Friday, April 01, 2011

BEIRUT: Corruption and absence of democracy are not necessarily obstacles to economic growth, according to the head of a leading Canadian funding agency for international development.

During a lecture at the American University of Beirut this week, Dr. David Malone, the president of Canada’s International Development Research Center, told an AUB audience of faculty members and senior administrators that there is no one successful model for development.

“Those who think there is one model for development need to study China and India,” said Malone, who has published extensively on peace and security issues, and has international diplomatic and political experience.

Malone cited the example of China – the Asian giant is regularly cited by international institutions as a successful model of economic development, and boasts a steady 8-11 percent annual economic growth for the past several years, but the country “could not be less democratic.”

He also described India as a “chaotic, corrupt and exciting democracy,” but said no one could question that it leads the way in entrepreneurship, and that it has been growing at 6-9 percent a year.

Similarly, violence and conflict do not necessarily paralyze growth, as evidence by Sri Lanka and many South American nations have shown, according to Malone.

The IDRC president was on a regional trip to explore new concepts in development and research with the center’s regional partners, including AUB, which benefits from over $1.5 million in ongoing research in the areas of sustainable development, health, food security and safety, environment and others.

AUB is also in the process of getting approved for a $1.5 million project to study the effect of climate change on sea levels and sea water intrusion.

Malone argued that the most recent global economic and financial crisis, which he called “Made in the West” and more specifically “Made in the USA,” had stunted the economies of Western democracies but left most of the developing world unscathed.

“This crisis is a spur for new thinking,” he said. “It inspires us to reflect on what we can learn from these [developing] countries.”

Malone also cautioned against applying a single policy to several countries, as a “delusional and dangerous” practice. He argued that the specificities of each country should dictate policy choices.

The IDRC president said he was hopeful about the prospect of policy-relevant research in the region, saying he thinks the current changes will lead to younger and better-educated and academically aware public officials joining the new governments.

He commended AUB’s top-quality research teams and proposals, noting that IDRC’s funding level at this university is not typical for the region. “But there aren’t many AUBs in the Arab world,” he said. – The Daily Star