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Does Asia still need development assistance?
German development assistance from Hallstein to the oil crisis
More help is not always helpful
Development cooperation must become more efficient
10/2006 |
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Does Asia still need development assistance?
Overseas Development Institute (Ed.):
Growth and poverty in Asia: Where next?
Development Policy Review, Vol. 24, Supplement 1, August 2006,
Blackwell Publishing, 112 p., ISSN 0950-6746
If efforts to halve global poverty and hunger levels by 2015 are successful, then thanks will be due to Asia. Sustained economic growth in the region has seen a marked decrease in the number of people surviving on less than a dollar a day. Nevertheless the majority of the poor continue to live in the world’s most densely populated continent. This special edition of the British journal Development Policy Review investigates ways of further reducing poverty levels in Asia.
The authors agree that further economic growth is crucial. The conditions are good, particularly in India and China. According to John Humphrey, however, there are three major challenges to sustained growth. In most Asian countries there is too little investment in infrastructure such as roads, water and sewerage systems; energy demand is high, creating an increasing dependency on imports; and environmental damage is eroding growth. In his opinion it is important that governments employ measures which will overcome these problems, and at the same time benefit the poor. For instance, road construction should be planned with improved accessibility of neglected regions in mind. The efficiency of the energy sector should be increased, more modern technology introduced and higher consumer prices accepted, but with adjustments for the poorest population groups.
Until now the poorest people in the region have had little benefit from Asia’s phenomenal growth. Sarah Cook shows that increased prosperity goes hand in hand with even greater inequalities. The megacities and coastal areas in India and China are booming, while other regions are falling further behind. The consequence is internal migration – people hire out their labour as migrant workers or move to the cities permanently. The sudden transition from an agricultural to an industrial society is also creating social instability. Urban poverty is increasing, birth rates are dropping and the traditional function of the family is being undermined. According to Cook, these structural changes are emphasising the need for new state-backed social security systems and more expenditure on education and health. Special relief programmes should be targeted at poor groups, although these presuppose strong local governments. Internal migration should not be impeded, because migrant remittances allow remote regions to share in the boom.
According to the authors, development cooperation with Asia should also be redefined. Several articles point out that development assistance is still an important source of capital to the poorest countries. However, partnerships with the fast growing economies should in future be based on cooperation in research, the promotion of technology transfer, and dialogue on issues such as social security.
The contributions partly overlap and pay scant attention to the distinctive characteristics of individual countries. Some statements, about the quality of institutions for example, are very general. The supplement does, however, introduce the vital question of what development policy can and should still be doing for emerging market countries.
Bernd Ludermann
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