SPUI25 on location: 'How can we end extreme poverty?' with Shanta Devarajan

Part 1 of the International Development Studies Lecture Series in cooperation with the Governance and Inclusive Development group of the University of Amsterdam

Event

The field of international development studies must evolve to stay on top of the many changes affecting the world of today. This first lecture of a lecture series about the future of international development will be given by Shanta Deverajan, Chief Economist of the World Bank’s Middle East and North Africa Region. He takes on the all-important question: what will it take to end extreme poverty? Location: CREA.

Note: this lecture will take place in CREA!

The proximate causes of poverty—low productivity, inadequate infrastructure, poor health and education—are due to policy or institutional distortions. These distortions persist because they generate rents that have been captured by the non-poor who, being politically powerful, are able to ensure that they are maintained.  Money alone cannot shift this political equilibrium. Even money combined with technical assistance is unlikely to overcome the resistance of people who will lose by the reforms. Change will come about only if politicians think a majority of voters will support them.  The role of domestic and international development actors, therefore, is to inform citizens, especially poor citizens, about the costs and benefits of pro-poor reforms, so that they can bring pressure to bear on politicians to remove these distortions. The lecture will conclude by discussing the challenges in carrying out this disruptive, but necessary, approach to poverty reduction. 

This lecture is part of the lecture series "International Development Studies: Prospects and Vistas". 

Shanta Devarajan

About the speakers

Shanta Devarajan is the Chief Economist of the World Bank’s Middle East and North Africa Region. Since joining the Bank in 1991, he has been a Manager in the Development Research Group, and the Chief Economist for Human Development, South Asia and Africa. Before 1991, he was on the faculty of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Born in Sri Lanka, Mr. Devarajan received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Respondent Nicky Pouw is assistant professor in the Msc in International Development Studies at the University of Amsterdam.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES: PROSPECTS AND VISTAS

The field of international development studies must evolve to stay on top of the many changes affecting the world of today. Such changes challenge the traditional divide between the ‘South’ and ‘North’ as well as the types of issues that need to be addressed. What do they mean for our understanding and the practice of development? This public lecture series, organized by the Governance and Inclusive Development group of the University of Amsterdam, aims to find answers to these questions and stimulate new thinking. By including presentations by key thinkers from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the series seeks to highlight southern perspectives on new development issues. 

Published by  Spui25