Programmes & projects
The objective of this research programme funded by FSE is to examine the regulation and evolution of banking in China, India and Russia. International standards for the regulation of banks are being adopted with very different approaches and regulatory outcomes in different countries. Thus, while certain modes of economic governance become ‘universal’ through standardization and dissemination efforts of international governmental organizations, they are ‘translated’ in distinct ways in different capitalist economies, which hence evolve in distinct manners. The research will seek to make a contribution not only in terms of empirical knowledge of regulation processes and their outcomes in three of the largest emerging market economies, but also in terms of theoretical insight in the 'politics of resilience' and the dynamics of capitalism. Contact person: Jakob Vestergaard
This area of research seeks to explain how and why standards are used as governance tools, how they are internally governed, and what effects they have in the real world, with focus on developing and emrging economies. We examine standards in banking and accounting, quality management and organizational social responsibility, and social and environmental sustainability standards. Contact person: Stefano Ponte In this area of research, we examine the impact of the global financial crisis of 2008 on global economic governance. The leaders of the G20 countries initiated a process of high-level international deliberation to respond to the crisis, and the already ongoing but slow-moving voice reform processes in the World Bank and the IMF suddenly accelerated on the back of the urgency of the crisis. But what came out of these accelerations in global economic governance? The jury is still out on this, but some significant - and troubling - trends can be identified already. Contact person: Jakob Vestergaard
Our research in this area builds upon more than a decade of work on agro-food value chains, with specific focus on Africa. We are engaged in both theoretical and policy-oriented discussions in this realm. Our focus is on understanding how the terms and conditions of participation in value chains affect rewards, risk and vulnerability of actors. We are interested in dissecting the dynamics of governance in value chains, and the possibilities and pitfalls of different upgrading trajectories for developing country farms and firms. Contact person: Stefano Ponte
Our research examines the impacts of biofuels on access to land, land use and rural livelihoods, the current development of regional and global value chains for biofuels, and the emergence of ‘sustainability standards’ for biofuel production. Research under this heading is embedded within the Copenhagen Biofuel Research Network (COBREN). Contact person: Stefano Ponte
Large-scale agriculture in developing countries
This area of research examines the historical and current development of farming systems and systems for managing labour in large-scale and plantation agriculture in developing countries. Currently the empirical focus of DIIS work in this area is on Africa. The principal research questions considered concern the identity and varieties of both types of these systems; the extent to which both types of system are crop-, region- and period-specific, or whether there are commonalities and processes of convergence across crop-, region and period resulting in a reduction of diversity; and the nature of the underlying dynamics of change in these systems. Contact persons: Peter Gibbon and Lone Riisgaard.
This area of research was conducted under contract with Danida between 2007 and 2010. It examined the emergence of new or renewed (older) sources of finance for development in Sub-Saharan Africa, against the background of a downward trend in traditional ODA. The sources include FDI, other private capital flows, remittances, aid from non-DAC donors, private philanthropic funds and structured financial instruments directed at financing infrastructure and the social sector. The research examined the extent to which these new sources are marginalizing ODA, and of their complementarities and conflicts with ODA and its objectives. The activity ended with a conference on the impact of the global financial crisis on African countries. Contact person: Peter Gibbon
Activities under this heading are part of a larger project commissioned by Danida on “Research and Communication on Foreign Aid”. The component carried out by our research unit examines pro-poor support to export sectors in developing countries, with the aim of assessing which types of interventions work most effectively in addressing aid to the poor, under which circumstances and why. Contact person: Peter Gibbon
|
Top