Australia is one of the richest nations in the world, at arguably the richest point in our history. Yet our commitment to foreign aid is declining. The Coalition government plans to cut aid funding by $1.4 billion per year or 33 per cent by 2017-18. To put our aid budget in perspective, however, we need...

Overview Timor-Leste has made impressive progress since its historic achievement of independence in 2002. From the instability that blighted its early years, the fledgling democratic country has achieved strong economic growth and a gradual reinstatement of essential social services. A decade on in 2012, Presidential and Parliamentary elections produced smooth political transitions and the extended...

Social impact bond projects are the latest new ‘buy-now, pay later’, off-balance sheet schemes to increase private finance of public services and the welfare state, driven by austerity policies and neoliberal ideology. They are a complex venture capitalist model applied to the provision of social services, health, education and other public services. Private investors provide...

The mission of the New Zealand Aid Programme is to support sustainable development in developing countries‚ in order to reduce poverty and to contribute to a more secure‚ equitable‚ and prosperous world.

At the National People’s Congress in Beijing in March 2015, China’s Premier Li Keqiang announced a growth target of 7 percent, acknowledging that 'deep-seated problems in the country’s economy are becoming more obvious'. Three months later and thousands of miles away in Washington, the World Bank lowered its growth forecasts across the board and asked...