Since the 1990s, some donor countries have made part of their aid conditional on a set of policies, including economic liberalization, political liberalization and democratization. This triptych, which can be assembled under the heading of 'good governance', has also been promoted by multilateral financial institutions.

Today, because of the economic crisis, forceful criticism of this gamut of conditions is again being expressed in both North and South.

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Dear bloggers,

I would like to share with you some of the reflections of an article my colleague Olivier Ray and I just published in the Center for Global Development's working papers (accessible here), as they fit nicely in the mandate of this blog - i.e. 'sharing information, viewpoints and visions for the future with the common goal of advancing the cause of development'. In this piece we reflect on some of the changes taking place in the world of international development. We describe a transformation of official development assistance (ODA) into a global public policy whose objectives, instruments and actors are profoundly different from the ones that characterized development aid only ten to fifteen years ago.

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My colleagues are finalizing the preparations for a two-day brainstorming session on the future of European aid. It is a good occasion to open the floor to its participants (and beyond: as always anyone should feel free to join in!) to reflect on the way Europeans envisage their development policy: what is it for? How should we go about it? Here are a few initial thoughts.Europe is a giant of development assistance. Combining funds from member states and the Community, EU aid totaled 46 billion Euros in 2007, making it by far the largest contributor to this global endeavor. This amount equates to 93 Euros per capita, compared to 53 and 44 Euros per capita donated by the United States and Japan, respectively.

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Like earthquake aftershocks, the on-going repercussions of the stock market plunge triggered by the US subprime mortgage meltdown continue to shake financial and banking institutions. Governments and multilateral organisations alike are devoting all their energy and ingenuity to fighting this crisis, shelving the handling of other crises till later. However, while the financial markets panic, the food and energy crises remain and their effects, of structural origin, are likely to be exacerbated by the financial turmoil. Indeed, as a result of incoherent investment, insufficient competitiveness and trade imbalances, food and energy production no longer suffices to cater for the needs of the world's ever-increasing population.

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The debate was initiated at the European Development Days 2008 in Strasbourg and the discussion continues. Rendez-vous in Stockholm for the 2009's edition, and until then "To your keyboards"!

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Although the United Nations always has crises to solve, delegates at this year's UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York seemed to have an exceptional number on their plates. With America's financial turmoil creating a bleak backdrop, the gathering seemed to hum with palpable angst about the future. One world leader after another strode to the podium to tell how high food and fuel prices were devastating the poor in their countries - and threatening to reverse economic growth and the significant gains we have made in fighting poverty. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the world is facing a "development crisis", and worried that wealthy nations would fall further behind in their commitments to the poor. Many delegates and leaders I met echoed those fears.

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Some time ago I met with leaders of several NGOs from a 'Debt and Development Platform'. The quality of our exchanges gave me the idea to continue our discussions on debt here with you.

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