Development and the Private Sector: Consuming Interests

Front Cover
Deborah Eade, John Sayer
Kumarian Press, 2006 - 312 pages
* Comprehensive examination of roles private sector plays in development
* Collection part of the Kumarian Press and Oxfam Development in Practice readers series

Corporations have a major impact on the lives of people in developing countries. Not only do they determine the shape of the international economy but many private companies now provide essential social services that were previously the responsibility of government. The growth of corporate power has generated a backlash as companies are held to account for the social and environmental impacts of their business. The resulting array of new initiatives coming under the term ‘corporate social responsibility’ has many implications for development. There are heated debates as to whether these initiatives should remain voluntary, or form part of tighter international regulation of business.

Corporations clearly have the potential to contribute to sustainable economic growth in developing countries. However, their business can also undermine people’s livelihoods. Contributors to this volume examine the impact of the private sector on development, whether through core business practices, corporate responsibility endeavors, or philanthropic activities. Bringing together both analytical chapters and case studies ranging from El Salvador, to Kenya, to Timor-Leste, this book focuses on how the private sector can do less harm, and even do considerable good by fostering equitable development.

Other contributors: Stephanie Ware Barrientos, Jem Bendell, Catherine Dolan, Sumi Dhanarajan, Deborah Doane, Niamh Garvey, David Hall, April Linton, Lienda Loebis, Emanuele Lobina, Robin de la Motte, Ben Moxham, Julian Oram, Peter Newell, Carolina Quinteros, Leopoldo Rodriguez-Boetsch, Hubert Schmitz, Sally Smith, Anne Tallontire, and Peter Utting.

From inside the book

Contents

Development
1
Corporate Responsibility and the Movement of Business
53
Corporate Accountability to the Poor? Assessing
75
Public Resistance to Privatization in Water and Energy
103
Public Service Privatization and Crisis in Argentina
125
The Need for HumanScale Economic
147
Globalization Winners
167
CommunityDriven
179
When Rhetoric
191
Corporate Responsibility and the United StatesCentral
201
BusinessNGO Alliances
223
Reaching the Marginalized? Gender Value Chains
247
Resources
267
Contributors
293
Index
299
Copyright

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About the author (2006)

Deborah Eade became editor of the international journal Development in Practice in 1991 and has published extensively on international development and humanitarian issues. She was an independent consultant based in Mexico before becoming Oxfam GBrsquo;s Deputy Regional Representative for Mexico and Central America (1984-1991). John Sayer was a farmer in Wales before moving to Asia in 1976, where he became Co-Director of the Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC), working with the regionrsquo;s labour movements on information systems, new technology, occupational health and safety, and labour rights. From 1991, he headed the programme department of Oxfam Hong Kong, later becoming its director and subsequently interim director of Oxfam International. Currently running Africa Now, an NGO that supports small producers in Africa and promotes pro-poor ethical trade, he resumed the directorship of Oxfam Hong Kong in 2005.

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