International Development Policy
updated Feb. 08, 2023

Course NumberGEN 3000E  / GEN 8001E
Instructor
Izumi Ohno (email: i-ohno@grips.ac.jp)
Term Winter, Monday 16:40-18:10 and Thursday 16:40-18:10
Lecture Room: F
                                             

Course Description
This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of international development policy through reading and discussing recent papers and reports, with special attention to global transformation. The course is offered through a mix of lectures and workshops. Students will be exposed to a range of international development topics and contemporary policy debates, including the 2030 agenda for sustainable development (Sustainable Development Goals: SDGs). The East Asian perspectives of aid and development will also be introduced.

International development has undergone significant changes over the last decades with the progress of globalization. The East Asian economies have achieved rapid growth with poverty reduction, while fragile states continue to struggle with the challenges of nation building. Development agenda have become increasingly complex, and new actors such as emerging donors, civil society, and the business community, are now important players in development. Such global transformation presents challenges to the traditional approach to development and aid.

The first few lectures will give an overview of the evolution of international development policy and development cooperation. Workshops include student presentations and discussions. At each class, one or two students will present the main points of pre-assigned policy-related reports or papers and share his/her perspectives, based on the assigned readings. In some lectures, guest speakers with first-hand experience of development cooperation and policymaking will be invited to interact with students.
 

Requirements
Students are expected to have basic knowledge of international development. Prior to class, students are required to read the assigned literature and actively contribute to presentations and discussions. They shall prepare resume or power point slides for presentations.

Grading
Class attendance and participation (40%), presentation of the assigned readings (30%), and short paper on international development (30%). The quality of participation and presentation matters. Late arrival and absence from class will count negatively. Absence without prior notification is not allowed.

 

 Date

Topic

Reference

2/6

Mon

Orientation and overview:
Evolution of international development policy

Lecture1

2/9

Thur

Development cooperation policy of major donors

Lecture2

2/13

Mon

Japanese approach to development cooperation

Lecture3

2/16

Thur

Business as a development actor

Lecture4

2/20

Mon

Special Lecture (1): The role of development models in Japan’s and Korea’s relations with Central Asia (Dr. Nikolay Murashkin, Research Fellow, JICA Ogata Research Institute)

Guest L.

2/27

Mon

Special lecture (2): JICA’s approach to peace building (Mr. Ryutaro Murotani, Senior Director, Head, Office for Peacebuilding, JICA)

Guest L.

3/2

Thur

Special lecture (3): Policy learning and policy dialogue with developing countries (Prof. Kenichi Ohno, GRIPS)

Guest L.

3/6

Mon

Aid and development: why nations fail / does aid work?

Workshop

3/9

Thur

Fragile states, conflicts and development Workshop
3/13

Mon

The role of government in catch-up and structural transformation Workshop

3/16

Thur

Technology transfer: how nations learn / the case of Japan as an aid recipient

Workshop

3/20

Mon

Emerging donors and their impacts on international development

Workshop

3/23

Thur

COVID-19 and implications for the 2030 agenda for sustainable development

Workshop

3/27

Mon

Age of globalization: development challenges for 21st century

Workshop

3/30

Thur

Co-creating knowledge for sustainable, inclusive and resilient development (Wrap up)/ Term paper submission

Lecture5

Note: Topics and dates may be reordered to accommodate guest speakers or for other reasons.
 

Reading assignments
Students are encouraged to read relevant literature, prior to class. (In the case of books, specific chapters will be selected and assigned for readings.)
 

For lectures

1.  Richard Jolly and Ricardo Santo, “From Development of theOtherto Global Governance for Universal and Sustainable Development” in Development Studies: Past, Present and Future, IDS Bulletin Vol. 47, No.2, May 2016.

2.  Takamasa Akiyama, “Evolution of Ideas on Development,” Ch.2 in International Development Assistance: Evolution and Prospects, FASID, 2003.

3.  Hiroshi Kato, “Japan’s ODA 1954-2014: Changes and Continuities in a Central Instrument in Japan’s Foreign Policy,” in Ch.1 & Kiyoshi Kodera, "Japan's Engagement with Multilateral Development Banks: Do Their Professional Paths Really Cross?" Ch.2 in Japan’s Development Assistance: Foreign Aid and the Post-2015 Agenda eds. Hiroshi Kato, John Page, and Yasutami Shimomura.

4.   Shigeru Ishikawa, “Supporting Growth and Poverty Reduction: Toward Mutual Learning from the British Model in Africa and the Japanese Model in East Asia”, GRIPS Development Forum Discussion Paper, No.9, March 2005.

5. Toru Yanagihara, “Development and Dynamic Efficiency: Framework Approach vs. Ingredients Approach,” Ch.4 in Japanese Views on Economic Development: Diverse Paths to the Market, eds. Kenichi and Izumi Ohno, Routledge, 1998.

6.  Saburo Okita, The Developing Economies and Japan: Lessons in Growth, University of Tokyo Press, 1980 (esp. “Developing Economics and the Japanese Experience” (pp.93-104), “Causes and Problems of Rapid Growth in Postwar Japan and Their Implications for Newly Developing Economies” (pp.105-147)

7.  Izumi Ohno and Kenichi Ohno, "Eastern and Western Ideas for African Growth," in The World Financial Review, July/Aug. 2013.

8.  Izumi Ohno, "An Overview: Diversity and Complementarity in Development Aid," Ch.1 and "The Japanese Approach to Growth Support in Developing Countries," Ch.7 in Eastern and Western Ideas for African Growth, eds. Kenichi and Izumi Ohno, Routlege, 2013.

9.  Izumi Ohno and Kenichi Ohno, “Dynamic Capacity Development: What Africa Can Learn from Industrial Policy Formulation,” Ch.7 in Good Growth and Governance in Africa: Rethinking Development Strategies, eds. Noman et. al, The Initiative for Policy Dialogue Series, Oxford University Press, 2012.

10. Izumi Ohno, “Network-based Development Cooperation as a Way Forward for Japan,” Ch.10 in Japanese Development Cooperation: The Making of an Aid Architecture Pivoting to Asia, eds. Andre Asplund and Marie Soderberg, Routledge, 2017


For student workshops
(The below is a tentative list. Professor Ohno will consult with individual students regarding the assigned readings & presentation topics. Students can propose alternative readings, as relevant.)

1.   Dragon Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty, New York: Currency, 2012 (Ch.2, 3, 7, 9, 13, 14 & 15). Also, see, "The Role of Institutions in Growth and Development," Review of Economics and Institutions, 1(2) Article 1, 2020. 

2.   Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It, Oxford University Press, 2007.

3.   Dambisa Moyo, Dead Aid: Why Aid is not Working and How There is a better Way for Africa, 2009. Part I(Ch.1-4), Part II  (Ch.5 &10)

4.   The World Bank, Assessing Aid: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why,, A World Bank Policy Research Report, 1998. (Esp. Overview chapter)

5.   Justin Yifu Lin and Jun Zhang, “Learning to Catch up in a Globalized World,” Ch.8 in How Nations Learn: Technological Learning, Industrial Policy and Catch-up, eds. Arkebe Oqubay and Kenichi Ohno, Oxford University Press, 2019.

6.   Robert H. Wade, “Rethinking Industrial Policy for Low Income Countries,” African Development Bank, 2009.

7.   Jose Edgardo Campose and Hilton L. Root, "Leadership and the Economic Bureaucracy" in Ch.6&7 and "Wooing the Business Sector" Ch.4 in The Key to the Asian Miracle: Making Shared Growth Credible, The Brookings Institution, 1996.

8.   Mikiyasu Nakayama and Ryo Fujikura, “Technology transfer and technology development in post-World War II Japan triggered by World Bank Projects," Ch.4 in The Rise of Asian Donors, eds. J. Sato and Y. Shimomura, Routledge, 2012.

9.   Kenichi Ohno, “Meiji Japan: Progressive Learning of Western Technology,” Ch.5 in How Nations Learn: Technological Learning, Industrial Policy and Catch-up, eds. Arkebe Oqubay and Kenichi Ohno, Oxford University Press, 2019.

10.  Annalisa Prizzon, Romily Greenhil, and Shakira Mustapha, An Age of Choice for Development Finance: Evidence from Country Case Studies, Overseas Development Institute, Synthesis Report, 2016. Available from
https://olc.worldbank.org/system/files/An_Age_of_Choice_for_Development_Finance.pdf

11. The World Bank, A Changing Landscape: Trends in Official Financial Flows and the Aid Architecture, 2021. 

12. Linda Calabrese and Xiaoyang Tang, Africa’s Economic Transformation: The Role of Chinese Investment, DEGRP-ODI Synthesis Report, June 2020.

13.  United Nations, Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 2015.

14.  World Bank, Reversals of Fortune: Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2020 (esp. Overview, Ch.4), 2020. 

15.  United Nations, Department of Social and Economic Affairs, Overview: Sustainable Development Outlook 2021: From Anguish to Determination, 2021. 

16.  Jeffrey D. Sachs, The Age of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions, Columbia University Press (esp. Ch.1, Ch.8 & Ch.9), 2020.

17. Jeffery D. Sachs. Guillaume Lafortune, Christian Kroll, Grayson Fuller, and Finn Woelm, Sustainable Development Report 2022: From Crisis to Sustainable Development: SDGs as a Roadmap to 2030 and Beyond, 2022. 

18.  World Bank, World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends (esp. Overview), 2016. 

19.  World Bank, World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work (esp. Overview, Ch.1, Ch.2 & Ch.7), 2019. 

20.  Business and Sustainable Development Commission, Better Business, Better World, January 2017.