Microcredit was once universally lauded in international development community circles as a 'magic bullet'. Using the example of South Africa, this paper shows that microcredit has actually been an 'anti-developmental' local financial model, and one of the most calamitous financial sector interventions in South Africa's short post-apartheid history. This disastrous performance is compared to a [...]

China is today the second-largest economy after the US (UN ECLAC 2018a) and the world-leading export nation. The economic and political development of China in the past decades has had a big impact on other parts of the world. The Chinese demand for natural resources has dramatically changed trade volumes and structures in many resource-producing countries. Even though China has recently shifted [...]

Home Publikationen Aktueller Kommentar Aktueller Kommentar Juni 2017 Der neue EU-Konsens für Entwicklung – Entwicklungspolitik im Dienste der EU-Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik Der im Juni 2017 unterzeichnete neue EU-Konsens für Entwicklung definiert als primäres Ziel der EU-Entwicklungspolitik die globale Armutsbekämpfung, ordnet diese aber gleichzeitig der EU-Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik unter. [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified discussions about the digital revolution, but has also brought to light the pitfalls of accelerated digitalization in terms of rising inequality and exclusion. In development policy, digitalization is viewed both as a risk in terms of the digital divide and as a major opportunity for economic development. Human capabilities rank as one of the key preconditions [...]

European Union (EU) trade policy has become increasingly contested and politicised. Citizens and politicians have become more and more concerned about the human rights and sustainable development implications of free trade. The European Commission in its ‘Trade for All’ Strategy has recognized the need for a more value-based trade policy. In the same vein, the EU has included a chapter on Trade [...]

Home Publikationen Aktueller Kommentar Aktueller Kommentar September 2019 Der „Kampf gegen den Klimawandel“ braucht eine andere Politik für nachhaltige, globale Entwicklung Die Klimakrise war das Topthema des Nationalratswahlkampfs. Die wahlwerbenden Parteien sind allerdings über Ankündigungen nicht hinausgekommen. Für eine neue Regierung muss es darum gehen, die notwendige Verringerung des CO2 [...]