Southern Voice Occasional Paper Series

Post2015.org is collating key recent post-2015 resources and news in a round-up post. Today’s selection covers recent occasional papers produced as part of the Southern Voice on Post-MDG International Development Goals Agenda, an initiative to channel evidence-based policy inputs from the Global South into the discussion on the post-2015 framework and targets:

First Approximations on Post-MDG International Development Goals – by Southern Voice on Post­MDG International Development Goals.

This paper contains the outcome document of the Dhaka Expert Group Meeting.

Designing MDGs for a Most Just World – by Professor Rehman Sobhan (Chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Dhaka, Bangladesh). 

This paper draws on the keynote address delivered by Professor Rehman Sobhan, Chairman of CPD at the Dhaka Expert Group Meeting. The paper raises some fundamental concerns regarding the ‘structural injustice’ underpinning the mainstream economic paradigms. Professor Sobhan elaborates on how post‐MDG international development goals can contribute to promoting a ‘more just world’.

The Post-2015 Development Agenda: Learning from the MDGs – by Dr David Hulme (Executive Director, Brooks World Poverty Institute, University of Manchester, UK).

This paper draws on the special address delivered by Professor David Hulme, at a session of the Dhaka Expert Group Meeting. The paper takes a critical view regarding the globalization of poverty reduction efforts through the MDGs and their implementation. Professor Hulme also delineated some lessons from the MDG experience for the South.

Integrating Productive Employment into the Post-2015 Development Agenda – by Dr Rizwanul Islam (former Special Adviser, Growth, Employment and Poverty Reduction Sector, ILO, Geneva). 

This paper draws on the special comments delivered by Dr Rizwanul Islam, at a session of the Dhaka Expert Group Meeting on a very pertinent issue. The paper underscores the importance of productive and decent employment in achieving inclusive economic growth, one of the major pillars of post‐2015 development agenda. Highlighting how employment can act as a mechanism for transformative change, Dr Islam delineates some measurable indicators and policy considerations for achieving this particular goal.

MDGs: The Unfinished Agenda – by Martin Benavides (executive Director of the Group of Analysis for Development (GRADE), Peru), Rasheda K Choudhury (executive Director of the Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) and former Advisor (Minister) to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh), Ibrahima Hathie (Director of Research of the Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rurale (IPAR), Senegal), Rounaq Jahan (Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh), John Rwirahira (Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), Rwanda), Raghavan Suresh (Director of the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), India).  

The present issue of the Paper includes the contributions made at the second session on “The Unfinished Agenda” of the Dhaka Expert Group Meeting (11‐13 January 2013). The publication is a collection of six presentations and interventions which focus on specific development areas (e.g. gender agenda) of continued relevance for the post‐2015 agenda. The contributions also provide a number of interesting geographical experiences (e.g. Latin America). The prospective role of the Southern Voice on Post-MDGs network has been highlighted in one of the pieces.

Post-MDGs: Issues for the Future – by Vaqar Ahmed (Deputy Director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan), Khalida Ghaus (Managing Director of the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), Pakistan), Asif Iqbal (Senior Principal Economist of the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), Pakistan), A B Mirza Azizul Islam (former Advisor (Minister) to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh), Musambya Mutambala (Assistant Research Fellow at the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Organization (STIPRO), Tanzania).

This Paper is a collection of five presentations and interventions which addresses a number of emerging issues that need to be included in the post-2015 agenda. The contributions, besides highlighting the difficult policy choices to be made in the future, focuses on the country experience of Pakistan, as well as issues for Southern countries in general, and fragile states in particular. The need to integrate science and technology issues in the post-2015 agenda has been underscored in one of the pieces included.

Global Partnership for Post-MDGs and Resource Mobilization – by Nadeem Ahmed (Senior Economist at the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), Pakistan), Saman Kelegama (Executive Director of the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), Paula Lucci (Research Fellow at the Overseas development Institute (ODI), London), Richard Marshall (Economist at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Bangladesh), Mustafizur Rahman (Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh), Sultan Hafeez Rahman (former Director General of the South Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila), Tom Thomas (Chief Executive Officer of Praxis- Institute for Participatory Practices, India).

This paper is a collection of seven presentations and interventions which focus on the emerging issues of global partnership and resource mobilization in the context of the post-2015 agenda. The contributions highlight the changing contours of global partnership, and sources of development finance, as well as underscore the importance of institutions and governance in accessing and utilization of the mobilized resources. 

Looking Beyond Aid to Fund Africa’s Development – by John Kwabena Kwakye (Senior Economist at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Ghana).

The paper focuses on development finance and aid. Given the several pitfalls associated with aid regime, the author argues how Africa must seek alternative resources to successfully support its growth and development objectives.

Understanding the Role of Social Exclusion in Hunger: Analysis of MDGs for the Excluded Groups in India – by Nidhi S Sabharwal (Executive Director of the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, India)

The paper focuses on discrimination, inequality and poverty. It proposes to look deeper into the reasons for the gap between discriminated groups and ‘the rest’ to get some recommendations.

Is the Current Booming Growth in Africa Worth Celebrating? Some Evidence from Tanzania – by Bitrina Diyamett (Executive Director in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Organization (STIPRO), Tanzania), Musambya Mutambala (Assistant Research Fellow at Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Organization (STIPRO), Tanzania).

In connection with the ongoing debates on post -2015 international development goals, this paper focuses on the challenges in Africa in the area of structural transformation, manufacturing sector growth and technological capabilities.

The Changing Intersection of Society and Development Goals: An Examination Aimed at Improving Policymaking – by Shuvechha Khadka (Senior Researcher of Institute for Social and Environmental Transition-Nepal (ISET-N), Ajaya Dixit (Executive Director of the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition-Nepal (ISET-N).

The paper explores the links between the MDGs and Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, it examines the interconnection between climate vulnerability, water, sanitation and health in Nepal. The study seeks to interrogate these issues within a framework of sustainable livelihood conditions.

Sustainable Access for All: Building Sustainability into Universal Energy Access – by Sahil Ali, Nihit Goyal, Shweta Srinivasan (researchers at the Center of Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), Bangalore, India).

This paper investigates whether the goal of universal energy access in the post-MDGs dialogue sufficiently addresses the challenges faced by the Southern countries. It argues that though the notion of energy access in the dialogue may be fairly comprehensive in tracking the current level of access, it does not provide sufficient insight into the ability of the energy system to sustain that level of access. In addition, an approach based on literature on risk assessment is proposed to incorporate ‘sustainability of access’ into the current energy goal.

Social Protection and the MDGs in Sri Lanka: Implications for the Post-2015 Agenda – by Ganga Tilakaratna (Research Fellow and the Head of the Poverty and Social Welfare Policy Unit at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS).

The paper analyses the level of social protection coverage and the quality of services/benefits provided to all vulnerable groups, identifies the weaknesses in the current system and provides policy suggestions.

Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers and Gender-Sensitive Education Financing – by Khalida Ghaus (Managing Director of the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), Pakistan) and Muhammad Sabir (Principal Economist at Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), Pakistan).

The paper aims to fill a knowledge gap by focusing on the education sector based on a micro-theoretic approach, so as to understand the role of transfers on public spending regarding education.

Measuring of Progress of Decent Work to Support the MDGs and Post-MDGs – by Luis Linares (Executive Secretary of Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales (ASIES), Guatemala) and Julio Prado (Assisting Investigator of Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales (ASIES), Guatemala).

This paper engages with the concepts of sustainable development, human development and decent work according to the human rights approach and the findings illuminate aspects such as the impacts caused by the high levels of informal work and poverty in the country, and point to valuable conclusions for the ongoing dialogue on the post-2015 development framework.

Ensuring Good Governance and Effective Institutions: Can We Afford to Ignore Capacity Issues – by Subrat Das (Executive Director at the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), India).

This paper presents an assessment of the formulation of the illustrative goal “ensure good governance and effective institutions” put forward by the United Nations High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. It explores the significance of capacity of governance with reference to the experience of public policies and their implementation in India over the past decade.  It also suggests that the post-2015 development framework could incorporate policy directions to encourage developing and less developed countries to pursue fiscal policies that would create enabling environments for good governance and effective institutions.