The authors argue that much of foreign aid's failure is related to the institutions that structure its delivery. They offer concrete suggestions about how to improve aid's effectiveness.
What's wrong with foreign aid? Many policymakers, aid practitioners, and scholars have called into question its ability to increase economic growth, alleviate poverty, or promote social development. At the macro level, only tenuous links between development aid and improved living conditions have been found. At the micro level, only a few programs outlast donor support and even fewer appear to achieve lasting improvements. The authors of this book argue that much of aid's failure is related to the institutions that structure its delivery. These institutions govern the complex relationships between the main actors in the aid delivery system and often generate a series of perverse incentives that promote inefficient and unsustainable outcomes. In their analysis, the authors apply the theoretical insights of the new institutional economics to several settings. First, they investigate the institutions of Sida, the Swedish aid agency, to analyze how that aid agency's institutions can produce incentives inimical to desired outcomes, contrary to the desires of its own staff. Second, the authors use cases from India, a country with low aid dependence, and Zambia, a country with high aid dependence, to explore how institutions on the ground in recipient countries also mediate the effectiveness of aid. Throughout the book, the authors offer suggestions about how to improve aid's effectiveness. These suggestions include how to structure evaluations in order to improve outcomes, how to employ agency staff to gain from their on-the-ground experience, and how to engage stakeholders as "owners" in the design, resource mobilization, learning, and evaluation processes of development assistance programs.
Although wildlife fascinates citizens of industrialized countries, little is known about the politics of wildlife policy in Africa. In this innovative book, Clark Gibson challenges the rhetoric of television documentaries and conservation organizations to explore the politics behind the creation and change of wildlife policy in Africa. This book examines what Clark views as a central puzzle in the debate: Why do African governments create policies that apparently fail to protect wildlife? Moving beyond explanations of bureaucratic inefficiency and corrupt dictatorships, Gibson argues that biologically disastrous policies are retained because they meet the distributive goals of politicians and bureaucrats. Using evidence from Zambia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, Gibson shows how institutions encourage politicians and bureaucrats to construct wildlife policies that further their own interests. Different configurations of electoral laws, legislatures, party structures, interest groups, and traditional authorities in each country shape the choices of policymakers - many of which are not consonant with conservation. This book will appeal to students of institutions, comparative politics, natural resource policymaking, African politics, and wildlife conservationists.
Molecular Biology, Third Edition, provides a thoroughly revised, invaluable resource for college and university students in the life sciences, medicine and related fields. This esteemed text continues to meet the needs of students and professors by offering new chapters on RNA, genome defense, and epigenetics, along with expanded coverage of RNAi, CRISPR, and more ensuring topical content for a new class of students. This volume effectively introduces basic concepts that are followed by more specific applications as the text evolves.Moreover, as part of the Academic Cell line of textbooks, this book contains research passages that shine a spotlight on current experimental work reported in Cell Press articles. These articles form the basis of case studies found in the associated online study guide that is designed to tie current topics to the scientific community. Winner of a 2020 Textbook Excellence Award (College) (Texty) from the Textbook and Academic Authors Association Contains new chapters on non-coding RNA, genome defense, epigenetics and epigenomics Features new and expanded coverage of RNAi, CRISPR, genome editing, giant viruses and proteomics Provides an ancillary package with updated PowerPoint slide images
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.