POVERTY AND ELUSIVE DEVELOPMENT 110029800298 PPovertyoverty aandnd eelusivelusive ddevelopementevelopement BBMM 1100101_v2.indd00101_v2.indd a 009.04.109.04.10 114.024.02 110029800298 PPovertyoverty aandnd eelusivelusive ddevelopementevelopement BBMM 1100101_v2.indd00101_v2.indd b 009.04.109.04.10 114.024.02 Dan Banik POVERTY AND ELUSIVE DEVELOPMENT universitetsforlaget 110029800298 PPovertyoverty aandnd eelusivelusive ddevelopementevelopement BBMM 1100101_v2.indd00101_v2.indd c 009.04.109.04.10 114.024.02 [start kolofon] © Universitetsforlaget 2010 ISBN 978–82-15–01218-6 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Universitetsforlaget. Enquiries should be sent to the Rights Department, Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, at the address below. www.universitetsforlaget.no P.O. Box 508 Sentrum NO-0105 Oslo Norway Typeset: Laboremus Oslo AS Printed: AIT Otta AS 110029800298 PPovertyoverty aandnd eelusivelusive ddevelopementevelopement BBMM 1100101_v2.indd00101_v2.indd d 009.04.109.04.10 114.024.02 For Alexander and August 110029800298 PPovertyoverty aandnd eelusivelusive ddevelopementevelopement BBMM 1100101_v2.indd00101_v2.indd e 009.04.109.04.10 114.024.02 110029800298 PPovertyoverty aandnd eelusivelusive ddevelopementevelopement BBMM 1100101_v2.indd00101_v2.indd f 009.04.109.04.10 114.024.02 CONTENTS Acknowledgements ix 1. Introduction 1 2. The Elusive Agenda 10 3. The Usual Suspect 47 4. The Saviour 83 5. The Rhetorical Appeal 122 6. The Battleground 155 7. The Ethical Imperative 201 Notes 244 References 251 Name Index 271 Subject Index 277 100298 Poverty and elusive developement BM 100101_v2.indd g 09.04.10 14.20 110029800298 PPovertyoverty aandnd eelusivelusive ddevelopementevelopement BBMM 1100101_v2.indd00101_v2.indd vviiiiii 009.04.109.04.10 114.024.02 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS lthough the idea for this book gradually developed over the past decade or so, the real impetus was provided by Scandina- A vian University Press/Universitetsforlaget when they asked me whether I would be willing to write a research-based book on develop- ment. I readily agreed. That was four years ago and I am delighted that I can fi nally derive an element of closure as I think back on all those who have helped me complete this project. Over the years I have benefi ted from discussions with Larry Dia- mond, hrh Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Barbara Harriss-White, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, David Grusky, Bernt Hagtvet, Desmond McNeill, Halvor Mehlum, Subrata K. Mitra, Karl Ove Moene, Siddiq Osmani, Tho- mas Pogge, James C. Scott, Amartya Sen, Arjun Sengupta, Henrik Syse, Peter Townsend and Olle Törnquist. For detailed and immensely help- ful comments on earlier draft s, I am extremely grateful to Maren Aase, Vibeke Kieding Banik, Kristian Bjørkdal, R. B. Jain, Hans Olav Ibrekk, Sophie Kristoff ersen, Hugh LaFollette, Vedis Vik and Hal Wilhite. For interesting conversations that have in many ways shaped the cov- erage of various topics discussed in this book, I thank Guro Aandahl, Tim Allen, Bård Anders Andreassen, Tor Arve Benjaminsen, Nancy Ber- meo, Espen Bogen, Axel Borchgrevink, Marlese von Broembsen, Mona Elisabeth Brøther, Benedicte Bull, Blessings Chinsinga, Asuncion Lera St. Clair, Joshua Cohen, Marc Cohen, Ben Cousins, Gordon Crawford, David Crocker, Tor Dahlstrøm, Klaus Deininger, Hernando de Soto, Stephen Devereux, Larry Diamond, Frands Dolberg, Tim Dyson, Asbjørn Eide, ix 110029800298 PPovertyoverty aandnd eelusivelusive ddevelopementevelopement BBMM 1100101_v2.indd00101_v2.indd iixx 009.04.109.04.10 114.024.02 poverty and elusive development Wenche Barth-Eide, Asbjørn Eidhammer, Wally Falcon, Eivind Falkum, Cyprian Fisihy, Vegard Fløtre, Andreas Føllesdal, James Garrett, Des Gasp- er, Siri Gloppen, Barry K. Gills, Aida Girma, Anne Gjerdåker, Maria Gjøl- berg, Steve Golub, Meghna Guhathakurta, Henrik Harboe, Ruth Haug, Bente Herstad, Samuel Hickey, Sara Hossain, Fu Hualing, Göran Hydén, Rasmus Heltberg, Helge Hveem, Moses Isooba, Erik Jensen, Hilde Fra- fj ord Johnson, Urban Jonsson, Evance Kalula, Dickson Kanakulya, Yasushi Katsuma, Anita Kelles, David Keen, Eva Kløve, Hege Knutsen, Rosemarie Köhn, William Laff erty, Malcolm Langford, Sandy Liebenberg, Asbjørn Løvbræk, Nimisha Madhvani, Stephen P. Marks, John Andrew McNeish, Noha El-Mikawy, Sudha Mohan, Joshua Ka Ho Mok, Muna Ndulo, In- grid Nesheim, Kenneth Bo Nielsen, Knut Nustad, Ann-Kristin Olsen, Govindan Parayil, Nahuel Polesel, Vesselin Popovski, Pamela G. Price, Mizanur Rahman, Biju Rao, Bjørn Erik Rasch, Ana Ravenga, Sanjay Reddy, Sidsel Roalkvam, Olivier Rubin, Donald Rukare, Byaruhanga Ru- kooko, Arild Engelsen Ruud, Audun Ruud, Stephen Schneider, Naresh Singh, Jon-Andreas Solberg, Gunnar Stålsett, Tove Strand, Kristi Anne Stølen, R. Sudarshan, Li-Ann Thio, Andries Du Toit, Terje Tvedt, Irja H. Vormedal, Robert Wade, Annika Wetlesen, Lucy White, Seodi V-R. White, Hal Wilhite, Tanja Winther, Nina Witoszek, Christopher Wright, Li Xiaoyun, Jaeyeol Yee and Øyvind Østerud. During the past couple of years, I have also had the privilege of sharing my fi ndings – and presenting selected sections of this book – at various courses I have taught at the University of Oslo, University of Aarhus, United Nations University Tokyo, the Norwegian Peace Corps and the Foreign Service course at the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Af- fairs. The interactions with, and feedback from, students attending these courses have been invaluable. I wish to extend special thanks to the fol- lowing group of former students of development studies who took part in a brainstorming meeting a few months ago and who provided me with important feedback: Catharina Bu, Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven, Julie Ness, Jørn Wichne Pedersen and Øyvind Nystad Handberg. And Cicilie Krantz and Kristin Nordby, also students of development studies, have consistently provided me with helpful insights. x 110029800298 PPovertyoverty aandnd eelusivelusive ddevelopementevelopement BBMM 1100101_v2.indd00101_v2.indd x 009.04.109.04.10 114.024.02 acknowledgements This book is based on the main fi ndings of several research projects that have been generously funded by the Research Council of Norway, the University of Oslo, the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Aff airs and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. I am grate- ful to unicef in Malawi, Uganda and Ethiopia for assistance during fi eldwork and to the Norwegian-Finnish Trust Fund in the World Bank on Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (tfessd) for opening doors in "the Bank". I have been privileged to have spent the past decade based at the Centre for Development and the Environment (sum) at the University of Oslo and I wish to thank Kristi Anne Stølen, Gitte Egenberg, Manhar Harmansen, Hans-Jørgen Oppi Christiansen and Kristoff er Ring for friendship and support. I wish to acknowledge in particular the excellent research assistance I have received from Maren Aase, Sophie Kristoff ersen, Elise Marie McCourt, Marte Nubdal and Alex- ander Attilio Vadala. I am also grateful to the two referees who positively evaluated the book proposal and to Kevin M. J. Quirk and Gunhild Eide who have provided several useful suggestions for improving the manu- script. Per Robstad at Scandinavian University Press/Universitetsforlaget is probably the best editor one can ask for and I am most grateful to him for encouraging me to write the book, for his amazing ability in persuad- ing me not to give up and for his infi nite patience over the past four years. I hope he and his colleagues feel the wait has been worthwhile! I wish to thank Ava and Devdas Banik and Britt and Nicolay Kieding for helping me and my wife Vibeke with a diverse range of assignments in India and Norway ranging from babysitting to ensuring ideal condi- tions for writing. Vibeke has been my solid pillar of support at all times and has done everything in her power to give me the time I needed to fi nish the book, in addition to providing much valuable advice in the fi nal stages. And during all of this, she also managed to complete a fi rst rate doctoral dissertation. Despite their young age, our two boys, Alex- ander and August, are true world travelers, having accompanied me on many fi eld visits to distant lands. I dedicate this book to them in the hope that they will inherit a world with far less poverty. xi 110029800298 PPovertyoverty aandnd eelusivelusive ddevelopementevelopement BBMM 1100101_v2.indd00101_v2.indd xxii 009.04.109.04.10 114.024.02 110029800298 PPovertyoverty aandnd eelusivelusive ddevelopementevelopement BBMM 1100101_v2.indd00101_v2.indd xxiiii 009.04.109.04.10 114.024.02 1 INTRODUCTION ost people would agree that poverty is a bad thing. Eff orts by a wide range of actors to promote development have in Mrecent times yielded some positive results. Thus we have been witness to improvements in life expectancy and literacy together with a reduction in child mortality and the incidence of infectious disease in certain parts of the world. Nevertheless, poverty and inequality appear as resilient as ever and human development – understood as develop- ment that prioritises human well-being and aims at enlarging opportu- nities, freedoms and choices – continues to proceed slowly, with recent evidence painting a rather gloomy picture. Consider the following: 1.4 billion people in poverty, 1.6 billion live without access