Post 2015: Global Action for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future

CHApTER THREE
Recent discussions
on PCD have
concentrated on
inputs and
processes rather
than on the more
difficult areas of
outputs in terms
of concrete policies
and their outcomes
in developing
countries.
54
difficult areas of outputs in terms of concrete
policies and their outcomes in developing
countries. Discussions have, for instance, focused
on so-called ‘institutional mechanisms’ – that is,
specific means for supporting governments at the
technical and/or political level to make policies
more coherent with development objectives. Such
mechanisms may include (a) the adoption and
clarification of overall ambitions and objectives;
(b) the facilitation of the exchange of information
and decision-making; and (c) research, monitoring
and evaluation (mackie et al., 2007).
Since 2007 the efforts of the Eu and its member
States to promote pcD have been monitored in
the biennial Eu pcD report. the three reports
published to date were based on a questionnaire
sent to Eu member States’ ministries responsible
for development as well as consultations with Eu
institutions and cSos (and, in 2009, supplemented
with field studies). 35 all three reports focus on
describing the various actions (inputs and outputs)
in which the Eu has invested. the reports also point
to important ‘outstanding issues’ for the Eu’s efforts
to promote pcD that could guide the continuing
dialogue among its stakeholders.
beyond this institutional reporting process,
the existing literature on pcD that examines the
effects of Eu policies in developing countries can
be divided into two major categories:
1. Studies that investigate a specific theme or
policy area, such as agricultural subsidies,
trade policy, fisheries agreements, tax policies,
or other areas where Eu policy has potential
repercussions on developing countries. the
number of studies in this category has expanded
rapidly in the last 20 years, with research projects
either officially commissioned or conducted by
cSos, think tanks and academic institutions.
EuropEan rEport on DEvElopmEnt 2013
the assumed links between potential Eu
policy actions in relation to Eu development
policies and objectives are well established.
Such studies routinely provide evidence of
how certain policy actions can have negative
effects on development and then suggest policy
alternatives. Exceptions notwithstanding, most
of this research relies on secondary data (e.g.
Wto trade statistics).
2. Studies that involve the collection of primary
(empirical) data, and examine the impacts of
selected Eu policies in a particular developing
country, generally involving some degree of
primary data-collection, most often by means of
interviews. the literature review conducted for
this report identified only seven such studies
carried out since 2000. 36 these provide more
information on context-specific ‘supply-side
constraints’ in developing countries and more
general feedback on how policy actions that
are perceived as developmental (or the reverse)
actually affect developing countries. this
approach has several potential advantages. First,
developing countries are highly heterogeneous
and the same Eu policy may have very different
impacts depending on the context. Second, given
the complexity of the development process, it is
often challenging to relate outcomes observed
‘on the ground’ to a specific Eu policy, or vice
versa. to single out the effect of Eu policies
would mean disentangling this complex
interaction at the country level.
Studies in the two categories can be complementary:
the first type seeks to produce
generalisable findings on the effects of policies in
developing countries, while the second examines
the main assumptions and logic of these general
studies. the risk of failing to invest sufficiently
in primary data-collection is that research and
35 all reports are available on DG DEvco’s website: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/development-policies/policy-coherence/index_en.htm/.
36 actionaid, 2003; Hoebink et al., 2005; olivié, 2009; EcDpm in com 2009; Fairpolitics, 2010 and 2011; actionaid, 2012. these studies were
selected for covering the term ‘coherence’ in relation to the Eu policies in a particular developing country (or group of countries).