Jan Pronk | Erasmus University Rotterdam (original) (raw)

Papers by Jan Pronk

xix, 431 hal.: ilus.; 21 c

Journal of Global Ethics, Sep 2, 2015

Global development post 1945, until the end of the twentieth century, did not take place smoothly... more Global development post 1945, until the end of the twentieth century, did not take place smoothly. After World War II, economic reconstruction had to be taken in hand. Major events followed: the breaking out of a Cold War between East and West and its ending 40 years later; liberation wars; decolonization; emergence of new economies; civil wars in new nation states; extensive use of fossil fuels and nuclear energy; application of new technologies in information, transportation and communication; development of weapons of mass destruction; rise of transnational companies in all economic sectors, in particular in finance, just to name a few. The global development road was bumpy. The road map had to be redrawn frequently because the sketches never fully reflected realities on the ground. Roadblocks emerged due to changing economic and political power relations. Post 1945 Before World War II, powerful countries could freely steer the course of world development. However, since the establishment of the United Nations this freedom had been curtailed. Global consensus had been reached with regard to some basic principles and values which should be observed, in order to avoid the road straying into a jungle or abyss. Those principles led to agreement about rules, which should be observed by all, serving the common interest of the peoples on the earth. These principles and rules were partly based on emerging global ethics and partly on rational thought: non-observance of rules by some parties could result in irreversible damage for all, and even self-destruction. The emerging consensus was laid down in a new road map for global development, with agreed principles and rules, procedures for decision-making, policy objectives, and instruments. The first of these was the Charter of the United Nations, followed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For a large number of specific policy areas, rules and procedures were entrusted to UN Specialized Agencies and the Organizations of the Bretton Woods System. Their scope was meant to be worldwide in order to ensure a global level playing field. However, it soon turned out that newly independent countries were disadvantaged due to their colonial past and also to their different economic circumstances and cultures. In the 1960s, this recognition led to the adoption of a Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in addition to Civil and Political Rights. Moreover, specific roadmaps were drawn in order to enable so-called developing countries to bridge the gap with the former colonial empires and other rich countries: the Strategies for the First, Second, and Third Development Decades (the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s).

Economist-netherlands, Mar 1, 1970

... Leiden 1960, pp. 386-398. 5. ,,Internationale planning van investeringen ?", Opstellenbu... more ... Leiden 1960, pp. 386-398. 5. ,,Internationale planning van investeringen ?", Opstellenbundel ter huldiging van Pro/essor Dr. J. Wisselink, edited by HJ Geerkens, De Erven F. Bohn NV, Haarlem 1960, pp. 249-256. 6. ,,A World ...

Development and Change, Jun 1, 2003

Ecumenical Review, 1975

Six years ago in Uppsala, at the Fourth Assembly of the World Council of Churches, we discussed t... more Six years ago in Uppsala, at the Fourth Assembly of the World Council of Churches, we discussed the relations between the Third World and the rich and powerful nations. In Montreux in 1970 we continued that discussion and we further defined the concept of development, taking into account not only relations between nations, but also those within national societies. Both in Uppsala and Montreux we formulated aims and instruments for policies to overcome inequality and lack of self-reliance. Since 1970 the picture has deteriorated very much. In fact, there is a twofold crisis : a development crisis, and on top of that a general economic crisis, which has an enormous effect on the development problem. The sense of crisis in development is relatively new. The optimism of the mid-sixties has faded away. Today we witness social and economic stagnation in many developing countries. Economic dualism and social destruction originating in the colonial period have worsened due to neo-colonial relationships and to Western growth policies. In my view there are two main reasons for this crisis in development : first, there has been a lack of political leadership. In the rich countries this lack is demonstrated in the failing policies with regard to development cooperation. Hardly any rich country has fulfilled the aid targets formulated in the Development Strategy of the United Nations which has been accepted by all countries, rich and poor. The targets set by the same Strategy with regard to trade, investment, science and technology, and all other relevant international economic relations, have not been reached either. With few exceptions, the same holds good for the developing countries themselves. Redistribution of income, land reform, the introduction of social policies and all the other goals which the Development Strategy outlined as desirable for the developing countries to attain, have been realized so far to a very limited and unsatisfactory extent. There is a common tendency in rich and developing countries to blame public opinion for this failure, but I feel this is incorrect. We should not try to justify any lack of action by saying that the resulting situation is the fault of Dr PRONK, Minister of Development of the Netherlands, presented this paper at the Joint Consultation of the WCC Commissions on the Churches' Participation in Development and on Inter-Church Aid, Refugee and WorId Service, held in Montreux, Switzerland, 1-7 December 1974.

Development and Change, Sep 1, 2001

This article argues that aid is not the prime mover of development, but rather a catalyst. It mig... more This article argues that aid is not the prime mover of development, but rather a catalyst. It might be used as a reward for good development governance. However, it will fulfil its catalytic function better by creating conditions for policy improvement. Better governance should be seen not only as a precondition for development and for development aid, but also as a development objective in itself. This is particularly true for aid recipient countries in disarray.

Meltwater from Himalayan glaciers sustains the flow of rivers such as the Ganges and Brahmaputra ... more Meltwater from Himalayan glaciers sustains the flow of rivers such as the Ganges and Brahmaputra on which over half a billion people depend for day-today needs. Upstream areas are likely to be affected substantially by climate change, and changes in the magnitude and timing of meltwater supply are expected to occur in coming decades. About 10 % of the Himalayan glacier population terminates into proglacial lakes, and such lake-terminating glaciers are known to exhibit higher-than-average total mass losses. However, relatively little is known about the mechanisms driving exacerbated ice loss from lake-terminating glaciers in the Himalaya. Here we examine a composite (2017-2019) glacier surface velocity dataset, derived from Sentinel 2 imagery, covering central and eastern Himalayan glaciers larger than 3 km 2. We find that centre flow line velocities of lake-terminating glaciers (N = 70; u median : 18.83 m yr −1 ; IQR-interquartile range-uncertainty estimate: 18.55-19.06 m yr −1) are on average more than double those of landterminating glaciers (N = 249; u median : 8.24 m yr −1 ; IQR uncertainty estimate: 8.17-8.35 m yr −1) and show substantially more heterogeneity than land-terminating glaciers around glacier termini. We attribute this large heterogeneity to the varying influence of lakes on glacier dynamics, resulting in differential rates of dynamic thinning, which causes about half of the lake-terminating glacier population to accelerate towards the glacier termini. Numerical ice-flow model experiments show that changes in the force balance at the glacier termini are likely to play a key role in accelerating the glacier flow at the front, with variations in basal friction only being of modest importance. The expansion of current glacial lakes and the formation of new meltwater bodies will influence the dynamics of an increasing number of Himalayan glaciers in the future, and these factors should be carefully considered in regional projections. * The percentage of glacierized area covered (coverage) over the whole region is relatively low, since it also incorporates all CE Himalayan glaciers outside the five subregions.

Ocean yearbook, 1993

Bank for International Settlements Review, no. 132; Mr. Greenspan outlines some new challenges fo... more Bank for International Settlements Review, no. 132; Mr. Greenspan outlines some new challenges for the global economy.

Development, Nov 30, 2009

Jan Pronk highlights the growing conflict potential as economic and technological forces behind g... more Jan Pronk highlights the growing conflict potential as economic and technological forces behind globalization lead to more and more greed, an intemperate pursue of material welfare and growth, destruction in the name of renewal and progress, and a tremendous burden on the scarce physical resources of the earth.

Development, Aug 18, 2008

Jan Pronk reflects on his high-level political engagement on climate change underlying the princi... more Jan Pronk reflects on his high-level political engagement on climate change underlying the principles that should inform policy today, but have not been taken up adequately in the recent UN Conference on Climate Change in Bali. He takes us through the policy responses required to counter the dire consequences of climate change that we ignore at our peril.

Global change - the IGBP series, 2002

The scientific communities of four international global change research programmes — the Internat... more The scientific communities of four international global change research programmes — the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), and the international biodiversity programme DIVERSITAS — recognise that in addition to the threat of significant climate change, there is growing concern over the ever-increasing human modification of other aspects of the global environment and the consequent implications for human well-being. Basic goods and services supplied by the planetary life support system, such as food, water, clean air, and an environment conducive to human health are being affected increasingly by global change.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Sep 1, 2016

At the turn of the millennia, in the year 2000, a new political momentum emerged. It was the turn... more At the turn of the millennia, in the year 2000, a new political momentum emerged. It was the turning year not only of decades, but also of centuries, even millennia. Though market forces and geopolitical power relations are not influenced by a mere calendar arithmetic, the end of the century created an ideal political opportunity to look both back and forward, and take a longer view. A kind of quadruple New Year’s Eve feeling forced opinion leaders and politicians to wonder what had gone wrong, when, where and why, and how negative trends could be reversed.