FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES Duncan Green’s blog played a key role in shaping the second edition of From Poverty to Power, and the debates and conversations that occurred as a result of Duncan’s posts since publication in 2008 provided material for the second edition. This is particularly true of the focus upon ‘How Change Happens’, an area of thought of increasing significance since 2008. Because of its continuing importance as a space where people can engage in the debates surrounding development, the From Poverty to Power blog archive has been curated and the highlights categorised and assembled in order (the most recent posts first under each heading). The posts are arranged under themed headings to create an effective list of resources that can be read alongside the book, and that support and emphasise its key arguments. Each link will take you to that particular blog post. The list is ordered in reverse chronological order with the most recent blog post at the start of the list. Blog posts from between 2008 to 2012 have been selected. Each link takes you to the blog post, complete with all the responses. Because you are then on the live blog, you are part of the ongoing debate and you will be able to make your own contributions to the debate. FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES CONTENTS AGRICULTURE AID ARAB SPRING BIOFUELS AND TECHNOLOGY CLIMATE CHANGE CONFLICT AND SECURITY DISASTERS GENDER GLOBAL FINANCE AND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS HEALTH AND EDUCATION HOW CHANGE HAPPENS INEQUALITY MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING NEW ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT NGOS POLITICS, ECONOMICS AND TRADE POVERTY Disclaimer: Due to the nature of the website we cannot guarantee that links will always work, please go to the From Poverty to Power blog homepage if you experience any difficulties and search from there: http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/ FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES AGRICULTURE A selection of posts concerned with agriculture and the food price crisis. How we saved agriculture, fed the world and ended rural poverty: looking back from 2050 December 11th, 2012 Fighting for food security in India July 16th, 2012 Ending world hunger is possible – so why hasn’t it been done? February 16th, 2012 Small farms can be beautiful – how farmers’ markets changed attitudes and policies in Colombia October 20th, 2011 Living on a spike – how are high food prices actually experienced by people living in poverty? June 22nd, 2011 How can Ethiopia’s coffee farmers get more from your $3 latte? September 30th, 2010 How to insure crops with a mobile phone – an experiment from Kenya March 24th, 2010 Why we should buy more from developing countries and other tips on pro-poor shopping March 2nd, 2009 Food prices for poor people are not coming down – new data from the FAO March 24th, 2009 What would a global food security policy look like? January 27th, 2009 A Billion Hungry People – remember the food price crisis? January 26th, 2009 The Food Price Crisis and Trade December 3rd, 2008 The Rights and Wrongs of Food Miles June 26th, 2008 AID A selection of posts that debate types of aid, how it’s used, its effectiveness and where it is and isn’t having an impact. Calling all Euro/Aid sceptics – here’s some top quality aid from the EU December 19th, 2012 What can aid agencies learn from McDonalds? August 1st, 2012 So the world is a complex system – what should aid agencies do differently? April 18th, 2012 Crises in a new world order: challenging the humanitarian project February 7th, 2012 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES Why did help arrive so late? Evidence v Incentives in the Horn of Africa drought. January 18th, 2012 Meetings with Remarkable Women January 12th, 2012 Why don’t we just send aid money directly to poor people’s cellphones? January 4th, 2012 Investing in people or building more stuff: which is better for reducing disaster risks? December 12th, 2011 Development’s Cinderella? Why does the aid industry ignore disabled people? October 14th, 2011 Good news on aid: dependency is falling, and quality (slowly) improving (but France is still rubbish) September 27th, 2011 How are China, Saudi Arabia and other non-traditional donors doing on aid? August 10th, 2011 How not to run an aid programme: Afghanistan March 10th, 2011 Does India need aid and if so, what kind? January 12th, 2011 What should aid focus on, poor people or poor countries? October 6th, 2010 An evening with Bill and Melinda Gates and the decade of vaccines: is this the future of aid? October 6th, 2010 Social Protection for Cows? September 17th, 2010 Should emergency relief be used to build mosques and churches? May 13th, 2010 Why 21st Century Aid needs to be bigger AND better May 20th, 2010 Are aid workers living a lie? And does it matter? May 25th, 2010 Cash for Coffins? What happened when Oxfam gave poor Vietnamese a lump sum April 16th, 2009 Is British aid bad? Owen Barder locks antlers with Bill Easterly March 25th, 2009 What happens when you give people money (rather than food or blankets) after a natural disaster? Some evidence from Zambia March 11th, 2009 Promises v Reality: The Widening Credibility Gap on Aid January 20th, 2009 Agonizing over Aid July 16th, 2008 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES ARAB SPRING The two posts analyse the Arab Spring, one of the big ‘shocks’ that occurred in the four years between the two editions. Yemen: Arab Spring meets Fragile State + Resource Constraints March 24th, 2011 Egypt: What are the drivers of change? February 17th, 2011 BIOFUELS AND TECHNOLOGY A selection of posts which look at issues surrounding biofuels and technology and the part they are both playing in development. African techno-euphoria and the origins of Kenyan mobile exceptionalism August 30th, 2012 What’s the connection between power, development and social media? May 17th, 2012 Need an ‘epic win’ on climate change or world peace? Look no further Thursday, July 14th 2011 When energy comes to a Senegalese village, do people get more healthy, wealthy and wise? December 10th, 2010 Why Facebook and Twitter won’t be leading the revolution October 8th, 2010 What distinguishes a nice technology from a nasty one? June 23rd, 2010 How to insure crops with a mobile phone – an experiment from Kenya March 24th, 2010 Using mobile phones to combat medicine shortages in Africa January 4th, 2010 Is this guy the world’s best lecturer on development? September 18th, 2009 Good and bad technologies for development – some nice examples of both September 14th, 2011 CLIMATE CHANGE A selection of posts discussing climate change and its effects. Need an ‘epic win’ on climate change or world peace? Look no further July 14th, 2011 The reality of climate change: floods, migration and nostalgia – guest blog from Bangladesh December 9th, 2010 The world’s next 20 years on one slide – and it’s pretty scary August 17th, 2010 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES Jasmine Rice in the Weeping Plain: successful adaptation to climate change October 9th, 2009 Can we say climate change ’causes’ extreme weather events? October 14th, 2009 What has climate change done to the seasons? July 7th, 2009 Natural disasters will hurt 50% more people by 2015. Why? Climate Change + Inequality April 21st, 2009 How is Climate Change affecting South Africa? February 27th, 2009 Why Poznan Climate Change talks matter for development: evidence from Viet Nam December 1st, 2008 What needs to happen in the climate change talks in Poznan? December 2nd, 2008 What did Poznan mean for progress on climate change? December 19th, 2008 Meltdowns compared: Financial v Climate Crises November 7th, 2008 Will we ever be able to talk about limits to growth? November 12th, 2008 Nicholas Stern’s new paper on Climate Change: 8/10 on economics; 3/10 for politics (and the science is pretty questionable, as well) July 9th, 2008 CONFLICT AND SECURITY These posts deal with issues surrounding conflict and security and how this impacts upon development. How can INGOs improve their work in fragile and conflict states? July 19th, 2012 If change requires both cooperation and conflict, can we really do both? April 10th, 2012 An optimistic take on fragile states February 8th, 2012 Violence and development – what are the links? December 2nd, 2011 What has 9/11 meant for international development? September 13th, 2011 Murder and Development – what’s the link? October 7th, 2011 What happens when negotiations fail to prevent 2 million deaths? Not much, apparently October 7th, 2009 How are effective states going to emerge in Africa? February 19th, 2009 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES 3 crystal ball overviews on global security – not looking good December 15th, 2008 DISASTERS Posts which look at disasters caused by natural hazards and how to reduce their impact. Reducing the risk of disasters; reducing inequality – what’s the link? October 12th, 2012 Why did help arrive so late? Evidence v Incentives in the Horn of Africa drought. January 18th, 2012 Investing in people or building more stuff: which is better for reducing disaster risks? December 12th, 2011 Responding to emergencies: is the centre of gravity shifting away from the UN towards national governments? October 12th, 2011 Natural disasters will hurt 50% more people by 2015. Why? Climate Change + Inequality April 21st, 2009 GENDER Posts that explore the issue of gender and its impact upon development. Love, death and violence against women in the DRC (and elsewhere): what are we missing? November 25th, 2012 Day of the Girl (and a small revolution in the birthplace of humanity) October 11th, 2012 Move your chair into the circle: Indigenous women’s political participation in Guatemala August 8th, 2012 Yemeni women rise up – the untold story June 7th, 2012 Femicide, anger and struggle: stories of women’s activism in Honduras May 24th, 2012 Meetings with Remarkable Women January 12th, 2012 Why are over 3 million people campaigning on violence against women in South Asia? September 28th, 2011 Justice for Women: great new report from UN Women July 6th, 2011 Do men and women see hunger differently? May 25th, 2011 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES How butter leads to women’s emancipation: a self help group in Ethiopia September 24th, 2010 How Change Happens: Campaigning on Early Marriage in Yemen September 21st, 2010 Getting women into paid employment has more impact on poverty than formalizing women’s work or equalizing wage rates – findings from Latin America April 17th, 2009 The impact of the global crisis on women workers – new report March 30th, 2009 Pregnancy and childbirth still killing 500,000 women a year, nearly all in Africa and South Asia January 22nd, 2009 Seizing the Moment: A Successful Campaign on Domestic Violence in Malawi June 23rd, 2009 GLOBAL FINANCE AND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS Posts relating to the recent global economic crisis and global finance in general. What did we learn in the global economic crisis? Multimedia wrap-up on resilience, gender impact and fiscal holes (plus me waving my arms around) August 10th, 2010 A great insider’s take on the financial crisis September 1st, 2009 How do poor people see the impact of the global crisis? New research from five countries. April 29th, 2009 The impact of the global crisis on women workers – new report March 30th, 2009 Food prices for poor people are not coming down – new data from the FAO March 24th, 2009 Greed, Fear, Deregulation and previous crashes: the origins of the meltdown January 28th, 2009 Bailouts v aid v climate change – $ reveals priorities November 28th, 2008 Meltdown Miscellany: stats and soundbites on the development impact October 17th, 2008 How will the meltdown affect development? September 29th, 2008 Meltdowns compared: Financial v Climate Crises November 7th, 2008 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES HEALTH AND EDUCATION This group of posts deals with issues surrounding health and education (essential services) in the developing world. What causes bad nutrition – not enough power or not enough vitamins? February 22nd, 2012 Development’s Cinderella? Why does the aid industry ignore disabled people? October 14th, 2011 Good and bad technologies for development – some nice examples of both September 14th, 2011 Inspiring action on shit (getting rid of it) – guest post from Robert Chambers May 30th, 2011 An evening with Bill and Melinda Gates and the decade of vaccines: is this the future of aid? October 21st, 2010 How Change Happens: Improving the Education system in Niger September 15th, 2010 Using mobile phones to combat medicine shortages in Africa January 4th, 2010 Can we stay the course on education? January 20th, 2010 Population: why it’s a dangerous distraction on climate change (and makes us feel uncomfortable) December 11th, 2009 What can you do if teachers don’t show up? August 20th, 2009 Is HIV a disease of inequality? April 30th, 2009 Medical myth-busting: Why public beats private on health care provision February 12th, 2009 Pregnancy and childbirth still killing 500,000 women a year, nearly all in Africa and South Asia January 22nd, 2009 Some killer facts (and some life savers) on Health in Malawi December 18th, 2008 A definitive overview of education in the developing world December 12th, 2008 Cuba beats USA again, this time on child welfare December 10th, 2008 World Health Report 2008 – getting back to basics October 24th, 2008 Health is social, not medical September 16th, 2008 What’s Kerala’s Secret? September 8th, 2008 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES HOW CHANGE HAPPENS Ideas about ‘how change happens’ is the newest addition to From Poverty to Power and the selection of blog posts provide numerous real-world examples that can be read in addition to the case studies in the text. How we saved agriculture, fed the world and ended rural poverty: looking back from 2050 December 11th, 2012 India’s slums: how change happens and the challenge of urban programming November 1st, 2012 Move your chair into the circle: Indigenous women’s political participation in Guatemala August 8th, 2012 What can aid agencies learn from McDonalds? August 1st, 2012 If change requires both cooperation and conflict, can we really do both? April 10th, 2012 Campaigners can still learn from the Abolition of Slavery: guest post by Max Lawson March 23rd, 2012 Power and change – how do they fit in development work? November 28th, 2011 How can theories of change help in working with the private sector? July 13th, 2011 What does a theory of change look like? June 21st, 2011 Hans Rosling and co on Water – justice, development and liberation through washing machines March 30th, 2011 How can better models of change sharpen up our work on development? March 7th, 2011 When energy comes to a Senegalese village, do people get more healthy, wealthy and wise? December 10th, 2010 Yemeni women rise up – the untold story June 7th, 2012 How butter leads to women’s emancipation: a self help group in Ethiopia September 24th, 2010 How Change Happens: Campaigning on Early Marriage in Yemen September 21st, 2010 How Change Happens: Improving the Education system in Niger September 15th, 2010 What can Sweden teach us about successful development? September 7th, 2010 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES Venezuela: Latin America’s inequality success story August 6th, 2010 Lifting the Resource Curse (or how to make finding oil a blessing) February 25th, 2010 How can tax reform build effective states? January 7th, 2010 Charter Cities – visionary, naive or bonkers? October 27th, 2009 Jasmine Rice in the Weeping Plain: successful adaptation to climate change October 9th, 2009 Seizing the Moment: A Successful Campaign on Domestic Violence in Malawi June 23rd, 2009 Getting women into paid employment has more impact on poverty than formalizing women’s work or equalizing wage rates – findings from Latin America April 17th, 2009 7 steps from autocracy to democracy March 14th, 2011 Why we should buy more from developing countries and other tips on pro-poor shopping March 2nd, 2009 How are effective states going to emerge in Africa? February 19th, 2009 Can NGO advocacy influence states? Social Protection in Georgia February 25th, 2009 Brazil is top of the world on an environmental issue – recycling January 21st, 2009 Cuba beats USA again, this time on child welfare December 10th, 2008 Vietnam: really making poverty history October 15th, 2008 What’s Kerala’s Secret? September 8th, 2008 A youtube’s worth a thousand words August 1st, 2008 Can states be built? June 21st, 2008 INEQUALITY These posts deal with the issue of inequality, which is a key issue discussed at length in From Poverty to Power. Reducing the risk of disasters; reducing inequality – what’s the link? October 12th, 2012 What kind of inequality matters most? The case for unfairness. August 16th, 2012 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES How the G20 is failing on inequality January 19th, 2012 What’s going on with global inequality? Let’s ask Andy Sumner…… January 23rd, 2012 Is the IMF getting serious about inequality? Looks like it November 4th, 2010 How Change Happens: Campaigning on Early Marriage in Yemen September 21st, 2010 Is HIV a disease of inequality? April 30th, 2009 Natural disasters will hurt 50% more people by 2015. Why? Climate Change + Inequality April 21st, 2009 Pregnancy and childbirth still killing 500,000 women a year, nearly all in Africa and South Asia January 22nd, 2009 Can we measure inequality of opportunity? The World Bank has a go. October 6th, 2008 How much is $700bn? September 30th, 2008 Health is social, not medical September 16th, 2008 MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING This is a selection of posts that follow the ongoing debate on MEL/MEAL and assessing results, includes five posts from 2013. First, five posts from The Politics of Evidence debate: Chris Whitty and Stefan Dercon v Chris Roche and Ros Eyben, January/February 2013. Best to read these in reverse order, starting on January 22nd 2013, to see the debate develop. So what do I take away from The Great Evidence Debate? Final thoughts (for now) February 7th, 2013 Theory’s fine, but what about practice? Oxfam’s MEL chief on the evidence agenda February 6th, 2013 Evidence and results wonkwar final salvo (for now): Eyben and Roche respond to Whitty and Dercon + your chance to vote January 24th, 2013 The evidence debate continues: Chris Whitty and Stefan Dercon respond from DFID January 23rd, 2013 The political implications of evidence-based approaches (aka start of this week’s wonkwar on the results agenda) January 22nd, 2013 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES Other posts on MEAL How do we work out the returns to campaigning? Nice example from the Philippines December 5th, 2012 Lant Pritchett v the Randomistas on the nature of evidence – is a wonkwar brewing? November 21st, 2012 What do DFID wonks think of Oxfam’s attempt to measure its effectiveness? October 24th, 2012 When we (rigorously) measure effectiveness, what do we find? Initial results from an Oxfam experiment October 10th, 2011 Can we demonstrate effectiveness without bankrupting our NGO and/or becoming a randomista? September 9th, 2011 So where have we got to on Value for Money, Results etc? March 17th, 2011 If not results, then what? The risks of not having a results agenda March 2011 March 16th, 2011 ‘Stuff happens’: the risks of a results agenda. Guest post from Rosalind Eyben March 15th, 2011 Is the aid industry’s audit culture becoming a threat to accountability? October 12th, 2010 NEW ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT Posts that deal with a variety of new issues affecting development, some blue sky thinking to consider. Crises in a new world order: challenging the humanitarian project February 7th, 2012 Are crazy drivers as big a development issue as malaria or tuberculosis? The case for a global road safety campaign November 9th, 2011 Religion and Development: what are the links? Why should we care? October 27th, 2011 The disruptive effect of falling fertility – the real population question? October 28th, 2011 What’s New in Development? March 29th, 2011 What does ageing mean for development? Guest blog from someone who knows October 19th, 2010 What does the end of North-South mean for the development sector? October 28th, 2010 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES Why 21st Century Aid needs to be bigger AND better May 20th, 2010 Should emergency relief be used to build mosques and churches? May 13th, 2010 Alcohol in Africa – more illegal, but not more deadly May 6th, 2010 Road accidents claim the life of Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, and another 1.3 million people this year June 1st, 2009 What happens when you give people money (rather than food or blankets) after a natural disaster? Some evidence from Zambia March 11th, 2009 Do development agencies need to look more like the private sector? September 19th, 2008 NGOs A group of posts about NGOs and the part they play in development. What can aid agencies learn from McDonalds? August 1st, 2012 How can INGOs improve their work in fragile and conflict states? July 19th, 2012 Crises in a new world order: challenging the humanitarian project February 7th, 2012 Why did help arrive so late? Evidence v Incentives in the Horn of Africa drought. January 18th, 2012 How can development NGOs go urban? January 17th, 2012 Meetings with Remarkable Women January 12th, 2012 Thick problems, thin solutions and the future of NGOs December 9th, 2011 Responding to emergencies: is the centre of gravity shifting away from the UN towards national governments? October 12th, 2011 Development’s Cinderella? Why does the aid industry ignore disabled people? October 14th, 2011 How can better models of change sharpen up our work on development? March 7th, 2011 What’s New in Development? March 29th, 2011 How can theories of change help in working with the private sector? July 13th, 2011 Investing in people or building more stuff: which is better for reducing disaster risks? December 12th, 2011 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES De-Development in Gaza December 14th, 2010 An evening with Bill and Melinda Gates and the decade of vaccines: is this the future of aid? October 21st, 2010 What does global aging mean for development? October 13th, 2010 What does ageing mean for development? Guest blog from someone who knows October 19th, 2010 What does the end of North-South mean for the development sector? October 28th, 2010 Four big trends that advocacy NGOs need to watch June 3rd, 2010 Why is humanitarian work so hard in cities? January 21st, 2010 Can NGO advocacy influence states? Social Protection in Georgia February 25th, 2009 Forget Cannes – check out the Golden Poo Awards, 2009 October 23rd, 2009 Sensibilist or Swivel Eyed? Weighing the arguments for greater radicalism in NGO advocacy October 2nd, 2009 How can NGOs influence states? October 22nd, 2008 Do development agencies need to look more like the private sector? September 19th, 2008 POLITICS, ECONOMICS AND TRADE A selection of posts which deal with issues related to politics, economics and trade. How can development NGOs go urban? January 17th, 2012 Responding to emergencies: is the centre of gravity shifting away from the UN towards national governments? October 12th, 2011 Power and change – how do they fit in development work? November 28th, 2011 Honduras is building a charter city? This is never going to work December 21st, 2011 7 steps from autocracy to democracy March 14th, 2011 Is the spread of supermarkets in poor countries good news or bad? February 17th, 2010 Who runs the world? The rise of the G5 June 9th, 2010 FROM POVERTY TO POWER BLOG RESOURCES How can tax reform build effective states? January 7th, 2010 Charter Cities – visionary, naive or bonkers? October 27th, 2009 Cleaning up Dirty Elections – what works? October 15th, 2009 Do the poorest countries need industrial policy? The UN says yes. September 3rd, 2009 Seizing the Moment: A Successful Campaign on Domestic Violence in Malawi June 23rd, 2009 Food prices for poor people are not coming down – new data from the FAO March 24th, 2009 How are effective states going to emerge in Africa? February 19th, 2009 Protectionism – good or bad? It depends…… February 3rd, 2009 Is Daewoo the new East India Company? November 24th, 2008 Can states be built? June 21st, 2008 POVERTY A selection of posts that deal with the issue of poverty and how it is being tackled. Should poverty be defined by a single international poverty line, or country by country? (and what difference does it make?) July 24th, 2012 By 2015 Nigeria will have more poor people than India or China July 27th, 2011 How to halve world poverty – ignore J. Paul Getty November 10th, 2010 How can we improve the way we measure poverty? The UN’s new poverty index (and groovy graphics) July 27th, 2010 Which governments are best/worst at ending hunger? November 13th, 2009 The changing understanding of poverty; the latest on growth diagnostics – 2 new papers to read while you’re awaiting the US election result…… November 4th, 2008 Vietnam: really making poverty history October 15th, 2008 Chronic Poverty Report, published 8 July July 8th, 2008