TCD International Conference on Strengthening Institutions for Development and Poverty Reduction

Posted on: 04 July 2008

How far can the creation of strong institutions improve governance and limit corruption in developing countries? Leading international experts will debate economic, political and legal aspects of this topical issue at a one-day public conference on the theme of Strengthening Institutions for Development and Poverty Reduction organised by Trinity’s Institute for International Integration Studies (IIIS) on Friday 4 July. The aim of the conference is to investigate the institutional challenges facing developing countries and examine what role Ireland has in supporting pro-growth and pro-poor institutional change in developing countries.

“The shocking events surrounding the presidential election in Zimbabwe serve to underline the weakness of governance and institutions in some of the poorest countries in the world and the pressing need to understand better these dimensions of economic and social development”, says TCD’s Professor of International Financial  Economics and Development, Patrick Honohan

Among the questions raised in the conference will be: What types of institutions really do matter for poverty reduction? Does the current vogue for institutional reform pay enough attention to national and local conditions and conventions?  What role should Irish policy makers and development practitioners play in institutional reform in developing countries? Can development aid be used effectively to build political and ethnic stability?

Keynote speaker, Stephen Haber ( Stanford University ) will draw on his celebrated analysis of the intertwining of economic and political power in 19^th Century Mexico to illustrate graphically how different forms of political organisation in developing countries can affect the reform of taxation and property rights.

On the political side, Michael Woolcock of the University of Manchester ‘s Brooks Poverty Institute argues that even good politicians will often enact bad policies because of the social constraints on their efforts to bring about reform. These constraints are shaped by the degree of social cohesion within their country. Under these circumstances it can, he believes, be a mistake for external advisers to try to force poor countries to leap to a pre-determined institutional model imported from the West and deemed to be global best practice.  Instead, he advocates an alternative, more process oriented approach that focuses on building “interim institutions” to engage with and incrementally transform the political economies within which they exist.  The “integrity systems” proposed by Akere Muna of Transparency International as a way of addressing corruption in Africa, might be seen in this light. Lise Rakner (of the University of Bergen) shares the concern that simplistic imposition of standard models will continue to fail, noting for example, that the emergence of democracy in Africa has been characterised by a combination of presidentialism and clientelism, offering incentives for individuals to maintain small, personalised parties rather than consolidating strong opposition parties.

Reviewing the evidence from around the world on which types of economic institution seem most associated with the goals of economic growth and poverty reduction, Professor Honohan points out that there is not necessarily a conflict between these two goals: different types of institutions are relevant for each. Emphasising property rights can seem irrelevant for poverty reduction, but the role of secure property rights in giving micro-entrepreneurs access to credit has long been recognised. In this context, Elena Panaritis proposes an innovative approach to resolving the ambiguity of the “informal” contracts that affect property ownership in many developing countries.

Other speakers at the conference include Trinity Professors William Binchy and Alan Matthews who will focus on challenges for the judiciary, and the need for a coherent cross-departmental approach to Ireland ‘s development assistance effort respectively. Gwénaëlle Corre will speak on EU development policy coherence.

This conference is the fourth in a series of conferences on international development organised by Trinity’s Institute for International Integration Studies (IIIS), with the support of the Advisory Board for Irish Aid.  The event is in association with the Trinity International Development Initiative (TIDI).

Details:

Web Address:

http://www.tcd.ie/iiis/pages/events/institutions_development.php

Full Brochure (inc. running order): http://www.tcd.ie/iiis/pages/events/IIIS%20Institutions%20Conference%202008%20-%

Presented by: The Institute for International Integration Studies (IIIS)