Many of the Millennium Development Goals such as reducing extreme poverty will not be met by 2015. Manpreet Romana / AFP
Many of the Millennium Development Goals such as reducing extreme poverty will not be met by 2015. Manpreet Romana / AFP

Despite UN's best intentions rich-poor paradox remains



In 2000, 189 countries adopted the UN Millennium Declaration, which evolved into a set of concrete targets called Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

These ambitious targets - ranging from halving extreme poverty and reducing maternal mortality by three-quarters to achieving universal primary schooling and halting the spread of HIV/Aids - are supposed to be met by 2015. As the deadline approaches, development experts are debating a new question: what next?

It is virtually certain that many MDGs will not have been met, but there have been striking successes. For example, the goal of halving extreme poverty, measured by the number of people living on less than US$1.25 (Dh4.6) a day, is likely to be achieved, largely thanks to China's phenomenal growth.

But there is little evidence to suggest those successes were the result of the MDGs.

Clearly, however, the MDGs were a public relations triumph, which is not to belittle their contribution. Like all worthwhile PR efforts, they served to raise awareness, galvanise attention and mobilise action - all for a good cause. And there is evidence that they convinced advanced countries to pay more attention to poor nations.

Indeed, MDGs possibly had their clearest impact on aid from rich to poor countries. A study by Charles Kenny and Andy Sumner for the Center for Global Development in Washington suggests that MDGs not only boosted aid flows but redirected them towards smaller, poorer countries, and towards targeted areas such as education and public health. However, it is difficult to know whether the aid had the desired impact.

The MDGs encompass eight goals, 21 targets and 60 indicators. Much criticism has focused on these targets and indicators which, sceptics argue, are misspecified, mismeasured and divert attention from equally important areas. But such complaints miss the point. Any effort needs to monitor results and setting clear numerical targets is the best way to do so.

Still, a central paradox plagues the MDGs. The Millennium Declaration was meant to be a compact between the world's rich and poor countries. Poor countries promised to refocus their development efforts while rich countries pledged to support them with finance, technology and access to their markets.

But, oddly, of the eight goals, only the last one deals with "global partnership," or what rich countries can and should do.

Even here, the MDGs contain no numerical targets for financial aid or rich countries' assistance, in contrast to the highly specific poverty-related targets set for developing countries.

Why we need a global effort to convince developing countries to do what is good for them is not clear. Poverty reduction and human development should be the first order of business for governments in these countries.

It is true these governments often pursue different goals, for political, military and other reasons. But it is wishful thinking to believe that they can be persuaded to act otherwise by international declarations that lack enforcement mechanisms.

Equally problematic, the MDGs implicitly assume we know how to achieve development targets, and only resources and political will are missing. But it is doubtful that even well-intentioned policy makers have a good handle on, say, how to reduce maternal mortality.

Many development economists would argue that significant improvements in governance and political institutions are required before such goals can be achieved. These considerations suggest an obvious direction for the next iteration of MDGs. First, a new global compact should focus more directly on rich countries' responsibilities. Second, it should emphasise policies beyond aid and trade that have an equal, if not greater, impact on development prospects.

This kind of reorientation will not be easy. But if the international community is going to invest in a bold new public-relations initiative, it might as well focus on areas where the potential payoffs are the greatest.

Dani Rodrik is professor of international political economy at Harvard University and the author of The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy

* Project Syndicate

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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara

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Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net

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Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
ICC match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)

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Scotland/Israel/Norway/Serbia

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N.Ireland/Bosnia/Slovakia/Ireland

Group F: Germany, France, Portugal, 
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