In the context of a global surge in demand for commodities, several industrialized countries including the EU have adopted strategies to secure access to raw materials. At the same time, resource-rich developing countries have increasingly introduced measures aimed at using their resource base for broader economic development and at reaping higher income from raw material exploitation and exports. [...]

Securing access to raw materials plays an important role in EU growth strategies. In 2008 the European Commission launched the "Raw Materials Initiative" (RMI) expressing the need for an integrated policy response to ensure access to mineral-based raw materials. At the same time, in many resource-rich developing countries the debate has intensified on too little benefits of their mineral wealth [...]

Given the far-reaching implications of commodity prices in particular for developing countries, an understanding of the factors behind recent commodity price developments is crucial. Recent ÖFSE research shows that besides important structural changes in fundamental supply and demand conditions of many commodities, the increasing presence of financial investors on commodity derivative markets has [...]

Development policy affects human rights in manifold ways. For example, trade agreements can have an adverse impact on the rights to health or food by making essential medicines or goods less accessible or available. Or large-scale investment projects influence indigenous rights when they entail resettlement programs or the expropriation of traditional lands. Policy-makers have tried to tackle [...]

Since 2001, national export credit agencies - in the case of Austria the Oesterreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) - are obliged to assess the environmental impacts of large projects (especially in the fields of infrastructure, mining and industry) pursuant to the OECD Common Approaches on the Environment and Export Credits before granting official export support. In addition to the ecological impacts [...]

Die Mikrofinanzkrise von Andrah Pradesh, im Zuge derer sich zahlreiche arme KreditnehmerInnen das Leben nahmen, und der gleichzeitige höchst erfolgreiche Börsengang der dort basierten, weltweit größten Mikrofinanzinstitution (MFI) SKS lösten eine Welle der Kritik an der Mikrokreditbranche aus (vgl. Schmidt 2010). Zweifel an der Effektivität des Mikrokreditansatzes werden seither breit in der [...]