business–Humanitarian Partnerships: Processes of Normative Legitimation

Abstract There has been a surge of business–humanitarian partnerships (BHPs) in the contemporary era of globalization and rebalancing of power between states and non-state actors. The rationale of BHPs rests both on ethical and effectiveness principles. The article therefore argues for a broad normative approach drawing on three general sources of legitimacy: procedures, relative effectiveness, and the fit of new partnership governance with moral standards that pertain to the relevant policy arena. We focus on the partnership initiatives of UNICEF and the International Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent with the aim of assessing how their normative legitimation has been pursued. Our study reveals that while humanitarian agencies have adopted clear principles and procedures to safeguard the normative integrity and procedural legitimacy of partnerships with for-profit entities, the agencies find it much more difficult to assess and credibly communicate the outcome and comparative worth of such collaboration.

Resource Dependence and Armed Violence: Impact on Sustainability in Developing Countries

The dependence on oil, gas, and mineral exports arguably has a negative impact on economic growth in resource-rich, developing countries. This article looks at the impact of resource dependence on adjusted net savings (ANS) as an indicator of weak sustainability. Our results, based on a panel of 104 developing countries during the recent commodity price boom, confirm a negative relationship between resource extraction and sustainable development as measured by ANS. We further look at the specific role of armed conflict and armed violence as captured by the homicide rate. Armed conflict, which is positively associated with resource dependence, negatively affects ANS per capita according to both our OLS and instrumental variables (IV) estimates. Similarly, armed violence has a detrimental effect on sustainable development. Our IV estimate suggests that a one-point increase in the homicide rate decreases ANS per capita by

The Competing Agendas of Economic Reform and Peace Process: A Politico-Economic Model Applied to Guatemala

60. Since education expenditures are a critical ANS component, we further examine the impact of resource dependence and violence on human capital. Consistent with previous findings, resource-dependent countries underinvest in education but armed conflict and violence do not affect the instantaneous share of education expenditures, hinting at a detrimental effect working through physical and social capital rather than education.

Alternative Pathways to Sustainable Development: Lessons from Latin America

Abstract Governments face a critical dilemma in the direct aftermath of civil wars. They have to deal with the diverging agendas of peace-building and economic reform, both of which are urgently required to put the economy back on track and consolidate peace. The paper introduces a macroeconometric model that comprises not only economic variables, but also political and conflict-related ones. Simulations of both economic and peace conditionality in the case of Guatemala highlight stark contradictions between the two types of conditions when looking at politico-economic interactions, calling for increased policy coherence in the overall response of the international community.

The Rise of Disaster Risk Insurance and Derivatives

This issue of International Development Policy looks at recent paradigmatic innovations and development trajectories in Latin America, focusing on the Andean region. It aims to enrich our understanding of recent development debates and processes in Latin America, and what the rest of the world can learn from them.

Education, Learning, Training

This chapter deals with disaster risk insurance and risk-linked securities. It examines the potential of such instruments to strengthen disaster risk management. Since they are often not (yet?) commercially viable, these instruments have been developed in the context of public–private partnerships. Aid organizations and the insurance industry have teamed up to promote disaster risk insurance and derivatives in developing and emerging economies. These products face some of the political economy constraints that are well known in the insurance and foreign aid worlds. Asian governments may have a preference for free ex-post foreign aid over the alternative of paying ex-ante insurance premiums and interests on bonds. Yet, insurance and risk-linked securities offer the potential to transfer a substantial portion of disaster costs abroad irrespective of the humanitarian response. They can contribute to reducing dependency on foreign aid, consistent with national sovereignty claims.

Energy and Development

In Education, Learning, Training: Critical Issues for Development, renowned scholars and practitioners examine shifts in global education policy and practice over the last 50 years.