A Development Economist In The United Nations

This book explores the joys and occasional frustrations of a development economist working for the United Nations. From 1982 to 2000 Richard Jolly worked in senior positions in UNICEF and UNDP on assignments that were innovative, for the UN, the countries concerned and for development. The book analyses his experiences as Deputy Director of UNICEF, Principal Coordinator and co-author of UNDP’s widely acclaimed Human Development Report and a community development officer in Kenya, as well as his involvement in the UN and country mission to Zambia and ILO employment missions to Colombia, Sri Lanka and Kenya. It shows what the UN can achieve when there is strong leadership at central and field levels, together with decentralized approaches. Jolly’s experiences lead him to conclude there are in fact three UNs: the formal UN of governments; the second UN comprising UN staff members, often the source of initiatives and action; and the third UN of NGOs, experts, consultants and others closely following the UN or working with it, and also often bringing new thinking and innovation. Reflecting on the need for international action to be more effective and the UN to be more strongly supported, this volume is a fascinating guide to students and scholars of global governance, development and international organizations and those working for them.

As one of the most pioneering development economists, Hans Singer has stimulated many of the ideas that have engaged the attention of the world community for several decades. Not only has he helped to form an understanding of the problems of developing countries, but he has also shown what might be done to solve them. This collection brings together for the first time key essays on the issues underlying food aid and the development of the UN. These are grouped into five areas: postwar development experience; reform of the United Nations; debt and debt servicing; structural adjustment and stabilization; and food aid.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of UNICEF’s development and operations, whilst exploring the significance of UNICEF’s achievements and the reasons behind them. UNICEF is one of the best known organizations of the United Nations system and the oldest of the UN’s development funds. It is also the part of the UN which consistently receives support from all countries round the world, including the United States. This book brings out the wider reasons for UNICEF’s success and popularity, setting them in the context of UNICEF’s evolution since 1946 and drawing lessons for other international organizations. The book argues that, despite its problems, international action for children, built substantially on non-economic foundations, is not only possible, but can be highly successful in mobilizing support, producing results and making a difference to the lives of millions of children. This will be of great interest to all scholars of international organisations, development, human rights and the United Nations system.

Interviewed by the authors, Kofi Annan, Boutros Boutros-Ghali and 71 other UN professionals speak about international cooperation and the ideas that have shaped the accomplishments of the UN.

All the Difference is the story of one man's work in the vast international effort since World War II to raise standards of living in less developed countries; an effort in which all member countries of the United Nations have to some extent been involved. In the opening chapter Benjamin Higgins recounts how, almost by accident, he became a "development economist" at the age of thirty-nine, and indicates how inadequate the training and experience of the first generation of development economists were for this role.

The authors argue that the UN Charter is infused with the human values & human concerns that are at the centre of the UN's thinking on economic & human development today. They show how the UN's approach to development has evolved to include a broad range of social issues, from poverty reduction to equality.

"Devaki Jain opens the doors of the United Nations and shows how it has changed the female half of the world -- and vice versa. Women, Development, and the UN is a book that every global citizen, government leader, journalist, academic, and self-respecting woman should read." -- Gloria Steinem "Devaki Jain's book nurtures your optimism in this terrible war-torn decade by describing how women succeeded in empowering both themselves and the United Nations to work toward a global leadership inspired by human dignity." -- Fatema Mernissi In Women, Development, and the UN, internationally noted development economist and activist Devaki Jain traces the ways in which women have enriched the work of the United Nations from the time of its founding in 1945. Synthesizing insights from the extensive literature on women and development and from her own broad experience, Jain reviews the evolution of the UN's programs aimed at benefiting the women of developing nations and the impact of women's ideas about rights, equality, and social justice on UN thinking and practice regarding development. Jain presents this history from the perspective of the southern hemisphere, which recognizes that development issues often look different when viewed from the standpoint of countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The book highlights the contributions of the four global women's conferences in Mexico City, Copenhagen, Nairobi, and Beijing in raising awareness, building confidence, spreading ideas, and creating alliances. The history that Jain chronicles reveals both the achievements of committed networks of women in partnership with the UN and the urgent work remaining to bring equality and justice to the world and its women.

This is the first biography of a world-famous pioneering development economist, Sir Hans W. Singer, who is better known throughout the developing world than any other economist, living or dead. It gives a detailed account of the way in which the 'twists of fate' led him to becoming a leading development economist. It contains a thematic synthesis of all his major theoretical and conceptual work and of the many initiatives in which he has been involved to solve the problems of developing countries.