28 - 30 January 2004, GDN Annual Conference,New Delhi

Understanding reform

Since the third wave of democratization that began in the 1970s, many regions of the world have experienced significant economic and political reforms as policymakers have sought to provide the citizens of their countries with a better life. Little systematic effort has been undertaken to understand the cumulative results of these reforms on a global scale, the extent to which outcomes have matched expectations, the effect of regional contexts on reforms, and the ways in which reforms have, perhaps negatively affected the target populations. The Fifth Annual Global Development Conference, which opened on January 27 in Delhi, addressed these critical questions, premised on the belief that a better understanding of past reforms—including their initiation, implementation, and outcome—should inform the design, introduction, and execution of future reforms throughout the developing and transition worlds.

Bringing together almost 600 researchers and policymakers from around the world for three days of plenary sessions and breakout meetings, the multidisciplinary Conference was organized by the Global Development Network (GDN) and hosted by the Government of India. Sessions on regional perspectives and key themes of understanding reform formed its core. As in previous years, the Conference provided an opportunity for researchers from the developing world, representatives of international organizations and leading policy makers to express their views and culminated in presentations by the finalists in the Global Development Awards/Medals Competition—the largest international contest for researchers working on development issues. Indeed, the presentations of the finalists have always functioned as the central part of the conference, supplying it with its ultimate raison d’etre. The Conference closed with the announcement of the winners of the Awards and Research Medals, including two $100,000 prizes for the most innovative development project and for outstanding research on development.

Building on the experience of GDN’s past conferences, this year’s Conference, more than ever, addressed issues of global importance, covering a critical variety of regions and conceptual approaches to reform. The choice of Delhi as the setting for the Conference represented the recognition of the achievements of the Indian government’s reform efforts over the last decade. Indeed, the liberal, pro-market reforms introduced by the government of India in 1991 after a prolonged period of ineffectual statism represent a sea-change in the country’s development strategy. Moreover, holding the Conference in India provided an excellent opportunity to compare the Indian experience to that of other developing regions. Latin America, for example, has undergone a long period of reform efforts that have been plagued by crises and troubles; for its part, Sub-Saharan Africa has encountered great difficulties in moving reforms forward due mainly to a historical legacy of colonialism and political instability.

Interested? Read the complete article here.