A part of the 2014 Asia and the Pacific Policy Society Conference 2014 organised by the Development Policy Centre on infrastructure reforms. Presentations were:

The political economy of utility regulation: the case of Vanuatu - James Ryan, Chief Economist, Utilities Regulatory Authority of Vanuatu

The Asian experience with energy subsidies and reform - Dr Shikha Jha, Principal Economist, Economics and Research Department, Asian Development Bank

Road infrastructure maintenance: lessons from Africa and the Pacific - Sanjivi Rajasingham, Director, Pacific Regional Infrastructure Facility

https://crawford.anu.edu.au/devpolicy/events

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Over 20 per cent of people in Pacific Island Countries (PICS) live in hardship, meaning they are unable to meet their basic needs. Increasing risks from natural and economic shocks also mean many traditional safety nets may not be as effective as they have been in the past.

Two new reports shed light on these issues both in the Pacific and worldwide, the World Development Report for 2014, Risk and Opportunity: Managing Risk for Development and a new World Bank report, sponsored by the Australian aid program, Hardship and Vulnerability in the Pacific.

At the Australian launch of both reports we found out the latest thinking on risk and risk management both worldwide and in our region.

Kyla Wethli is a World Bank economist and a lead author of the World Bank flagship World Development Report 2014, Risk and Opportunity: Managing Risk for Development. Kyla has a BSc in Government and Economics and an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dr Truman Packard holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. He was a lead author of the new Hardship and Vulnerability in the Pacific report, and will present the key findings from that report.

Dr Michael Carnahan holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Michael will introduce the session.

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Serena Sumanop is the Executive Director of The Voice Inc, a home-grown Papua New Guinean NGO working to empower young people to contribute to their communities and to development. During her recent visit to Canberra Ashlee Betteridge caught up with Serena to talk about PNG.

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Tess Newton Cain sits down with Astrid Boulekone, General Manager of the Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Blog available here: http://devpolicy.org/pacific-conversations-private-sector-development-in-vanuatu-with-astrid-boulekone-20140306/

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Sir Fazle Hasan Abed is the Founder and Chairperson of BRAC, the world's largest NGO.

https://crawford.anu.edu.au/devpolicy/events

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Frances Seymour is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development based in Washington, DC, and a Senior Advisor to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. In her keynote address, she argued that, while reducing forest loss will depend on domestic political will and profound institutional and governance changes in forest countries, there are also options available to rich country governments, corporations, and citizens to accelerate progressive reform. The actions she outlined and recommended are urgent, affordable, and politically feasible, and constitute a bridge to a future global climate agreement that includes forests.

https://crawford.anu.edu.au/devpolicy/events

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This plenary session provided updates and new analysis of aid from three emerging superpowers – China, India and Brazil – from three leading experts.

Dr. Rani Mullen is Director, Indian Development Cooperation Research and Senior Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. Dr. Tongquan Sun is an Associate Professor at the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) where he researches Chinese and international development assistance. Dr Sean Burges is a Lecturer in International Relations at the School of Politics and International Relations at the ANU. His research interests cover the area of non-traditional aid, with a particular focus on Brazil.

Powerpoint slides are available here: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/devpolicy/events

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Roger Ridell is an associate at Oxford Policy Management and is a development and aid specialist with some 40 years’ experience. His 2008 book Does Foreign Aid Really Work? was the first attempt in more than 20 years to survey the evidence around whether aid actually works. Roger’s keynote address provided an updated assessment on aid’s impact, discussed what impact we ought to expect aid to have and outlined ways in which its impact could be improved.

A summary blog of his speech, which includes links to a full transcript and related discussion paper, is available here: http://devpolicy.org/does-foreign-aid-really-work-an-updated-answer-20140214/

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Julie Bishop, Minister for Foreign Affairs, delivered the opening address at the 2014 Australasian Aid and Development Policy Workshop.

A transcript of her speech is available here: http://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/2014/jb_sp_140213.html

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Tess Newton Cain sits down with Kolone Vaai, Principal Consultant at KVAConsult Ltd and former Financial Secretary for the Government of Samoa (1984-1990).

Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/pacific-conversations-the-economy-of-samoa-with-kolone-vaai-20140122/

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