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Articles in English by Desmond McNeill
Land Use Policy Volume 37, March 2014, Pages 6–13
Abstract It is widely recognised that weak governance is a major constraint in planning for sust... more Abstract
It is widely recognised that weak governance is a major constraint in planning for sustainable development, especially in the South. Sophisticated models that have been developed for assessing the likely effect of selected policies on land-use, and on sustainable development more generally, increasingly acknowledge this; but they do not include methods for taking this into account, in quantitative terms – which is what is necessary if such models are to be applied in practice. This paper begins by identifying the limitations of standard models in this respect, and then suggests a possible way to respond to the problem. We propose the use of what we call ‘policy-specific governance indicators’, that is, indicators not of general government performance across the board, but rather of the actual performance of particular policies – or, if necessary, suitable proxies derived from similar policies. By reference to a case study from Brazil concerning controls on deforestation, we show how this can be done in practice, and built in to the planning model. And by reference to studies from Indonesia and India we explore how one might address still more challenging cases that may arise.
Papers by Desmond McNeill
Habitat international, 1988
SIDALC - Servicio de Informacion y Documentacion Agropecuaria de las Americas.
Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, Sep 1, 1999
Stuck indoors because of those April showers? The following Web sites on arboretums will help you... more Stuck indoors because of those April showers? The following Web sites on arboretums will help you anticipate May's flowers. The US National Arboretum's Web site (www.ars-grin.gov/ars/Beltsville/ na) has several features of interest, including a "What's Blooming" section that is searchable by month. The US Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone Map can be found at this site, along with fact sheets on newly introduced plant species. These fact sheets include the plant's botanical and family names, a description of the plant and a picture, and various details on its use, propagation, development, and distribution. Visitors can take a virtual tour of the major displays, collections, and structures of the National Arboretum. A searchable index of the living collection at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is available at its Web site, www.rbge.org.uk/Welcome.html. Visitors can also find information on the Garden's herbarium, which has approximately 2 million specimens. Up-to-date press releases and information on projects are available; for instance, browsers can find out about the diatom classification project or "Flora Celtica," which aims to study the interactions of plants and people in the Atlantic European Celtic region. Also of note are links to other botany and horticulture Web sites. The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University (arboretum.harvard.edu) provides detailed information on the plant taxa in its living collections. Of note is the focus on the arboretum's special collections, which include elm replacement in Harvard Yard, 230 different kinds of lilac plants, and a bonsai collection. Budding horticulturists can also learn how to plant and care for lilacs. Information about the arboretum's quarterly magazine (Arnoldia) and archival material is available; of interest are the brief biographies of prominent people in the arboretum's history.
Global Policy, 2019
The papers in this special issue provide accounts of the politics and knowledge that shaped the S... more The papers in this special issue provide accounts of the politics and knowledge that shaped the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The open and transparent processes in the Open Working Group (OWG) and Post-2015 agenda consultations challenged the MDG paradigm and set more transformative and ambitious goals. But across many goals, there was slippage in ambition when targets and indicators were selected. In some cases, this is due to genuine difficulty in defining a suitable indicator. In other cases, there is clearly a contestation about the agenda, and indicators are used to reorient or pervert the meaning of the goal. The accounts of the negotiations-concerning inequality, sustainable agriculture, access to justice, education, environmentshow how the selection of an indicator is purportedly a technical matter but is highly political, though obscured behind the veil of an objective and technical choice. The papers also highlight how the increasing role of big data and other non-traditional sources of data is altering data production, dissemination and use, and fundamentally altering the epistemology of information and knowledge. This raises questions about 'data for whom and for what'fundamental issues concerning the power of data to shape knowledge, the democratic governance of SDG indicators and of knowledge for development overall. Policy Implications • The research findings show that the SDG experience was an important innovation in more participatory and transparent goal setting, but they also call attention to the pitfalls of 'governance by indicators'. The HLPF and the UN SC should reexamine the most problematic indicators at the 2020 review. • The UN SC should ensure that the IAEG-SDGs is open to comment and proposals for change, while civil society actors and others should continue to invest in scrutinizing the selection of indicators. Criteria for indicator selection should be based more on their accurately reflecting SDG norms and less on data availability. The international community should invest more in developing Tier II and III indicators. • Most national statistical offices (NSOs) cannot implement the SDG indicator framework without adequate resources. National governments and international donors should give higher priority to supporting these needs. • Big data can make a contribution to the SDGs but their development needs to be carefully managed to ensure they promote inclusive and participatory development. To ensure this, UN should play a more proactive role in governing the use of big data, for example through accreditation. • Monitoring the implementation of SDGs should be based on a broad qualitative analysis focused on the goals, not on the indicator framework alone. Keynes (1936, p. 383) once remarked, 'the ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else'. But which ideas rule? The development field is replete with competing ideas about the essential objectives of what we mean by 'development', and theories about the best ways to achieve them. Global development agendas are an effort to bridge those divides and find common ground; but there is an intense competition for acceptance of one single set of ideas as the consensus global norm concerning both the ends and means of development. Thus it is not surprising that the formulation of the SDGsan exercise to define a collective vision of development and set out key prioritieswas an intensely contested process. Much public debate about the politics of SDG negotiations has focused on the nature of the open multi-stakeholder process, to explain why they led to a transformative
![Research paper thumbnail of The evolution of REDD+: a political economy framework [Japanese]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/111663912/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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Brill | Nijhoff eBooks, 2006
Lists of tables and figures Acknowledgement List of abbreviations 1 Introduction: a 'Critical... more Lists of tables and figures Acknowledgement List of abbreviations 1 Introduction: a 'Critical Engagement' Approach to Multilateral Institutions 2 The Structural Design of Multilateral Institutions 3 The Changing Priorities of Multilateral Institutions: From Technical Aid to Good Governance 4 The Politics of Multilateral Institutions - Unpacking the Black Box 5 The Future of Multilateral Institutions References Index
Habitat international, 1979
Global Policy, Aug 9, 2023
The World Economic Forum is a major player in global health governance, promoting the role of the... more The World Economic Forum is a major player in global health governance, promoting the role of the private sector and specific public–private partnerships (PPPs). It exerts influence in three main ways: by exercising convening power, most notably in Davos where the most powerful representatives of the private sector meet with heads of governments and international organisations; by shaping ideas through its role as a think tank; by its engagement in PPPs, most recently as a founder member of CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations). But its organisational status is ambiguous, and it appears to lack accountability—even to its own members, which casts doubt on the legitimacy of such an influential organisation.
Berghahn Books, Dec 31, 2022
![Research paper thumbnail of Performance indicators and REDD+ implementation [Japanese]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/111663905/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought, Nov 13, 2020
The Limitations of Structural Marxism This is a revised version of a chapter in McNeill, D (1988)... more The Limitations of Structural Marxism This is a revised version of a chapter in McNeill, D (1988) Fetishism and the Form of Value. Unpublished thesis, University of London.
Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought, Nov 13, 2020
Land Use Policy Volume 37, March 2014, Pages 6–13
Abstract It is widely recognised that weak governance is a major constraint in planning for sust... more Abstract
It is widely recognised that weak governance is a major constraint in planning for sustainable development, especially in the South. Sophisticated models that have been developed for assessing the likely effect of selected policies on land-use, and on sustainable development more generally, increasingly acknowledge this; but they do not include methods for taking this into account, in quantitative terms – which is what is necessary if such models are to be applied in practice. This paper begins by identifying the limitations of standard models in this respect, and then suggests a possible way to respond to the problem. We propose the use of what we call ‘policy-specific governance indicators’, that is, indicators not of general government performance across the board, but rather of the actual performance of particular policies – or, if necessary, suitable proxies derived from similar policies. By reference to a case study from Brazil concerning controls on deforestation, we show how this can be done in practice, and built in to the planning model. And by reference to studies from Indonesia and India we explore how one might address still more challenging cases that may arise.
Habitat international, 1988
SIDALC - Servicio de Informacion y Documentacion Agropecuaria de las Americas.
Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, Sep 1, 1999
Stuck indoors because of those April showers? The following Web sites on arboretums will help you... more Stuck indoors because of those April showers? The following Web sites on arboretums will help you anticipate May's flowers. The US National Arboretum's Web site (www.ars-grin.gov/ars/Beltsville/ na) has several features of interest, including a "What's Blooming" section that is searchable by month. The US Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone Map can be found at this site, along with fact sheets on newly introduced plant species. These fact sheets include the plant's botanical and family names, a description of the plant and a picture, and various details on its use, propagation, development, and distribution. Visitors can take a virtual tour of the major displays, collections, and structures of the National Arboretum. A searchable index of the living collection at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is available at its Web site, www.rbge.org.uk/Welcome.html. Visitors can also find information on the Garden's herbarium, which has approximately 2 million specimens. Up-to-date press releases and information on projects are available; for instance, browsers can find out about the diatom classification project or "Flora Celtica," which aims to study the interactions of plants and people in the Atlantic European Celtic region. Also of note are links to other botany and horticulture Web sites. The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University (arboretum.harvard.edu) provides detailed information on the plant taxa in its living collections. Of note is the focus on the arboretum's special collections, which include elm replacement in Harvard Yard, 230 different kinds of lilac plants, and a bonsai collection. Budding horticulturists can also learn how to plant and care for lilacs. Information about the arboretum's quarterly magazine (Arnoldia) and archival material is available; of interest are the brief biographies of prominent people in the arboretum's history.
Global Policy, 2019
The papers in this special issue provide accounts of the politics and knowledge that shaped the S... more The papers in this special issue provide accounts of the politics and knowledge that shaped the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The open and transparent processes in the Open Working Group (OWG) and Post-2015 agenda consultations challenged the MDG paradigm and set more transformative and ambitious goals. But across many goals, there was slippage in ambition when targets and indicators were selected. In some cases, this is due to genuine difficulty in defining a suitable indicator. In other cases, there is clearly a contestation about the agenda, and indicators are used to reorient or pervert the meaning of the goal. The accounts of the negotiations-concerning inequality, sustainable agriculture, access to justice, education, environmentshow how the selection of an indicator is purportedly a technical matter but is highly political, though obscured behind the veil of an objective and technical choice. The papers also highlight how the increasing role of big data and other non-traditional sources of data is altering data production, dissemination and use, and fundamentally altering the epistemology of information and knowledge. This raises questions about 'data for whom and for what'fundamental issues concerning the power of data to shape knowledge, the democratic governance of SDG indicators and of knowledge for development overall. Policy Implications • The research findings show that the SDG experience was an important innovation in more participatory and transparent goal setting, but they also call attention to the pitfalls of 'governance by indicators'. The HLPF and the UN SC should reexamine the most problematic indicators at the 2020 review. • The UN SC should ensure that the IAEG-SDGs is open to comment and proposals for change, while civil society actors and others should continue to invest in scrutinizing the selection of indicators. Criteria for indicator selection should be based more on their accurately reflecting SDG norms and less on data availability. The international community should invest more in developing Tier II and III indicators. • Most national statistical offices (NSOs) cannot implement the SDG indicator framework without adequate resources. National governments and international donors should give higher priority to supporting these needs. • Big data can make a contribution to the SDGs but their development needs to be carefully managed to ensure they promote inclusive and participatory development. To ensure this, UN should play a more proactive role in governing the use of big data, for example through accreditation. • Monitoring the implementation of SDGs should be based on a broad qualitative analysis focused on the goals, not on the indicator framework alone. Keynes (1936, p. 383) once remarked, 'the ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else'. But which ideas rule? The development field is replete with competing ideas about the essential objectives of what we mean by 'development', and theories about the best ways to achieve them. Global development agendas are an effort to bridge those divides and find common ground; but there is an intense competition for acceptance of one single set of ideas as the consensus global norm concerning both the ends and means of development. Thus it is not surprising that the formulation of the SDGsan exercise to define a collective vision of development and set out key prioritieswas an intensely contested process. Much public debate about the politics of SDG negotiations has focused on the nature of the open multi-stakeholder process, to explain why they led to a transformative
Brill | Nijhoff eBooks, 2006
Lists of tables and figures Acknowledgement List of abbreviations 1 Introduction: a 'Critical... more Lists of tables and figures Acknowledgement List of abbreviations 1 Introduction: a 'Critical Engagement' Approach to Multilateral Institutions 2 The Structural Design of Multilateral Institutions 3 The Changing Priorities of Multilateral Institutions: From Technical Aid to Good Governance 4 The Politics of Multilateral Institutions - Unpacking the Black Box 5 The Future of Multilateral Institutions References Index
Habitat international, 1979
Global Policy, Aug 9, 2023
The World Economic Forum is a major player in global health governance, promoting the role of the... more The World Economic Forum is a major player in global health governance, promoting the role of the private sector and specific public–private partnerships (PPPs). It exerts influence in three main ways: by exercising convening power, most notably in Davos where the most powerful representatives of the private sector meet with heads of governments and international organisations; by shaping ideas through its role as a think tank; by its engagement in PPPs, most recently as a founder member of CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations). But its organisational status is ambiguous, and it appears to lack accountability—even to its own members, which casts doubt on the legitimacy of such an influential organisation.
Berghahn Books, Dec 31, 2022
Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought, Nov 13, 2020
The Limitations of Structural Marxism This is a revised version of a chapter in McNeill, D (1988)... more The Limitations of Structural Marxism This is a revised version of a chapter in McNeill, D (1988) Fetishism and the Form of Value. Unpublished thesis, University of London.
Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought, Nov 13, 2020
John Maynard Keynes has often been quoted as observing that the ideas of economists and political... more John Maynard Keynes has often been quoted as observing that the ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. This assertion was reiterated by Peter Hall (1989:14), who noted that it is ideas, in the form of economic theories and the policies developed from them, that have enabled ''national leaders to chart a course through turbulent economic times, and ideas about what is efficient, expedient, and just that motivate the movement from one line of policy to another.'' Hall (1989: 9-10) also observed that ideas may have a ''persuasiveness, and hence a political dynamism, of their own, and it forces us to ask which ideational qualities make for persuasiveness and which detract from it.'' These observations go a long way to confirm the view that the reductionist proposition of materialists, that ideas are part of the superstructure rather than the base of political economy, is no longer tenable. More recently, attention to the paradigmatic importance of ideational factors in determining policy has come to the fore in international relations. Attention has been drawn in particular to the increased role of epistemic communitiesF expert-based groups referred to by Burhkart Holzner and John Marx (1979) as knowledge-oriented communities that are mostly composed of academics, journalists, and policy analysts associated with think tanks, research centers, and policy institutes (