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Issues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 8 Social protection Part 6 - Is social protection worth it?With waged employment becoming increasingly precarious, social protection is the phrase that we use to describe what states can do to seek to ensure that human capabilities continue to flourish. Social protection has a long history, but has changed in significant ways over the past 20 years, in ways that will shape the future course of the lives of many across the course of this century.Social protection is remarkably cost-effective, which begs the question - why is there not more of it?2021-01-1114 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 8 Social protection Part 5 - Forms of social protectionWith waged employment becoming increasingly precarious, social protection is the phrase that we use to describe what states can do to seek to ensure that human capabilities continue to flourish. Social protection has a long history, but has changed in significant ways over the past 20 years, in ways that will shape the future course of the lives of many across the course of this century.In the developing world social protection mechanisms include cash transfers, cash transfers alongside measures to facilitate the accumulation of assets by households, and integrated poverty reduction programs.2021-01-0615 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 8 Social protection Part 4 - Contemporary social protectionWith waged employment becoming increasingly precarious, social protection is the phrase that we use to describe what states can do to seek to ensure that human capabilities continue to flourish. Social protection has a long history, but has changed in significant ways over the past 20 years, in ways that will shape the future course of the lives of many across the course of this century.In the 21st century social protection consists of social insurance, social assistance and employment and labour market interventions.2021-01-0611 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 8 Social protection Part 3 - Social protection after World War TwoWith waged employment becoming increasingly precarious, social protection is the phrase that we use to describe what states can do to seek to ensure that human capabilities continue to flourish. Social protection has a long history, but has changed in significant ways over the past 20 years, in ways that will shape the future course of the lives of many across the course of this century.After World War Two developed and developing countries sought to build social welfare states. These were extensively restructured during the 1980s and 1990s.2021-01-0608 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 8 Social protection Part 2 - The origins of social protectionWith waged employment becoming increasingly precarious, social protection is the phrase that we use to describe what states can do to seek to ensure that human capabilities continue to flourish. Social protection has a long history, but has changed in significant ways over the past 20 years, in ways that will shape the future course of the lives of many across the course of this century.Originating in late 19th century Germany, social protection spread rapidly in the early 20th century in the developed countries.2021-01-0612 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 8 Social protection Part 1 - What is social protection?With waged employment becoming increasingly precarious, social protection is the phrase that we use to describe what states can do to seek to ensure that human capabilities continue to flourish. Social protection has a long history, but has changed in significant ways over the past 20 years, in ways that will shape the future course of the lives of many across the course of this century.Social protection mitigates risks, meets needs, and helps to realize rights.2021-01-0604 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 7 Episode 7 Employment Part 4 - The precariatEnlarging human capabilities can require access to employment that is safe, secure and fairly paid. But around the world we are seeing an increasing share of employment being unsafe, insecure, and poorly paid. Can employment that supports the ability of people to live the life to which they aspire be promoted?Transforming precarious work into decent work requires recognizing the jobs the people are uniquely qualified to do, and which cannot be automated.2021-01-0613 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 7 Episode 7 Employment Part 3 - Fordism and post-FordismEnlarging human capabilities can require access to employment that is safe, secure and fairly paid. But around the world we are seeing an increasing share of employment being unsafe, insecure, and poorly paid. Can employment that supports the ability of people to live the life to which they aspire be promoted?How did precarious employment emerge in the developed world?2021-01-0612 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 7 Episode 7 Employment Part 2 - What do people do?Enlarging human capabilities can require access to employment that is safe, secure and fairly paid. But around the world we are seeing an increasing share of employment being unsafe, insecure, and poorly paid. Can employment that supports the ability of people to live the life to which they aspire be promoted?Agriculture is still the single most important source of employment in the world. Around the world, manufacturing jobs are a declining source of employment, but service jobs are growing, everywhere.2021-01-0609 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 7 Employment Part 1 - What is employment?Enlarging human capabilities can require access to employment that is safe, secure and fairly paid. But around the world we are seeing an increasing share of employment being unsafe, insecure, and poorly paid. Can employment that supports the ability of people to live the life to which they aspire be promoted?A great deal of global work is unpaid. A large share of the globally-employed work informally, without legal status. These are the realities of work in the 21st century.2021-01-0612 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 6 Gender and development Part 5 - Gender And DevelopmentGender relations shape our everyday lives in ways that we do and do not always see. They have a profound effect on our capacity to live the lives to which we aspire, and so we need to better understand them and the consequences that they foster.Since the 1990s efforts to transform gender relations in developing countries have been called the Gender And Development approach to social change.2021-01-0613 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 6 Gender and development Part 4 - Women In DevelopmentGender relations shape our everyday lives in ways that we do and do not always see. They have a profound effect on our capacity to live the lives to which we aspire, and so we need to better understand them and the consequences that they foster.In the 1970s and 1980s efforts to improve the social and economic status of women led to the Women in Development approach to social change.2021-01-0613 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 6 Gender and development Part 3 - Patriarchal social norms and violenceGender relations shape our everyday lives in ways that we do and do not always see. They have a profound effect on our capacity to live the lives to which we aspire, and so we need to better understand them and the consequences that they foster.The basis of gender inequality lies in the patriarchal social norms and institutions that pervade our societies, and which must be challenged if human capabilities are to be enlarged.2021-01-0607 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 6 Gender and development Part 2 - Unpaid care and domestic workGender relations shape our everyday lives in ways that we do and do not always see. They have a profound effect on our capacity to live the lives to which we aspire, and so we need to better understand them and the consequences that they foster.The vast majority of the world's women spend a significant part of their working doing work around the home for their families. Why is this work not recognized by state policy?2021-01-0610 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 6 Gender and development Part 1 - Gender as a social relationGender relations shape our everyday lives in ways that we do and do not always see. They have a profound effect on our capacity to live the lives to which we aspire, and so we need to better understand them and the consequences that they foster.Gender relations are not natural but are created in our homes, in our schools, in our civic and faith-based organizations, and by state policy.2021-01-0610 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 5 Conflict and human development Part 5 - Resolving everyday conflictConflict clearly diminishes human capabilities. Yet it appears that conflict around the world is an endemic feature of human societies. So if we want to enlarge human capabilities we need to understand ways of mitigating conflict.Are some of the sources of armed conflict around the world also witnessed in neighbourhoods in the developed countries?2021-01-0612 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 5 Conflict and human development Part 4 - Economic and political explanations of conflictConflict clearly diminishes human capabilities. Yet it appears that conflict around the world is an endemic feature of human societies. So if we want to enlarge human capabilities we need to understand ways of mitigating conflict.Does conflict have clearly-defined economic and political causes?2021-01-0613 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 5 Conflict and human development Part 3 - Cultural perspectives on conflictConflict clearly diminishes human capabilities. Yet it appears that conflict around the world is an endemic feature of human societies. So if we want to enlarge human capabilities we need to understand ways of mitigating conflict.Is conflict the result of cultural differences that cannot be bridged?2021-01-0610 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 5 Conflict and human development Part 2 - A conflict trap to development?Conflict clearly diminishes human capabilities. Yet it appears that conflict around the world is an endemic feature of human societies. So if we want to enlarge human capabilities we need to understand ways of mitigating conflict.What are the ways in which conflict throws social change and development into reverse, diminishing human capabilities?2021-01-0611 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 5 Conflict and human development Part 1 - Is armed conflict getting worse?Conflict clearly diminishes human capabilities. Yet it appears that conflict around the world is an endemic feature of human societies. So if we want to enlarge human capabilities we need to understand ways of mitigating conflict.The character of armed conflict has changed in important ways since the end of World War Two. This has had an effect on the intensity of armed conflict.2021-01-0612 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 4 - Does the world have too many people? Part 6 - UrbanizationThere are many who believe that climate change is closely intertwined with the population of the planet, and that the two together will have mutually-reinforcing negative consequences for human capabilities. In fact, the world's population structure is changing, but in ways that throw up a surprising set of challenges that are not obvious.What are the implications of contemporary urbanization?2021-01-0611 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 4 - Does the world have too many people? Part 5 - MigrationThere are many who believe that climate change is closely intertwined with the population of the planet, and that the two together will have mutually-reinforcing negative consequences for human capabilities. In fact, the world's population structure is changing, but in ways that throw up a surprising set of challenges that are not obvious.Migration is far more complex than most people realize, but it is only by understanding its complexity that we can begin to understand ways to more humanely manage the process of migration.2021-01-0614 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 4 - Does the world have too many people? Part 4 - Implications of changing population structuresThere are many who believe that climate change is closely intertwined with the population of the planet, and that the two together will have mutually-reinforcing negative consequences for human capabilities. In fact, the world's population structure is changing, but in ways that throw up a surprising set of challenges that are not obvious.What are the consequences of the changes that we are seeing in the structure of the planet's population?2021-01-0607 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 4 - Does the world have too many people? Part 3 - A Malthusian trap?There are many who believe that climate change is closely intertwined with the population of the planet, and that the two together will have mutually-reinforcing negative consequences for human capabilities. In fact, the world's population structure is changing, but in ways that throw up a surprising set of challenges that are not obvious.Is there any basis by which to support the idea that the world's resources cannot support the world's population?2021-01-0608 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 4 - Does the world have too many people? Part 2 - Why are fertility rates declining?There are many who believe that climate change is closely intertwined with the population of the planet, and that the two together will have mutually-reinforcing negative consequences for human capabilities. In fact, the world's population structure is changing, but in ways that throw up a surprising set of challenges that are not obvious.If the rate of population growth has been declining since 1972, and declining rates of growth of population are driven by declining fertility rates, why are fertility rates in decline around the world?2021-01-0607 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 4 - Does the world have too many people? Part 1 - How many people are there?There are many who believe that climate change is closely intertwined with the population of the planet, and that the two together will have mutually-reinforcing negative consequences for human capabilities. In fact, the world's population structure is changing, but in ways that throw up a surprising set of challenges that are not obvious.What have been global trends in population over the course of the last 75 years, and what will they be until the end of the century?2021-01-0610 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 3 Is it too late? Part 5 - The Paris AgreementThe capacity to enlarge human capabilities and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals is severely circumscribed by the climate crisis.Can the Paris Agreement solve the climate crisis?2021-01-0611 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 3 Is it too late? Part 4 - Approaches to global environmental governanceThe capacity to enlarge human capabilities and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals is severely circumscribed by the climate crisis.Given the scale of the climate crisis, why have the countries of the world remained wedded to liberal, market-based approaches to global environmental governance?2021-01-0617 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 3 Is it too late? Part 3 - Carbon inequalityIf the evidence that climate change has accelerated is irrefutable, why do people deny its veracity or downplay its severity?It is only possible to understand climate change if we understand that global human inequality effects and reflects global carbon inequality.2021-01-0609 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 3 Is it too late? Part 2 - Myths and viewsThe capacity to enlarge human capabilities and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals is severely circumscribed by the climate crisis.If the evidence that climate change has accelerated is irrefutable, why do people deny its veracity or downplay its severity?2021-01-0611 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 3 Is it too late? Part 1 - The evidenceThe capacity to enlarge human capabilities and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals is severely circumscribed by the climate crisis.The evidence that climate change has accelerated in the past 30 years and is man-made is irrefutable.2021-01-0612 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 2: The Sustainable Development Goals Part 3 - The SDGs2021-01-0612 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 2: The Sustainable Development Goals Part 2 - The Millennium Development GoalsThe vast majority of the countries of the world, including Canada, have agreed to the Sustainable Development Goals as the objective of social, economic and environmental policy until 2030. Yet few people in the developed countries know of the Sustainable Development Goals and what they seek to achieve.The Millennium Development Goals was the framework that was used to seek to enlarge human capabilities in the developing countries between 2000 and 2015.2021-01-0614 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 2: The Sustainable Development Goals Part 1 - Human development and multidimensionalThe vast majority of the countries of the world, including Canada, have agreed to the Sustainable Development Goals as the objective of social, economic and environmental policy until 2030. Yet few people in the developed countries know of the Sustainable Development Goals and what they seek to achieve.If social change and development is about enlarging human capabilities, are there ways of using these ideas to better understand the successes and failures of state policy?2021-01-0607 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 1: A world in motion Part 5 - Ethics and rightsThe world is rapidly changing, but in ways that many of us fail to understand. For many, things are bad. For many, things are getting better. So we need to understand how the world can both be bad and getting better at the same time, and what this means for our understanding of social change and development.Lying behind an enlargement of human capabilities lies a set of ethical concerns that need to be addressed. One way of addressing these concerns is through realizing human rights.2021-01-0615 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 1: A world in motion Part 4 - CapabilitiesThe world is rapidly changing, but in ways that many of us fail to understand. For many, things are bad. For many, things are getting better. So we need to understand how the world can both be bad and getting better at the same time, and what this means for our understanding of social change and development.How can we understand social change and development? One way is by seeing it as the capability of people to seek to achieve the live to which they aspire. This is called capabilities, and an enlargement of capabilities has been called...2021-01-0611 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 1: A world in motion Part 3 - A time of morbid symptomsThe world is rapidly changing, but in ways that many of us fail to understand. For many, things are bad. For many, things are getting better. So we need to understand how the world can both be bad and getting better at the same time, and what this means for our understanding of social change and development.In the early 2020s we live in a world that is in transition, but to an end point that is not known. How this transition plays out will shape all of our lives, for the rest of the century2021-01-0610 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 1: A world in motion Part 2 - A changed worldThe world is rapidly changing, but in ways that many of us fail to understand. For many, things are bad. For many, things are getting better. So we need to understand how the world can both be bad and getting better at the same time, and what this means for our understanding of social change and development.The world has changed irrevocably over the course of the last 40 years as neoliberalism has come to shape the tenor of our times.2021-01-0609 minIssues in Global Human InequalityEpisode 1: A world in motion Part 1 - Bad and getting betterThe world is rapidly changing, but in ways that many of us fail to understand. For many, things are bad. For many, things are getting better. So we need to understand how the world can both be bad and getting better at the same time, and what this means for our understanding of social change and development.It is relatively easy to show that the world is bad. It is relatively easy to show that the world is getting better. We live in a world in motion, which is both bad and getting better at the same time.2021-01-0507 min
The World Food SystemEP 07 An alternative food system? Agroecology PT 3: Examples of agroecologyAgroecology in action demonstrates its capacity to feed people, cool the climate, and produce a living wage.2020-09-0513 minThe World Food SystemEP 07 An alternative food system? Agroecology PT 2: What is agroecology?The principals of agroecology are reviewed and the ways in which it meets the challenges that need to be met by contemporary agriculture are established.2020-09-0512 minThe World Food SystemEP 07 An alternative food system? Agroecology PT 1: Why not organic?The multiple crises of the corporate food regime suggest that an alternative food system needs to be developed. However, the rapid growth of transnational organic suggests that organic agricultural systems are not necessarily the basis by which an alternative food system might be envisaged. As a food production system, a rural development programme and a political movement agroecology has the potential to feed the world, cool the planet, and generate a living wage for all.An agro-food complex constructed upon the basis of organic agriculture need not be sustainable.2020-09-0511 minThe World Food SystemEP 06 Crisis and the demand for food PT 4: COVID-19 and the corporate food regimeThe mechanisms by which industrial agriculture increases the likelihood of zoonotic diseases are reviewed.2020-09-0508 minThe World Food SystemEP 06 Crisis and the demand for food PT 3: Crisis in the supply of foodThe ways in which emerging constraints upon the production of food might impact upon food prices is reviewed, before evaluating the relative merits of both demand- and supply-side explanations of rising food prices.2020-09-0512 minThe World Food SystemEP 06 Crisis and the demand for food PT 2: Crisis and food pricesThe ways in which changing patterns in the demand for food might impact upon food prices is reviewed.2020-09-0511 minThe World Food SystemEP 06 Crises in the corporate food regime PT 1: Crisis and food pricesThe challenges produced by the corporate food regime have been amply demonstrated in the 21st century by rising food price inflation since 2007 and the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Food price inflation reflects a combination of demand dynamics and supply constraints that are unique to the corporate food regime, while the marked rise in zoonotic disease reflects the prevalence of industrialized agriculture and the marginalization of small-scale farming in the corporate food regime.Food price increases in the 21st century have been greater than at any time since the 1970s and have dramatic implications of the living standards of those...2020-09-0511 minThe World Food SystemEP 05 The corporate food regime and financializationThe contemporary world food system has seen the entrance of global finance in an historically-unprecedented way. Since the deregulation of financial contracts in the United States in the 1990s and the rise in global food prices following 2007, global finance has been using a range of financial instruments to seek to make profits from the food system on the basis of speculative investment, while asset management companies discipline the activities of agri-food corporations in order to realize shareholder value.2020-09-0517 minThe World Food SystemEP 04 The corporate food regime PT 5: The challenges of the corporate food regimeThe configuration of the production, distribution and consumption of food within the contemporary world food system produces planetary challenges that must be addressed2020-09-0509 minThe World Food SystemEP 04 The corporate food regime PT 4: Monopoly powerThe corporate food regime has witnessed a remarkable and historically unprecedented concentration and centralization of agro-food transnational corporations.2020-09-0508 minThe World Food SystemEP 04 The corporate food regime PT 3: Agri-food transnational corporations: supermarketsWith 10 supermarkets controlling one-quarter of all of the value created in the world food system, supermarkets shape and structure the operation of the corporate food regime.2020-09-0511 minThe World Food SystemEP 04 The corporate food regime PT 2: MeatificationIn the last 50 years the human diet has undergone the most profound shift in its history, as meat assumes an ever-greater role.2020-09-0507 minThe World Food SystemEP 04 The corporate food regime PT 1: Characteristics of the corporate food regimeThe contemporary world food system has been labelled by many observers as the “corporate food regime”. By unpacking the key characteristics of the corporate food regime it is possible to better understand why a food system that is so productive continues to produce widespread hunger. Most notably, transnational supermarkets and the ongoing spread of meatification results in a food system that is a reverse protein-calorie machine, in that fewer calories emerge from the food system than go into it.By summarizing the critical components of the corporate food regime it is immediately possible to grasp some of the cont...2020-09-0509 minThe World Food SystemEP 03 Regulating food trade PT 4: NAFTA and the USMCASince 1994 the North American Free Trade Agreement has played a central role in governing the international trade of food and agricultural products between the United States, Mexico and Canada, in ways that have not brought benefits to small- and medium-scale farms in any of the three countries.2020-09-0511 minThe World Food SystemEP 03 Regulating food trade PT 3: The Agreement on AgricultureSince 1995 the Agreement on Agriculture has played a crucial role in organizing the terms and conditions governing the international trade of food and agricultural products.2020-09-0512 minThe World Food SystemEP 03 Regulating food trade PT 2: The World Trade OrganizationAgri-food commodity chains that operate across national borders are regulated by agreements monitored and enforced by the World Trade Organization.2020-09-0513 minThe World Food SystemEP 03 Regulating food trade PT 1: Agri-food commodity chainsThe world food system witnesses unprecedented flows of food and agricultural products across national frontiers. International food and agricultural trade has been integral to the world food system since the first food regime was established, but has only grown more important over time. Yet such trade takes place on the basis of a set of rules that have been agreed by states and which need to be understood if the implications of food regime dynamics for the world food system are to be recognized.One way of thinking about the international trade of food and agricultural products is...2020-09-0510 minThe World Food SystemEP 02 Food Regimes PT 5: Foundations of the contemporary world food systemAs the second food regime unravelled it set in motion a series of economic changes in the developing countries that laid the basis for the emergence of global agriculture.2020-09-0510 minThe World Food SystemEP 02 Food Regimes PT 4: Impacts of the mercantile-industrial food regimeThe second food regime set in motion a number of fundamental changes in the global production and consumption of food that reverberate to this day.2020-09-0507 minThe World Food SystemEP 02 Food Regimes PT 3: The mercantile-industrial food regimeFarm subsidies and food aid were pivotal in establishing the second food regime, which reconfigured food production and diets around the world.2020-09-0519 minThe World Food SystemEP 02 Food Regimes PT 2: The first food regimeIn the 1870s a stable world food system emerged as farmers in the United States starting exporting their food surpluses to Europe.2020-09-0512 minThe World Food SystemEP 02 Food regimes PT 1: The emergence of a world food systemA world food system started to emerge in the 19th century. In order to untangle the complexities that might be associated with trying to understand the production, distribution and consumption of food on a world scale, the idea of “food regimes” can be used to explain how global agro-food complexes are organized. In this Episode we will explore the historical emergence and evolution of food regimes from the 19th century in order to better comprehend what might be meant by a “world food system”.Although food has travelled over long distances for millennia, it took a political struggle in Engla...2020-09-0508 minThe World Food SystemEP 01 Food security or food sovereignty PT 6: The contradictions of the world food systemUndernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overnutrition and ample food supplies point to a series of failures in the capacity of the world to feed itself.2020-09-0505 minThe World Food SystemEP 01 Food security or food sovereignty PT 5: Who are the world's food insecure?What are the common characteristics of those who are food insecure, and do these characteristics say anything about the state of the food system?2020-09-0508 minThe World Food SystemEP 01 Food security or food sovereignty PT 4: Do we grow enough food?If there is significant malnutrition in the world, is it because the world does not grow enough food?2020-09-0513 minThe World Food SystemEP 01 Food security or food sovereignty PT 3: What is malnutrition?Malnutrition is a far more complex idea than how we use the word in everyday life, and we need to better understand what it means if we are to grapple with the state of global food insecurity.2020-09-0511 minThe World Food SystemEP 01 Food security or food sovereignty PT 2: The first food regimeIn the 1870s a stable world food system emerged as farmers in the United States starting exporting their food surpluses to Europe.2020-09-0509 minThe World Food SystemEP 01 Food security or food sovereignty PT 1: The intimate commodityMost of us have enough to eat, and so if asked if we are “food secure” would have an implicit understanding of what the question meant. But the question is not as self-evident as it might appear. Neither is the idea of malnutrition, which afflicts the majority of the world's population. In this Episode we will explore what is meant by malnutrition, food security and food sovereignty, and get a better understanding of why it is important to go behind the numbers and think carefully about what these terms mean.Food is essential to human life, and yet many...2020-09-0507 min
Human Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 08 International development assistance – help or hindrance? PT 5: How does international development happen?International development assistance, or "aid", is the transfer of resources at concessional rates of interest, which means rates of interest that are lower than those that could be obtained on financial markets. The Development Assistance Committee of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development goes further than this in formally defining aid, when it says that a least 25 per cent of the transfer must take the form of a grant, that the transfer must have improvements in human welfare through economic development as its objective, and the transfer must take place between official bilateral and multilateral agencies.International develop...2020-08-3110 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 08 International development assistance – help or hindrance? PT 4: What is Canada's role in international aid?International development assistance, or "aid", is the transfer of resources at concessional rates of interest, which means rates of interest that are lower than those that could be obtained on financial markets. The Development Assistance Committee of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development goes further than this in formally defining aid, when it says that a least 25 per cent of the transfer must take the form of a grant, that the transfer must have improvements in human welfare through economic development as its objective, and the transfer must take place between official bilateral and multilateral agencies.International develop...2020-08-3110 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 08 International development assistance – help or hindrance? PT 3: Current developments in aid policy and practiceInternational development assistance, or "aid", is the transfer of resources at concessional rates of interest, which means rates of interest that are lower than those that could be obtained on financial markets. The Development Assistance Committee of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development goes further than this in formally defining aid, when it says that a least 25 per cent of the transfer must take the form of a grant, that the transfer must have improvements in human welfare through economic development as its objective, and the transfer must take place between official bilateral and multilateral agencies.International develop...2020-08-3110 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 08 International development assistance – help or hindrance? PT 2: Why is aid volatile?International development assistance, or "aid", is the transfer of resources at concessional rates of interest, which means rates of interest that are lower than those that could be obtained on financial markets. The Development Assistance Committee of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development goes further than this in formally defining aid, when it says that a least 25 per cent of the transfer must take the form of a grant, that the transfer must have improvements in human welfare through economic development as its objective, and the transfer must take place between official bilateral and multilateral agencies.International develop...2020-08-3110 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 08 International development assistance – help or hindrance? PT 1: What is aid?International development assistance, or "aid", is the transfer of resources at concessional rates of interest, which means rates of interest that are lower than those that could be obtained on financial markets. The Development Assistance Committee of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development goes further than this in formally defining aid, when it says that a least 25 per cent of the transfer must take the form of a grant, that the transfer must have improvements in human welfare through economic development as its objective, and the transfer must take place between official bilateral and multilateral agencies.International develop...2020-08-3111 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 07 Regulating globalization and international trade PT 4: Globalization and its discontentsAs we have seen, globalization is the economic integration of trade, production and finance on a world scale. However, the process of globalization is not unfettered; it is regulated, by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO has an immense impact on our lives, but it is little known, and little understood. Moreover, given that there has been a slowdown in globalization since 2008 it is important to understand how governments have responded. Finally, given the role of globalization in the contemporary world, we need to ask: has globalization contributed to global poverty and human inequality? In Part 4 of this Episode...2020-08-3108 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 07 Regulating globalization and international trade PT 3: Bilateral and regional trade and investment agreementsAs we have seen, globalization is the economic integration of trade, production and finance on a world scale. However, the process of globalization is not unfettered; it is regulated, by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO has an immense impact on our lives, but it is little known, and little understood. Moreover, given that there has been a slowdown in globalization since 2008 it is important to understand how governments have responded. Finally, given the role of globalization in the contemporary world, we need to ask: has globalization contributed to global poverty and human inequality? In Part 3 of this Episode...2020-08-3116 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 07 Regulating globalization and international trade PT 2: The Doha Development AgendaAs we have seen, globalization is the economic integration of trade, production and finance on a world scale. However, the process of globalization is not unfettered; it is regulated, by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO has an immense impact on our lives, but it is little known, and little understood. Moreover, given that there has been a slowdown in globalization since 2008 it is important to understand how governments have responded. Finally, given the role of globalization in the contemporary world, we need to ask: has globalization contributed to global poverty and human inequality?In Part 2 of this Episod...2020-08-3110 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 07 Regulating Regulating globalization and international trade PT 1: The World Trade OrganizationAs we have seen, globalization is the economic integration of trade, production and finance on a world scale. However, the process of globalization is not unfettered; it is regulated, by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO has an immense impact on our lives, but it is little known, and little understood. Moreover, given that there has been a slowdown in globalization since 2008 it is important to understand how governments have responded. Finally, given the role of globalization in the contemporary world, we need to ask: has globalization contributed to global poverty and human inequality? In Part 1 of this Episode...2020-08-3116 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 06 Globalization and development, 1995 to now – rhetoric or reality? PT 4: Is globalization inevitable?Globalization is the economic integration of trade, production and finance on a world scale. Principally demonstrated by an increasing trade-intensity of production, an increasing share of foreign direct investment in production, and an increasing share of portfolio investment in production, globalization is strongest in the production of manufactured goods that are increasingly assembled in the global factories that serve as the coordinates of international supply network. However, the slowdown in globalization that has happened since 2008 begs the question: is globalization inevitable? And if it is not, is it uniformly good?Part 4 of this Episode critically evaluates globalization and fin...2020-08-3114 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 06 Globalization and development, 1995 to now – rhetoric or reality? PT 3: Transnational corporations and corporate powerGlobalization is the economic integration of trade, production and finance on a world scale. Principally demonstrated by an increasing trade-intensity of production, an increasing share of foreign direct investment in production, and an increasing share of portfolio investment in production, globalization is strongest in the production of manufactured goods that are increasingly assembled in the global factories that serve as the coordinates of international supply network. However, the slowdown in globalization that has happened since 2008 begs the question: is globalization inevitable? And if it is not, is it uniformly good?Part 3 of this Episode dissects the corporate power tha...2020-08-3108 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 06 Globalization and development, 1995 to now – rhetoric or reality? PT 2: Elements of the transnational corporationGlobalization is the economic integration of trade, production and finance on a world scale. Principally demonstrated by an increasing trade-intensity of production, an increasing share of foreign direct investment in production, and an increasing share of portfolio investment in production, globalization is strongest in the production of manufactured goods that are increasingly assembled in the global factories that serve as the coordinates of international supply network. However, the slowdown in globalization that has happened since 2008 begs the question: is globalization inevitable? And if it is not, is it uniformly good?Part 2 of this Episode introduces transnational corporations as the...2020-08-3108 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 06 Globalization and development, 1995 to now – rhetoric or reality? PT 1: What is globalization?Globalization is the economic integration of trade, production and finance on a world scale. Principally demonstrated by an increasing trade-intensity of production, an increasing share of foreign direct investment in production, and an increasing share of portfolio investment in production, globalization is strongest in the production of manufactured goods that are increasingly assembled in the global factories that serve as the coordinates of international supply network. However, the slowdown in globalization that has happened since 2008 begs the question: is globalization inevitable? And if it is not, is it uniformly good?Part 1 of this Episode defines the key characteristics of...2020-08-3109 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 05 Structural adjustment and development dilemmas, 1980 – 1995 PT 4: Do IMF and World Bank policies work?The debt crisis that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s forced a number of states in Asia, Africa and Latin America to seek out financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Assistance was given in exchange for a dismantling of the developmental state and the implementation of structural adjustment polices based upon macroeconomic stabilization, external trade de-regulation, and internal market liberalization. These policies have effectively continued into the 21st century, in the form of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers in developing countries and austerity in the developed countries. Yet the success of these policies on t...2020-08-3111 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 05 Structural adjustment and development dilemmas, 1980 – 1995 PT 3: The Washington Consensus, structural adjustment and PRSPsThe debt crisis that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s forced a number of states in Asia, Africa and Latin America to seek out financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Assistance was given in exchange for a dismantling of the developmental state and the implementation of structural adjustment polices based upon macroeconomic stabilization, external trade de-regulation, and internal market liberalization. These policies have effectively continued into the 21st century, in the form of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers in developing countries and austerity in the developed countries. Yet the success of these policies on t...2020-08-3113 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 05 Structural adjustment and development dilemmas, 1980 – 1995 PT 2: The Bretton Woods institutionsThe debt crisis that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s forced a number of states in Asia, Africa and Latin America to seek out financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Assistance was given in exchange for a dismantling of the developmental state and the implementation of structural adjustment polices based upon macroeconomic stabilization, external trade de-regulation, and internal market liberalization. These policies have effectively continued into the 21st century, in the form of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers in developing countries and austerity in the developed countries. Yet the success of these policies on t...2020-08-3111 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 05 Structural adjustment and development dilemmas, 1980 – 1995 PT 1: The debt crisisThe debt crisis that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s forced a number of states in Asia, Africa and Latin America to seek out financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Assistance was given in exchange for a dismantling of the developmental state and the implementation of structural adjustment polices based upon macroeconomic stabilization, external trade de-regulation, and internal market liberalization. These policies have effectively continued into the 21st century, in the form of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers in developing countries and austerity in the developed countries. Yet the success of these policies on t...2020-08-3110 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 04 Decolonization and state-building, 1950 – 1980 PT 3: Import-substituting industrialization: success or failure?Latin America decolonized in the early 19th century. Following the end of World War I, some limited decolonization took place. But as nationalism gathered pace in the 1920s and 1930s mass movements for liberation and independence blossomed. In the aftermath of World War II the decolonization of Asia took place. Starting in the late 1950s and through the 1960s the decolonization of Africa and the Caribbean took place. During the 1970s the decolonization of Oceania took place. Later still, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Timor-Leste and South Sudan achieved their liberation. Today, only a handful of colonies remain.Part 3 of this Epi...2020-08-3113 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 04 Decolonization and state-building, 1950 – 1980 PT 2: The developmental stateLatin America decolonized in the early 19th century. Following the end of World War I, some limited decolonization took place. But as nationalism gathered pace in the 1920s and 1930s mass movements for liberation and independence blossomed. In the aftermath of World War II the decolonization of Asia took place. Starting in the late 1950s and through the 1960s the decolonization of Africa and the Caribbean took place. During the 1970s the decolonization of Oceania took place. Later still, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Timor-Leste and South Sudan achieved their liberation. Today, only a handful of colonies remain.Part 2 of this Epi...2020-08-3112 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 04 Decolonization and state-building, 1950 – 1980 PT 1: Origins of decolonizationLatin America decolonized in the early 19th century. Following the end of World War I, some limited decolonization took place. But as nationalism gathered pace in the 1920s and 1930s mass movements for liberation and independence blossomed. In the aftermath of World War II the decolonization of Asia took place. Starting in the late 1950s and through the 1960s the decolonization of Africa and the Caribbean took place. During the 1970s the decolonization of Oceania took place. Later still, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Timor-Leste and South Sudan achieved their liberation. Today, only a handful of colonies remain.Part 1 of this Epi...2020-08-3121 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 03 Colonialism and development in the South and in the North, 1500 – 1950 PT 4: Colonialism, imperialism and CanadaModern humans first appeared on the planet around 200,000 years ago, and just over 10,000 years ago humanity began the 5,000 year transition from being hunter-gatherers to being farmers. From there, it was another 4,500 years before Europeans starting spreading outwards from Europe in large numbers. So the history of the last 500 years is, in terms of the life of humanity, very recent. If so, it is not credible to believe that the expansion of Europe beyond its geographical boundaries does not continue to have ramifications for people around the world to the present day. In this light, this Episode surveys the history of colonialism from 150...2020-08-3115 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 03 Colonialism and development in the South and in the North, 1500 – 1950 PT 3: The scramble for AfricaModern humans first appeared on the planet around 200,000 years ago, and just over 10,000 years ago humanity began the 5,000 year transition from being hunter-gatherers to being farmers. From there, it was another 4,500 years before Europeans starting spreading outwards from Europe in large numbers. So the history of the last 500 years is, in terms of the life of humanity, very recent. If so, it is not credible to believe that the expansion of Europe beyond its geographical boundaries does not continue to have ramifications for people around the world to the present day. In this light, this Episode surveys the history of colonialism from 150...2020-08-3115 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 03 Colonialism and development in the South and in the North, 1500 – 1950 PT 2: Colonial enslavementModern humans first appeared on the planet around 200,000 years ago, and just over 10,000 years ago humanity began the 5,000 year transition from being hunter-gatherers to being farmers. From there, it was another 4,500 years before Europeans starting spreading outwards from Europe in large numbers. So the history of the last 500 years is, in terms of the life of humanity, very recent. If so, it is not credible to believe that the expansion of Europe beyond its geographical boundaries does not continue to have ramifications for people around the world to the present day. In this light, this Episode surveys the history of colonialism from 150...2020-08-3118 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 02 The challenge — poverty and inequality in a globalizing world PT 4: InequalityWhat exactly is the state of contemporary poverty and inequality, both in Canada and around the world? In this Episode we will examine definitions of poverty and inequality and, using these definitions, look at estimates of the numbers of those living in poverty and estimates of the state of global human inequality, in order to get a firmer foundation on which to make claims about global poverty and inequality. In addition we will ask the question: why? We will ask this question because before we can propose ways to challenge poverty and inequality we need to know why there is so mu...2020-08-3115 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 02 The challenge — poverty and inequality in a globalizing world PT 5: The 1 %What exactly is the state of contemporary poverty and inequality, both in Canada and around the world? In this Episode we will examine definitions of poverty and inequality and, using these definitions, look at estimates of the numbers of those living in poverty and estimates of the state of global human inequality, in order to get a firmer foundation on which to make claims about global poverty and inequality. In addition we will ask the question: why? We will ask this question because before we can propose ways to challenge poverty and inequality we need to know why there is so mu...2020-08-3108 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 02 The challenge — poverty and inequality in a globalizing world PT 6: Why is there so much inequality, and does it matter?What exactly is the state of contemporary poverty and inequality, both in Canada and around the world? In this Episode we will examine definitions of poverty and inequality and, using these definitions, look at estimates of the numbers of those living in poverty and estimates of the state of global human inequality, in order to get a firmer foundation on which to make claims about global poverty and inequality. In addition we will ask the question: why? We will ask this question because before we can propose ways to challenge poverty and inequality we need to know why there is so mu...2020-08-3113 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 03 Colonialism and development in the South and in the North, 1500 – 1950 PT 1: Feudalism, colonialism and genocideModern humans first appeared on the planet around 200,000 years ago, and just over 10,000 years ago humanity began the 5,000 year transition from being hunter-gatherers to being farmers. From there, it was another 4,500 years before Europeans starting spreading outwards from Europe in large numbers. So the history of the last 500 years is, in terms of the life of humanity, very recent. If so, it is not credible to believe that the expansion of Europe beyond its geographical boundaries does not continue to have ramifications for people around the world to the present day. In this light, this Episode surveys the history of colonialism from 150...2020-08-3115 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 02 The challenge — poverty and inequality in a globalizing world Pt 3: Deprivation and human developmentWhat exactly is the state of contemporary poverty and inequality, both in Canada and around the world? In this Episode we will examine definitions of poverty and inequality and, using these definitions, look at estimates of the numbers of those living in poverty and estimates of the state of global human inequality, in order to get a firmer foundation on which to make claims about global poverty and inequality. In addition we will ask the question: why? We will ask this question because before we can propose ways to challenge poverty and inequality we need to know why there is so mu...2020-08-3113 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 02 The challenge — poverty and inequality in a globalizing world PT 2: PovertyWhat exactly is the state of contemporary poverty and inequality, both in Canada and around the world? In this Episode we will examine definitions of poverty and inequality and, using these definitions, look at estimates of the numbers of those living in poverty and estimates of the state of global human inequality, in order to get a firmer foundation on which to make claims about global poverty and inequality. In addition we will ask the question: why? We will ask this question because before we can propose ways to challenge poverty and inequality we need to know why there is so mu...2020-08-3116 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 02 The challenge — poverty and inequality in a globalizing world PT 1: Per capita incomeWhat exactly is the state of contemporary poverty and inequality, both in Canada and around the world? In this Episode we will examine definitions of poverty and inequality and, using these definitions, look at estimates of the numbers of those living in poverty and estimates of the state of global human inequality, in order to get a firmer foundation on which to make claims about global poverty and inequality. In addition we will ask the question: why? We will ask this question because before we can propose ways to challenge poverty and inequality we need to know why there is so mu...2020-08-3114 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 01 What is international development? PT 2 Defining international developmentThe idea of international development has its origins in US President Harry S Truman's "Four Point" Speech on 20 January 1949. However, even though more than 70 years has passed since that time, "development" still means different things to different people. In this Episode we will explore a variety of meanings of the word "development" and get a better understanding of why development is such a contested word.Part 2 starts to unpack the meaning of development, using a dictionary to demonstrate the complexity of the idea and to show how within the idea of development lies implicit understandings of the forces that...2020-08-3121 minHuman Inequality in Global PerspectiveEP 01 What is international development? PT 1 An interconnected worldThe idea of international development has its origins in US President Harry S Truman's "Four Point" Speech on 20 January 1949. However, even though more than 70 years has passed since that time, "development" still means different things to different people. In this Episode we will explore a variety of meanings of the word "development" and get a better understanding of why development is such a contested word.Part 1 provides a brief introduction into how our world is interconnected, and in so doing provides a reason why development, whatever it may mean, should matter to all of us.2020-08-3109 min
Naturally CuriousEpisode 11 - International Development with Professor Haroon Akram-LodhiProfessor Akram-Lodhi talks about how he got into development studies, world hunger, food system, real food, the importance of education, how local development is global development, and more.
Links for this episode:
Haroon Akram-Lodhi (AHAkramLodhi) on Twitter
Professor Akram Lodhi's website
Oakland Ross
India's "Right to Food" Act
Community Food Centre Canada
Food Republic, "Why Do Canadian Eat So Much Mac 'N Cheese
The Lancet, "More than a diet"
La Via Campesina
Intro and outro music...2019-11-301h 06