Matthew Dornan

International financing for climate change adaptation in small island developing states

Small island developing states (SIDS) are among the most vulnerable in the world to the impacts of climate change. SIDS have prioritised adaptation to climate change as it is widely accepted that some climate change is inevitable. Given the high cost of adaptation and the financial constraints faced by SIDS, many have pursued international adaptation financing to meet adaptation costs and ease domestic constraints. This paper analyses international adaptation financing commitments to SIDS across multiple regions between 2010 and 2014. It has three aims. First, it identifies trends in this financing from Members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to SIDS. Second, using a multivariate regression model, it identifies the determinants of this financing to SIDS, compared to other developing countries. Third, it elicits the perspectives of policy-makers in SIDS on their experience with international adaptation financing to date. This study finds that (1) the allocation of funding and donor commitments to SIDS is highly skewed, (2) whether a country is classified as a SIDS is a determinant of the amount of adaptation financing it can expect to receive—other determinants include population, per capita income, governance quality and vulnerability, depending on how it is conceptualised and measured, and (3) SIDS are dissatisfied with the current levels of international adaptation financing and their experience with accessing it. This paper concludes that, while international adaptation flows have not been sufficient, SIDS have not been disadvantaged in their access to such financing over the period, compared to other developing countries.

Regional Service Delivery Among Small Island Developing States of the Pacific: An Assessment

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Pacific face a range of development challenges, including smallness, distance from major markets, and capacity constraints. Regional service delivery, or pooling, has been advocated as a means of addressing these challenges. This paper presents the findings from the first comprehensive study of pooling initiatives in the Pacific. It draws on a review of the literature pertaining to all 20 pooling initiatives identified in the region, and on interviews of stakeholders involved in many of those initiatives. The study finds that experience with pooling among Pacific SIDS has not met the optimistic expectations of advocates, including development partners. This is the result of the challenges inherent in voluntary regionalism, which are exacerbated by the diversity of Pacific island states, political economy factors, and issues of accountability and legitimacy. The analysis suggests that expansion of regional service provision in the Pacific will be slow, although prospects at the sub-regional level are more positive.

How new is the ‘new’ conditionality? Recipient perspectives on aid, country ownership and policy reform

The concept of country ownership is central to international efforts to improve aid effectiveness. At the same time, policy reform in recipient countries continues to be a donor priority, given its potential to both reduce poverty and improve aid effectiveness. How effectively can donors promote reform while not undermining ownership? What role can be played by conditionality, discredited in recent decades but still widely used in altered form and linked to the provision of budget support? This article draws on over 50 in-depth interviews with recipient country policy-makers, political leaders and donor officials to explore these questions in three aid-dependent Small Island Developing States (SIDS) where donors have used budget support to leverage policy reform.

Backpackers v. Seasonal Workers: Learning from the Contrasting Temporary Migration Outcomes in Australian and New Zealand Horticulture

“Crowding out�? is a widely accepted claim in migration analysis, evolving from the literature assessing post-Second World War guest-worker labour which helped fuel the economic boom in Europe and other Western countries. Given the costs of regulation, the preference of profit-maximising employers for irregular and minimally-regulated migrants over regulated alternatives will, it is argued, undermine if not condemn to failure well-regulated temporary migration schemes. To test the crowding-out hypothesis, the horticultural labour markets in Australia and New Zealand are examined. The experience of regulated seasonal migrant programs in Australia and New Zealand has been divergent. Even though the two programs are very similar in design, the New Zealand variant has been much more popular than its Australian counterpart. The evidence suggests that the relative attractiveness of regulated and unregulated migrant labour sources depends on a range of factors, including the export orientation of the sector, the costs of collective action and regulation, differences in policy design and implementation, and external factors. Depending on industry and economy-wide characteristics, quality and reputational benefits for employers can offset the cost of regulation.

How Does Foreign Aid Impact Australian Exports in the Long-Run?

This study investigates the long-run effects of foreign aid on donor exports to recipient countries, using Australian exports to Asia as a case study. Dynamic panel econometric techniques and the Gravity Model of international trade are used to explore the relationship between official development assistance (ODA) and Australian exports to 17 Asian countries between 1980 and 2013. The modelling results show that Australian ODA is positively associated with exports to recipient countries and that, contrary to the findings of previous studies, ODA from other OECD donors also increases Australian exports. In the long-run on average, our preferred model suggests that one dollar of Australian aid increases Australian exports to the recipient by

Access to electricity in Small Island Developing States of the Pacific: Issues and challenges

7.10. Granger causality analysis suggests that causality runs in both directions, confirming that Australian ODA leads to Australian exports. Interestingly, the Australian government’s decision to untie Australian aid from domestic procurement requirements in 2006 does not appear to have reduced the impact of Australian aid on exports. We conclude that calls to ‘tie’ aid are, at best, a distraction, with aid increasing exports more significantly through other (non-tying) channels.