Political Economy of Tanzania

Edwards wrote about Tanzania in 2014, providing an external perspective, largely from purview of the World Bank. For an alternative perspective, readers can pick up Andrew Coulson’s “Tanzania: A Political Economy” (1982), which he wrote from within, as a civil servant and academic in Tanzania. Coulson provides an introduction to Tanzania from the colonial period until […]

Tags: #Africa Socialism #Development Studies #Nyerere #Political Economy #Tanzania

Civil Society & Development

“Civil society has established itself at the beginning of the twenty-first century as a significant, even paradigmatic concept in the field of development policy and practice” wrote Jude Howell and Jenny Pearce in their 2001 book “Civil Society and Development: A Critical Exploration” (p. 1). Yet, how do donors conceptualize, fund and engage with civil […]

Tags: #Civil society #Civil society and development #Democracy #Development #social capital

New Publication: The Geography of Development Studies: Leaving No One Behind

Cochrane, L. and Thornton, A. (2017) The Geography of Development Studies. Forum for Development Studies. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2017.1345786 Abstract: Whereas the Millennium Development Goals sought reductions, the Sustainable Development Goals have set forth bold new objectives of leaving no one behind. This Commentary explores the continued geographic prioritization and exclusions within development studies research and some of the […]

Tags: #Development Studies #Geography of Development Studies #International development #Leaving No One Behind #Research for Development

2 Years of Blogging!

It has been two years to the day since I started posting blogs on this page. This marks the 273rd posting. According to Google Analytics, these were the most popular posts: Conducting Research in Ethiopia? Read this. PhD Reality Check Essential Development Studies Books Advice for Conducting Household Surveys Want to Volunteer Overseas and Don’t […]

Interesting Books (300+)

In addition to the “essential” development studies books, some other interesting books include (organized chronologically):   Pre1950s On the Genealogy of Morality (1887) Nietzsche Growing up in New Guinea (1930) Mead   1950s Black Skin, While Masks (1952) Fanon   1960s The Fire Next Time (1962) Baldwin The Structure of Scientific Revolution (1962) Kuhn Arabia Felix (1964) […]

Tags: #Book Reviews #Books #Development Studies #Interesting books #International development

Toxic Aid: A Tanzanian Study

Every few months the question is asked: Does aid work? Sebastian Edwards, professor and former World Banker, wrote “Toxic Aid: Economic Collapse and Recovery in Tanzania” (2014) to help wade through the an answer. In short, he concludes “aid affects economic performance in a highly complex way, and through multiple and changing channels. It also […]

Tags: #Development #Foreign assistance #International development #Tanzania #Toxic Aid