South Asia

This Handbook offers a comprehensive overview of the latest research from leading scholars on the international political economy of energy and resources. Highlighting the important conceptual and empirical themes, the chapters study all levels of governance, from global to local, and explore the wide range of issues emerging in a changing political and economic environment.

This paper is a background review representing part of the initial phase of the Financing the Urban Transition work program. The review builds on a growing body of research that highlights both the importance of national sustainable infrastructure and the need to develop more effective and efficient financing mechanisms for delivering compact, connected cities that meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. While progress has been made in both these areas over the last five years, there remains a policy gap between the international/national level and the municipal level.

This chapter focuses on the role of government policy in the evolution of GM technology and institutions.

"This introductory essay explains how this new technology is being driven by the actors (multinational corporations), markets (large global markets) and rules (intellectual property) of globalisation."

"Development is crucial for human security, not only for those in poor countries but also for people throughout the world."

The objective of this collaborative research project is to identify the key institutional and socio-economic challenges for developing countries in taking up GM crops, based on a review of experiences in 8 countries. We aim to publish a volume putting together 6 country case studies in 2005.

This is the first book to bridge the gap between the "naysayers" and "cheerleaders", and to provide a penetrating examination of the realities, complexities, benefits and pitfalls of GM adoption in developing countries that are desperately fighting poverty while trying to stay afloat in the hyper-competitive global economy.

"...the emergence and spread of GM crops at the global level was driven by markets and shaped by institutions. This chapter analyses the same process at the national level and compares the experiences of Argentina, Brazil, China, India and South Africa...."

"Investing in agricultural technology increasingly turns up these days on lists of the top ten practical actions the rich world could take to contribute to reducing global poverty...."