Governance and development

La Agenda 2030 de Desarrollo Sostenible, aprobada por la ONU
en septiembre de 2015, constituye el ejercicio de gobernanza global dedicado a la identificación, cumplimiento y monitoreo
de estándares de bienestar humano con dimensión mundial más significativo y ambicioso. Los 18 objetivos y 169 metas que componen a esta Agenda y cuya vigencia termina en el año 2030, deben promoverse tanto en países del Norte como del Sur, mediante capacidades nacionales y cooperación internacional.

Para definir el contenido de esta Agenda, del 2013 al 2015 la ONU diseñó un inédito proceso de carácter abierto y a escala planetaria en donde mediante múltiples estudios, mecanismos de diálogo y consultas se recogieron percepciones y propuestas provenientes de la comunidad internacional, tanto de países desarrollados como en desarrollo, así como de actores públicos y privados.

En este contexto, el Gobierno de México, país interesado en contribuir mediante su política exterior en el diseño de una agenda global del desarrollo más democrática e incluyente, apoyó y participó de forma activa en este proceso. Lo hizo mediante diversos ejercicios no solo gubernamentales, sino también con el concurso de determinados agentes de la sociedad civil mexicana y latinoamericana.

Con base en lo anterior, entre otros temas afines, este libro analiza la postura y el actuar del Gobierno mexicano y sectores clave de la sociedad civil en torno a los debates preparatorios que contribuyeron en el diseño de la Agenda 2030 de Desarrollo Sostenible.

The post-1991 Ethiopian ruling elites attempted to implement dual projects of economic transformation and democratization under the political arrangement of ethno-linguistic federalism. As Bach (2011) observes, the ruling TPLF/EPRDF party also implemented a leftist ideology infamously known as a 'revolutionary democracy' whose primary purpose is ensuring the absolute dominance of the ruling elite by dominating the public sphere and creating systems and structures of control. Since 2000s, the government has officially declared that it is pursuing the ideology of a developmental state along the East Asian models. Despite its claim to build democratic developmental state, consensus is not reached about whether this model is relevant for contemporary Ethiopian realities, and its underlying motives. Moreover, critics accuse that the regime's resort to developmental state ideology away from liberal political economy partly drives from its desire to maintain political hegemony and signals its relapse in to authoritarianism. Recently, the country has witnessed widespread violent protest resulting in the weakening of the ruling coalition and its near demise. In this regard, this paper attempted to explicate the Ethiopian developmental state and how it functioned in an increasingly authoritarian political climate in a comparative manner and the underlying cause of recent violent protest. The paper found out that the irresponsive policy implementation bolstered growing authoritarianism, which in turn, along with other pitfalls caused violence which risked the political hegemony of the party and stability of one-party state of Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION
The nature of political system in China has opened an economic and social development path
through an increasingly market-oriented economy which is crucial to maintain economic
dynamism. Strong political system can be reflected on policy sectors, such as agriculture,
education, labour market and social protection, foreign investment, environment protection.
Redefining the role of the state, modernizing public management, adjusting the relations
between levels of government and consolidating the institutional framework for market forces
are four directions in which China political strength has been manifested.
Strong political bases are critical to economic development and the achievement of a society’s
objectives. Vibrant political system is thus a crucial element to address challenges and fault
lines facing a nation and it ensure sustainable development. China is now undergoing a crucial
transformation in its system of governance, adapting institutions and the functioning of the
state to an increasingly market-oriented economy. China Communist Party has more
understanding and plans on challenges faced by China and with its vast historical experiences
on both achievements and mistakes, it is socially, economically and political informed to
deliver accordingly.
On the weaker end of performances promoting reforms in key areas such as housing has been
a challenge to the China Communist Party, majority of Urban Chinese have been struggling
with issues attached to high renting particularly the low and middle income earning
population. The changes China needs now are an independent judiciary, rationalization of
SOEs, and liberalization or elimination of the hukou system of residential registration, which
limits mobility and fuels inequality. Moreover, Political reforms to separate the party and the
state have not yet been reached.
The governance system is an essential part of China development model as outlined in
(Bardhan 2013), authoritarianism is neither necessary nor sufficient for some of the distinctive
features of Chinese governance, both positive and negative and their roots actually go long
back in history. It is often pointed out that unlike in most authoritarian countries China has a
political meritocracy. China's dramatic economic success has now convinced the world, in
terms of performance Chinese political meritocracy can achieve better than multi-party
democracy (Bell 2016).
Not merely are officials in China selected on the basis of an examination system that goes way
back into imperial history, their career promotion depends on how well the local economy
performs. This works well than in democratic administrative system, where promotion is
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based more on seniority than on performance, even though recruitment is on the basis of civil
service examinations. One of the distinctive features of democracy is that the criteria of
meritorious performance arise out of open public discussion. Thus much of a political
leadership's performance may include considerations of pluralism and inclusiveness in the
decision process itself.

Accountability of the elected leaders is one of the key factors in a representative democracy. Bangladesh restored a democratic ruling system in 1991 but has struggled to create an effective institutional mechanism to hold the political leaders before the citizens. Information has often been called the oxygen of democracy because of its power to bring accountability through transparency and public disclosure. With the boom of news media organisations and the emergence of the movement for the right to and freedom of information in the early 2000s, many argued that information institutions could build the mechanism for political accountability. On that background, Bangladesh enacted the Right to Information Act in 2009 and established a few key public information institutions including the Information Commission (IC) and Access to Information Programme hoping that the freedom of information would not only challenge the culture of secrecy and veil but also encourage the elected leaders to be answerable to the citizens. But did it really happen? Why? I looked for the answers in this study though the conceptual and analytical lens of freedom of information, proactive disclosure and accountability. For this study, I mainly used the data and cases gathered from secondary sources namely policy papers, reports, newspapers, journals, books and online spaces. I also utilised my own experience of working with a few state organisations. I analysed the current status of accountability mechanisms in Bangladesh focusing mainly on the political accountability (often called the vertical accountability). I also examined a few recent cases in order to understand the role of the information institutions in bringing the political accountability in the current fragile democracy in Bangladesh. Considering the poor democratic practices in the recent years, findings of this study suggest that the accountability of the political leaders has increased to a certain considerable extent. I argue that this is partly because of the increased transparency and proactive disclosure in the formal and informal institutional mechanisms, and mostly because of the leading active role of the mass media organisations. I conclude with the argument that despite having this increased transparency and freedom of information, this improved accountability is not sustainable without an effective democratic institutional mechanism.

For decades, and especially in recent years,
emerging countries have practiced South-South
Cooperation (SSC) on an increasingly frequent
basis. The impact of SSC on the global development
agenda is growing. This brings to the fore
the question of how to create political dialogue
and collaboration between emerging SSC practitioners
and traditional – often northern – donors
and their institutions, in order to establish a more
cohesive development strategy.
The main focus of this paper is to analyze how
Mexico, a country whose geographical affiliations
are shared between North and Latin America, can
serve as a bridge between North and South, facilitating
communication and agreements between
both hemispheres in order to improve the governance
of international development cooperation. In this regard, the UN can play an important role
in supporting Mexico’s efforts to establish innovative,
permanent, and even institutionalized mechanisms
for coordination and partnership between
North-South and South-South Cooperation models.
These initiatives could serve to improve both
development cooperation and SSC governance
in order to strengthen the current development
agenda, as guided by the Global Goals for Sustainable
Development

Indian state after introducing economic reforms in 1992 has accelerated the economic growth. This has led to profound changes in the Indian economy, amidst other changes that have taken place simultaneously. The other changes include demographic change, the birth of a 300 million middle class, and rapid social change. Economic reforms have also resulted in widening of the gap between the economic groups, in addition to regional disparities in the country, and rural-urban disparities. It is controversial whether this growth, led primarily by market, should be called 'development' without, however, gainsaying that the middleclass and the upper classes have benefited from it. This scenario is compounded by multiple changes in Indian society. While village as a microcosm of Indian civilization has ceased to be so, the overall changes brought by the economic basis of the country have resulted in complex social and political scenarios. These changes are also compounded by the 2014 election of Hindu nationalist government, which leads the state, and has tough task to maintain social cohesion, and meet popular expectations, amidst the tumult of changes in India.

As políticas sociais no Brasil passaram recentemente por mudanças importantes na natureza, no design e no ambiente em que as políticas sociais se inserem. O objetivo desse trabalho é examinar algumas dessas transformações, com foco especial nas iniciativas associadas às áreas do trabalho e geração de renda. Com esse intuito, o artigo é dividido em três partes. Primeiramente, é feita uma breve descrição de características mais marcantes de algumas iniciativas recentes na área social enfatizando a presença de uma heterogeneidade de instrumentos associada a uma, crescente transversalidade e multifuncionalidade dos programas. Na segunda parte, são apresentadas três questões que, embora não sejam necessariamente novas, assumem um caráter fundamental quando associadas a essas mudanças recentes. Finalmente, o trabalho conclui ressaltando a urgência de uma ampliação da agenda que orienta as discussões sobre políticas sociais agregando, dentre outros, esses novos tópicos concernentes à política social. Palavras-chave: Políticas sociais; pobreza; agenda; custos transacionais. As políticas sociais no país estão passando por transformações importantes ao longo dos últimos anos. O objetivo desse trabalho é examinar algumas dessas transformações, com foco especial nas iniciativas associadas às áreas do trabalho e geração de renda. Com esse intuito, o artigo é dividido em três partes. Primeiramente, é feita uma breve descrição de características mais marcantes de algumas iniciativas recentes na área social e que têm impacto no desenvolvimento social e na geração de renda, especialmente mudanças ocorridas na natureza das políticas sociais, na forma como estas são conceitualizadas e operacionalizadas e no ambiente em que estas se inserem. Na segunda parte, são apresentadas três questões que, embora não sejam 1 Professor.

We validate, extend, and empirically and theoretically criticize the cultural dimension of humane orientation of the project GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Program). Theoretically, humane orientation is not just a one-dimensionally positive concept about being caring, altruistic, and kind to others as discussed by Kabasakal and Bodur (2004), but there is also a certain ambivalence to this concept. We suggest differentiating humane orientation toward in-group members from humane orientation toward out-group members. A multicountry construct validation study used student samples from 25 countries that were either high or low in humane orientation ( N = 876) and studied their relation to the traditional GLOBE scale and other cultural-level measures (agreeableness, religiosity, authoritarianism, and welfare state score). Findings revealed a strong correlation between humane orientation and agreeableness, welfare state score, and religiosity. ...

We validate, extend, and empirically and theoretically criticize the cultural dimension of humane orientation of the project GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Program). Theoretically, humane orientation is not just a one-dimensionally positive concept about being caring, altruistic, and kind to others as discussed by Kabasakal and Bodur (2004), but there is also a certain ambivalence to this concept. We suggest differentiating humane orientation toward in-group members from humane orientation toward out-group members. A multicountry construct validation study used student samples from 25 countries that were either high or low in humane orientation (N = 876) and studied their relation to the traditional GLOBE scale and other cultural-level measures (agreeableness, religiosity, authoritarianism, and welfare state score). Findings revealed a strong correlation between humane orientation and agreeableness, welfare state score, and religiosity. Out-group humane orientation proved to be the more relevant subfacet of the original humane orientation construct, suggesting that future research on humane orientation should make use of this measure instead of the vague original scale. The ambivalent character of out-group humane orientation is displayed in its positive correlation to high authoritarianism. Patriotism was used as a control variable for noncritical acceptance of one’s society but did not change the correlations. Our findings are discussed as an example of how rigid expectations and a lack of tolerance for diversity may help explain the ambivalent nature of humane orientation.

This study assessed the impact of intergovernmental relations on the development of Akuku Toru Local Government Area, Rivers State. Methodologically, the study adopted secondary data and content analysis as methods of data collection and analysis/ The findings of the study revealed that there are challenges in the management of intergovernmental relationship in Nigeria. The 1999 constitution has significant impact on the management of intergovernmental relations and State and Local Government relations have negative impact on the development of Akuku Toru Local Government Council in Rivers State. From the findings, the study recommends that strategies such as constitutional reforms, revenue sharing formula and re-structuring of the federal system of government should be carried out to management the challenges in intergovernmental relations in Nigeria.

This paper examines the role that investment promotion has played in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to the ASEAN region. It also explores the marketing facets of the different investment promotion programs employed by ASEAN countries. Survey findings indicate that investment promotion activities have not been a determinant or influential factor in FDI generation in the ASEAN region. Instead, the ASEAN region has attracted the attention and interest of investors, based on its enhanced international standing as a profitable and internationally competitive region in which Western firms can invest and conduct business. 1 For the purpose of this study, ASEAN represents Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand only. (Brunei, Myanmar and Vietnam are also members of ASEAN.) Future ASEAN membership hopefuls include Laos and Cambodia.

Cairncross once said "Development lives in the minds of people". Looking at the situation in the country in general and the north eastern region in particular, there is a need today to remind ourselves of the importance of this statement. The north eastern region along with the country has witnessed more than five and half decades of planned development, mostly state sponsored. Yet we find that poverty and inequality have increased in the region. Poverty which was 21.29 percent in 1993-94, has increased to 29.70 percent in 1999-00. Inequality which was 0.27(Gini Coefficient) has increased to 0.29 in 1999-00. A study undertaken by this author along with one of his colleagues reveals that in terms of access to major economic infrastructures such as power, communications, irrigation and credit, the north east lags far behind the nation.

We validate, extend, and empirically and theoretically criticize the cultural dimension of humane orientation of the project GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Program). Theoretically, humane orientation is not just a one-dimensionally positive concept about being caring, altruistic, and kind to others as discussed by Kabasakal and Bodur (2004), but there is also a certain ambivalence to this concept. We suggest differentiating humane orientation toward in-group members from humane orientation toward out-group members. A multicountry construct validation study used student samples from 25 countries that were either high or low in humane orientation ( N = 876) and studied their relation to the traditional GLOBE scale and other cultural-level measures (agreeableness, religiosity, authoritarianism, and welfare state score). Findings revealed a strong correlation between humane orientation and agreeableness, welfare state score, and religiosity. ...

... Ao longo das décadas de 1970s e 1980s, a definição da pobreza a partir do nexo renda-consumovai sendo gradualmente substituída ... Sua concepção se baseia nas contribuições do economista paquistanês Mahbub Ul Haq, influenciado pelas contribuições de Amartya Sem. ...

Governance has become a global catchphrase. It is seen as a necessary condition for a country to grow economically, provide essential services and reduce poverty. While there is there is no dispute about the necessity of governance, controversies persist whether it is a necessary condition for development. The study is an attempt to explore the debates surrounding the relationship between governance and development with a particular focus on China and India.

The emergence of ICT over the years has brought about both positive and negative influence in almost every aspect of our lives. At the core of this is the rapid growth in use of ICT in all aspects of life, from the workplaces, financial institutions, educational sector, healthcare and on a personal or social level.


ICT is defined as a global network in which ideas are exchanged, or information and knowledge is shared, through the use of a communication medium such as PDA’s, phones or PC’s to connect people. In the field of educational development, which can be described as any novel action which seeks to enhance the efficiency and productivity of both the teaching and learning of any particular subject, ICT has thus become a core part of this process. Nigerian schools have been using the traditional approach of teaching for many decades. Some educational entities in Nigeria face numerous challenges, such as the dwindling ability to collect school fees from parents of learners, and declining financial support from the government. The failure or challenge faced by schools in Nigeria that do not use ICT as a means of enhancing teaching and learning has led to Nigeria’s failing to close the ‘digital divide’. The digital divide is defined as the gap between those individuals who benefit from digital technology and those who do not.

We validate, extend, and empirically and theoretically criticize the cultural dimension of humane orientation of the project GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Program). Theoretically, humane orientation is not just a one-dimensionally positive concept about being caring, altruistic, and kind to others as discussed by Kabasakal and Bodur (2004), but there is also a certain ambivalence to this concept. We suggest differentiating humane orientation toward in-group members from humane orientation toward out-group members. A multicountry construct validation study used student samples from 25 countries that were either high or low in humane orientation (N = 876) and studied their relation to the traditional GLOBE scale and other cultural-level measures (agreeableness, religiosity, authoritarianism, and welfare state score). Findings revealed a strong correlation between humane orientation and agreeableness, welfare state score, and religiosity. Out-group humane orientation proved to be the more relevant subfacet of the original humane orientation construct, suggesting that future research on humane orientation should make use of this measure instead of the vague original scale. The ambivalent character of out-group humane orientation is displayed in its positive correlation to high authoritarianism. Patriotism was used as a control variable for noncritical acceptance of one’s society but did not change the correlations. Our findings are discussed as an example of how rigid expectations and a lack of tolerance for diversity may help explain the ambivalent nature of humane orientation.