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01 March 2014: CRESI Co-Director Published in Third World Quarterly

New actors and alliances in development: a new special issue from Third World Quarterly

Professor Lisa Ann Richey, Roskilde University, and Professor Stefano Ponte, Copenhagen Business School, edited a recent special issue of Third World Quarterly,  New actors and alliances in development.

Papers address the business turn in development and the new constellation of both state and non-state actors playing an increasingly influential role in development policymaking, from non-Western states to philanthropic institutions such as the Gates Foundation.

CRESI co-director Dr Linsey McGoey has an article in the special issue that looks critically at public-private partnerships and the role of governmental actors in funding or underwriting corporate investment in development and health aid. Over the past decade, a new form of philanthropy has emerged, termed ‘philanthrocapitalism’. Champions of philanthrocapitalism suggest that private giving can help fill the void left by diminished government spending on social and development programmes. Critics suggest that philanthropy is no substitute for strong governmental support for social welfare. McGoey argues that both approaches perpetuate a dichotomy between the public and the private, implying that philanthrocapitalism operates in a vacuum largely divorced from governmental interventions. Drawing on three cases – advanced market commitments (amcs) in drug development; impact investing; and direct philanthropic and governmental grants to corporate entities – McGoey illustrates the ways that governments remain one of the most powerful – if not the most powerful – philanthropic actors in the philanthrocapitalist turn.

For PDFs of any articles in the special issue, please contact  lmcgoey@essex.ac.uk.