Lant Pritchett from Harvard University delivered a lecture to students at MUP
4. 11. 2014 10:54 Author: Tereza Němečková On October 15th, 2014, Professor of the Practice of International Development at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University - Mr. Lant Pritchett - visited the Metropolitan University Prague to deliver his guest lecture on "Kinky Development – Why '1$/day' does not solve poverty". This lecture was organized as a part of the Kapuscinski development lectures project, within which the top global thinkers discuss the development issues in various EU countries. For 2014, MUP (or its Department of International Business respectively) became the only partner of the project in the Czech Republic.During the lecture, Lant argued that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were set too low for most of the developing countries. He calls this "kinky development". "Kinky" meaning that in each domain of the MDGs, according to Lant, very low bar goals have been set. For example, he explained why he is against the "1 dollar/day measurement" as the central agenda of development. "Would anybody in developed world consider living on 1 dollar/day as a success? Why any developing country should adopt goals that all developed countries consider as very low and nobody there would want to live like that? Why primary schooling when every developed country shoots for universal secondary? Why just a few diseases when every developed country shoots for universal health care access?" Besides that, Lant argued that there is no real change in the quality of life of people who reach the level of 1 dollar/day, meaning that this measurement is rather a fiction than a real measurement of the success. Lant also argued that the majority of population in developing countries currently ranks among the middle class, which only supports the elites in their countries to focus on more ambitious goals than those set by MDGs. His observations are based on research done with Charles Kenny from Centre for Global Development, which could be downloaded here.
Valuable guests attended the lecture. To name a few of them, Ms Androulla Kaminara and Ms Amélie Petit from the European Commission, Mr Jan Szczycinski and Mr Daniel Hanšpach from UNDP, Mr Jan Michal from the Representatiton of European Commission in the Czech Republic, or Mr Michal Kaplan, Head of the Czech Development Agency who accepted the role of the main discussant.
You can watch the lecture if you missed it. Should you want to know what else the Department of International Business plans to do for students, follow the MUP website, or join us on Facebooku.
Tereza Němečková
Department of International Business
Lant Pritchett – Saturday Night Live Satirizes Kinky Development
Other items from the/this section
The EU’s Climate Leadership: Global Solution or Green Imperialism?
18. 11. 2024 Author: Sasha Kovalevska
On November 7th, 2024, the Metropolitan University Prague hosted a conference titled Global Climate Change Mitigation and the Role of the EU. Held under the prestigious Jean Monnet Chair program. The event gathered over 100 students alongside presenting scholars, researchers, and NGO representatives to critically assess the EU’s role in addressing global climate challenges. Centered around the thought-provoking question of whether the EU’s climate leadership is genuinely global or primarily self-serving, the conference featured two insightful panels each followed by fruitful discussions, and was complemented by a plant-based buffet that underscored the event’s green theme.
The Cultural Cold War in Latin America - Seminar
26. 7. 2024 Author: Kateřina Březinová
July 25-26, 2024, Freie Universität Berlin hosted the international seminar exploring the Cultural Cold War in Latin America from global perspectives.
Academic conference on Japan in Prague
26. 6. 2024 Author: Michal Kolmaš, Photo: Juraj Chábela (Institute of International Relations)
Metropolitan University Prague, along with the Institute of International Relations and the European University Institute, organized an academic conference dedicated to Japanese foreign policy.