Deepa Narayan
2015 European Year for Development
A K APUSCINSKI DE VELOPMENT LEC TURE — MAY 7, 2015
DDDDDDDeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppaaaaaaa NNNNNNNaaaaaarrrrrraaaaaaayyyyyyyaaaaaaannnnnnn
Blind Spots of Development Policy: Rethinking Gender Inequality
“What global thinkers
think about development”
Deepa Narayan
If development is about achieving human
potential for the maximum number of
people in the world, our current public policy
approaches have a huge blind spot. Can
public policy deal with millions of daily acts
of violence that are perpetrated by millions
of people on millions of other people in their
daily lives? These limit human potential. Why
is it considered reasonable to intervene when
the Taliban in Afghanistan organizes to stop
girls from attending school? And why do we
hesitate when millions of girls are prevented
from attending school by the private decision
of millions of individual fathers who are
spread over large areas?
How can we address gender inequalities
that still persist in rich countries and in
poor countries? In the USA, with an overall
ranking of 20 on the Gender Gap index (World
Economic Forum), the pay gap between men
and women will take a century to close.
The United Nations may have already given
up. In the current UN eff orts on developing
Sustainable Development Goals, gender
equality is about the only goal that is not time
bound, a direction without commitment. Given
these diffi culties, how long then will it take
India with more than 500 million girls and
women, and an overall ranking of 114 on the
gender gap index, to achieve gender equality?
We need to fundamentally challenge existing
development policy and practice to achieve
greater gender equality more quickly.
Drawing on data from the USA and new
research on India, a case is made to reconsider
the primacy given to economics rather than
culture, the public rather than private, and
the external rather than internal in our policy
thinking.
This event is livestreamed at
http://kapuscinskilectures.eu.
Ask questions on Twitter using
#KAPTalks.
“gender inequality”
Blind
Spots of
Development
Policy:
Rethinking
Gender
Inequality
Dr. Deepa Narayan has worked on global poverty issues
for the last 25 years, with international organizations and
civil society. From 2002 through 2008 she served as Senior
Adviser to the Vice-President in the Poverty Reduction and
Economic Management (PREM) Network of the World Bank in
Washington, D.C. She serves on the Global Advisory Councils
of the World Economic Forum.
Narayan was named as one of 100 most infl uential global
thinkers by the U.S. Foreign Policy magazine, as one of
35 great minds by India Today magazine in 2011, and one
of 100 disruptive heroes to bring about changes in large
organizations by Hackers Work (2013).
She has written over 15 books including the Voices of the Poor
series for the World Bank. She is the author of the forthcoming
book, Womanhood: Made in India (2016).
Hungary’s international development cooperation policies
After the start of its political and economic
transition in 1989, Hungary shifted from being
a donor country to a recipient of foreign aid.
In 2001, Hungary rejoined the international
donor community with new international
development policies, spurred by its OECD
membership in 1996 and eventual accession
to the EU in 2004. Hungary’s approach to
international development cooperation (IDC) is
based on “ad hoc and decentralized initiatives
with a practice adapted to UN, DAC, and EU
standards.”1
In 2013, the Hungarian government refi ned
its IDC by issuing a strategy document on
Hungarian IDC for 2014–2020. The strategy
document acknowledges Hungary’s failure to
meet offi cial development assistance (ODA)
targets and seeks to outline a strategy for
Hungarian IDC in line with IDC strategies in
the international community such as the
Millennium Development Goals. It is not yet
clear how this strategy will be implemented.
Hungary targets development partnerships
with countries that are “important to its
foreign and security policy and foreign trade
relations…that are well known to Hungarian
economic and social actors.”2 Hungarian
IDC is focused on sectors and activities in
which Hungary believes it has a comparative
advantage, including:
• the transfer of Hungarian experience
related to the change of political and
economic systems;
• intellectual capital;
• education;
• health and pharmaceutical production;
• agriculture;
• water management, planning, and
consultancy;
• infrastructure planning;
• consultancy on environmental protection;
• protection of cultural heritage; and
• general and transportation engineering
activity and cartography.
Deepa Narayan, PhDDevelopment advisor and writer
Kapuscinski Development LectureMay 7, 2015
Welcoming remarks from
• John Shattuck, CEU President and Rector
• Tamás Szűcs, Head of the European Commission Representation in Hungary
• Mehmet Erdogan, Kapuscinski Development Lectures, UNDP
Keynote speech by
• Deepa Narayan, Development Advisor and Writer
Discussion with the audience moderated by
• Julia Buxton, SPP Associate Dean for Academic Aff airs and Programs; and Professor of Comparative Politics
Institutions of Hungarian IDC3
The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Aff airs is
responsible for planning and coordinating
Hungarian IDC and humanitarian aid through
the International Development Cooperation
Department.
The main decision-making body for Hungarian
IDC is the Development Cooperation
Governmental Committee, an inter-ministerial
forum, chaired by the Minister for Foreign
Aff airs. The committee is supported by an
inter-ministerial Working Group of Experts.
The committee is also assisted by a Civil
Advisory Board, comprising representatives
from political parties, trade unions, employers’
associations, academic communities, civil
organizations, and individual experts. The
board is also tasked with increasing awareness
in Hungarian society about issues related to
IDC and humanitarian aid.
HUN-IDA, a non-profi t contractor employed
by the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs, implements
IDC activities.
Hungarian IDC fl ows
Since rejoining the international donor
community, Hungary has slowly increased
aid levels. Hungarian’s offi cial development
assistance (ODA) as a share of gross national
income (GNI) has stagnated in recent years,
“a symptom of a more general lack of
progress within Hungary’s international
development policy.”4
Aid distribution channels
Hungary provides the majority of its ODA
through multilateral channels in the form
of core and voluntary contributions to
international organizations and funds.
Partner countries based on Hungary’s
medium-term Country Strategy Papers
(CSPs) are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova,
Palestine, Serbia, and Vietnam. Based on
international commitments, Hungary also
provides bilateral aid to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Hungary also provides project-based
bilateral aid to countries in Sub-Saharan
Africa, Cambodia, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos,
Macedonia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Ukraine,
and Yemen. These projects are often focused
on technical assistance with the goal of
sharing knowledge and experience.
ODA/GNI levels among Central and Eastern European donors5
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Czech Republic 0.10 0.11 0.11 0.12 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.12
Estonia — 0.05 0.08 0.09 0.08 0.10 0.10 —
Hungary 0.03 0.06 0.11 0.13 0.08 0.08 0.10 0.09
Latvia 0.01 0.06 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.07 0.08 —
Lithuania 0.01 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.11 0.11 0.11 —
Poland 0.01 0.05 0.07 0.09 0.10 0.08 0.09 0.08
Romania — — — — — 0.08 0.09 —
Slovakia 0.05 0.07 0.12 0.10 0.09 0.10 0.09 0.09
Slovenia — — 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.13 0.15 0.13
OECD DAC average 0.25 0.26 0.33 0.31 0.28 0.31 0.31
1. “Hungarian Policy For International Development Cooperation (IDC),” Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Aff airs, http://www.mfa.gov.hu/NR/exeres/184E9815-2519-4DB0-ABC4-3AB8AE1D2042.htm
2. Ibid.
3. Paraphrased from “Inspired by Experience: Hungarian Development Cooperation,” Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Aff airs,
http://www.mfa.gov.hu/NR/rdonlyres/ 09524B2E-76D7-4DCC-ADF6-67D3E1A14 FA7/0/InspiredByExperience.pdf
4. Szent-Ivanyi, Balazs, “Hungarian international development co-operation: context, stakeholders and performance,” Corvinus University, http://unipub.lib.uni-corvinus.hu/687/1/Szent-Ivanyi_PEPS_special_issue.pdf
5. Ibid.
Top global thinkers discuss development in the European
Union countries. The series “Kapuscinski Development
Lectures,” named for Ryszard Kapuscinski, a Polish reporter
and writer who covered developing countries, is organized
jointly by the European Commission, the United Nations
Development Programme, and partner universities and
development think tanks. Over 60 lectures have gathered
over 20,000 participants since 2009. From October 2014
to December 2015, the lectures organized in all EU member
states contribute specifi cally to development policy debates as
part of the European Year for Development 2015.
The lecture series off ers students from the European Union
member states an unprecedented opportunity to learn about
and discuss development issues such as climate change,
human rights, aid eff ectiveness, Europe-Africa relations, and
Millennium Development Goals among others. The high-level
events contribute to the debate and formulation of European
development policy. The lectures are livestreamed at
www.kapuscinskilectures.eu, and their content is shared on
this website.
About the Kapuscinski Development Lectures
The Shadow of the Sun about Africa,
Another Day of Life about Angola, and
Imperium about the Soviet Union.
Deepa Narayan’s lecture is a joint initiative of
the European Commission, the United Nations
Development Programme, and the School of
Public Policy at Central European University.
The project is funded by the European
Commission.
“our worldour dignityour future”
The lectures honor the name of Kapuscinski,
a Polish journalist and writer, who died
in 2007. Kapuscinski, whose books were
translated into many languages, was often
named the “Third World Chronicler” or the
“Voice of the Poor” for his famous reports
and books describing developing countries
on all continents. Among other books,
he was famous for The Emperor about
Ethiopia, Shah of Shahs about Iran,
V I S I T
www.kapuscinskilectures.eu
to learn more about the
Kapuscinski Development
Lectures and future events.
About SPPThe School of Public Policy (SPP) at Central European University (CEU)
is committed to the values of public service and the promotion of open
societies through interdisciplinary research, innovative teaching, and
engagement with policy practice. Our goal is to empower students by
giving them the knowledge and skills they will need to eff ect positive
change for the common good in the public, nonprofi t, and private
sectors.
About CEUCEU is an English-language, graduate university in Budapest, Hungary.
It is accredited in the United States and Hungary. CEU off ers programs
in the social sciences, humanities, law, public policy, business
management, economics, environmental sciences and policy, and
mathematics.
A K APUSCINSKI DE VELOPMENT LEC TURE – MAY 7, 2015
© SPP, 2015
Photos:Cover page: Ryszard Kapuscinski: Photobiography designed by Maciej SadowskiPage 2: http://deleayobankole.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/veil3.jpgPage 3: https://www.fl ickr.com/photos/isafmedia/4162485726Pages 4: SPP Page 6: https://www.fl ickr.com/photos/neilhooting/2353662525 Pages: 7, 8, 9: Ryszard Kapuscinski: Photobiography designed by Maciej SadowskiPage 11: SPP
Design: Judit Kovács l Createch
