The Millennium Development Goals: the Importance of Good Governance, and the Challenging ‘Big Push’ and ‘Take Off’
The Millennium Development Goals: The importance of good governance, and the challenging ‘big push’ and ‘take off’
ID 961771
“... those goals are unreachable”
IMF official in conversation with Jeffrey Sachs
Abstract: This paper discusses one of the issues that are at the heart of the debate on development: the achievement or not of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The first part touches on the framework of the MDGs and has an overview of their not optimistic performance. The second section addresses the gaps and incoherence at national level that are playing a major role for slowing down the MDGs’ attainment. In the third part, the focus is on the other side of the medal: the politics at international level, which influences on the MDGs, with special emphasis on the failed promises and the role of international organisations. The fourth part is a discussion of one of the contemporary thinking on development theory: concepts such as ‘poverty trap’, ‘big push’ and ‘take off’, which have been proposed by Jeffrey Sachs, are analysed in the context of the MDGs and developing countries. The principal conclusions are that at national and international level, good governance and politics play a critical role for attaining the MDGs, and the mainstream theory of poverty trap, big push and take off should be handled with care, when providing policy recommendations.
I. Introduction: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
The document of the MDGs comprises eight goals and eighteen targets to be achieved by 2015. The MDGs as part of the Millennium Declaration, pledged by almost all the leaders worldwide, in the Millennium Summit in September 2000, are the first agreement with measurable 48 indicators for monitoring their progress[1]. (United Nations, 2007).
Regarding the multidimensionality of the MDGs, Sachs mentions: ‘the MDGs wisely recognize that extreme poverty has
ID 961771
“... those goals are unreachable”
IMF official in conversation with Jeffrey Sachs
Abstract: This paper discusses one of the issues that are at the heart of the debate on development: the achievement or not of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The first part touches on the framework of the MDGs and has an overview of their not optimistic performance. The second section addresses the gaps and incoherence at national level that are playing a major role for slowing down the MDGs’ attainment. In the third part, the focus is on the other side of the medal: the politics at international level, which influences on the MDGs, with special emphasis on the failed promises and the role of international organisations. The fourth part is a discussion of one of the contemporary thinking on development theory: concepts such as ‘poverty trap’, ‘big push’ and ‘take off’, which have been proposed by Jeffrey Sachs, are analysed in the context of the MDGs and developing countries. The principal conclusions are that at national and international level, good governance and politics play a critical role for attaining the MDGs, and the mainstream theory of poverty trap, big push and take off should be handled with care, when providing policy recommendations.
I. Introduction: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
The document of the MDGs comprises eight goals and eighteen targets to be achieved by 2015. The MDGs as part of the Millennium Declaration, pledged by almost all the leaders worldwide, in the Millennium Summit in September 2000, are the first agreement with measurable 48 indicators for monitoring their progress[1]. (United Nations, 2007).
Regarding the multidimensionality of the MDGs, Sachs mentions: ‘the MDGs wisely recognize that extreme poverty has
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