Doug Porter – författare

Originally published in 1986, this book evaluated the review of the Australian Overseas Aid Program (the 1984 Jackson Report) and discusses the significance of Australia’s contribution to overseas aid for the future. The book focusses on the overall context of the Jackson report; discusses the geographical distribution of aid proposed by the report and examines aid administration in its more specific bureaucratic context and with broader questions of community participation in developmental processes.

Originally published in 1986, this book evaluated the review of the Australian Overseas Aid Program (the 1984 Jackson Report) and discusses the significance of Australia’s contribution to overseas aid for the future. The book focusses on the overall context of the Jackson report; discusses the geographical distribution of aid proposed by the report and examines aid administration in its more specific bureaucratic context and with broader questions of community participation in developmental processes.

Development’s current focus – poverty reduction and good governance – signals a turn away from the older neoliberal preoccupation with structural adjustment, privatization and downsizing the state. For some, the new emphases on empowering and securing the poor through basic service delivery, local partnership, decentralization and institution building constitute a decisive break with the past and a whole set of new development possibilities beyond neoliberalism. Taking a wider historical perspective, this book charts the emergence of poverty reduction and governance at the centre of development. It shows that the Poverty Reduction paradigm does indeed mark a shift in the wider liberal project that has underpinned development: precisely what is new, and what this means for how the poor are governed, are described here in detail. This book provides a compelling history of development doctrine and practice, and in particular offers the first comprehensive account of the last twenty years, and development’s shift towards a new political economy of institution building, decentralized governance and local partnerships. The story is illustrated with extensive case studies from first hand experience in Vietnam, Uganda, Pakistan and New Zealand.

Development’s current focus – poverty reduction and good governance – signals a turn away from the older neoliberal preoccupation with structural adjustment, privatization and downsizing the state. For some, the new emphases on empowering and securing the poor through basic service delivery, local partnership, decentralization and institution building constitute a decisive break with the past and a whole set of new development possibilities beyond neoliberalism. Taking a wider historical perspective, this book charts the emergence of poverty reduction and governance at the centre of development. It shows that the Poverty Reduction paradigm does indeed mark a shift in the wider liberal project that has underpinned development: precisely what is new, and what this means for how the poor are governed, are described here in detail. This book provides a compelling history of development doctrine and practice, and in particular offers the first comprehensive account of the last twenty years, and development’s shift towards a new political economy of institution building, decentralized governance and local partnerships. The story is illustrated with extensive case studies from first hand experience in Vietnam, Uganda, Pakistan and New Zealand.

The Magarini Settlement Project in Kenya is typical of many large Third World rural development projects of recent years, not least in its failure to fulfil even minimum goals. First published in 1991, Development in Practice explores the reasons for this projects failure, and looks at the lessons to be learned from this experience for development in general. Challenging many assumptions and approaches, its provocative conclusions will generate much interest amongst development practitioners.