Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven, Ph.D.
ingrid.kvangraven@york.ac.uk
The University of York
About Me:
I am a Lecturer in International Development at the University of York in the UK. I am affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Global Development Centre and based in the Department of Politics. At the heart of my work is critical analysis of the structural features of underdevelopment. Broadly speaking, my research focuses on global trade and finance, history of economic thought, and the political economy of development. I hold a PhD in Economics from the New School and BA and MA degrees in Development Studies from the University of Oslo and the London School of Economics (LSE), respectively.
I am also founding editor of the blog Developing Economics and advisory board member of Rethinking Economics – Norway.
Research Interests
Development
Political Economy
International Capital Flows
International Development Institutions
Classical Political Economy
International Financial Institutions
Trade Policy
Sovereign Debt
My Research:
My research can be categorized into three main pillars, namely the role of finance in development, structural features of underdevelopment, and an assessment of policy recommendations by international organizations. When it comes to development finance, among other things, I've published critical assessments of the role financial inclusion in development (most recently in Development and Change), and articles and reports on the role of sovereign bonds in economic development (for example in the Review of Development Economics). With regards to structural features of underdevelopment, I am interested in unpacking the debates about dependency theory, ultimately to investigate its usefulness in order to understand processes of economic and human development. In 2017 I co-edited the volume Dialogues on Development: Dependency which explores how different aspects of dependency theory may be relevant for understanding development today, and which aspects may be outdated. I have also done work that investigates the extent to which a classical political economy approach to international trade can help explain persistent trade deficits in an African context. When it comes to the final pillar of my work on policy recommendations, I have assessed the policy of international organizations in a variety of ways, for example in my piece for Policy in Focus (2017) on electronic payments (with Paulo dos Santos) and in my investigation on the usefulness of global development goals (with Sanjay Reddy).
Publications:
Journal Articles:
This article considers current proposals for using electronic payments systems to promote financial inclusion — that is, to widen the availability of financial and monetary services in developing countries. While such systems can generate significant savings in the operation of monetary systems, payment services markets are typically uncompetitive and require regulatory and broader state interventions to ensure those savings are widely distributed. The use of those systems to broaden the reach of for‐profit lenders raises a number of concerns, as a growing literature has documented how microcredit initiatives in developing countries have resulted primarily in expansions in consumption credit to households, often under predatory terms. The authors advance two original arguments in this connection. First, the perverse results of many microcredit initiatives reflect the underdevelopment of the areas concerned: without broader development strategies, potentially transformative productive projects are rare and unprofitable to finance. In contrast, widespread unmet consumption needs ensure consumption credit offers lenders a profitable alternative business orientation. Second, and in light of this, electronic payments platforms can contribute to economic development by enabling the establishment of well‐regulated or public systems of electronic ‘narrow banks’ restricted from lending, but capable of widening access to affordable payments, savings and insurance services.
This study explores macroeconomic implications of the sovereign bond rush that has been taking place in sub‐Saharan Africa since 2006. The focus is on the sub‐Saharan sovereign bond yields as proxies for the region's ability to raise new funds on international markets. Despite the subcontinent's tour‐de‐force entrance to the international bond market, this paper reveals that recent (since early 2000s) borrowing in foreign currency is not without macroeconomic risk. Empirically this paper finds that sovereign bond yields are significantly influenced by global volatility, commodity prices and global liquidity—all factors that are out of the control of the sub‐Saharan economies in question. These findings suggest that portfolio repositioning by institutional investors prompted by improved growth prospects and implicit monetary policy tightening in the advanced economies or heightened risk perceptions, are likely to result in increased borrowing costs for the sub‐Saharan bond issuers and affect their ability to raise funds in international markets. Furthermore, a change in borrowing costs might lead to higher debt‐service costs and policy uncertainty, which in turn could lead to suboptimal investment levels and, ultimately, hinder economic development.
Books Written:
Why write a book about dependency theory today? Most economics students have either never encountered the theory in their curriculum, or have only heard of it as a theory employed in the past. As a group of young scholars interested in how global economic structures and historical conditions influence the political economy of developing countries, we want to explore what relevance dependency theory can have today. With the rise of neoclassical economics in the 1980s, dependency theory became marginalised and was ultimately cast aside. This happened despite its popularity in the mid - 20th century, particularly in the Global South. Using this collection of interviews with various scholars, we hope to inspire students and academics to revisit the key tenets of dependency theory and consider how some of the original work can be used to examine the persistence of global inequalities today. Dependency theory grew influential in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s, largely in reaction to modernisation theory and free trade policies, which originated in the West . The proponents of modernization theory claimed that underdeveloped countries were held back by certain cultural characteristics, or their lack of adherence to specific economic policies that followed given “stages of growth”. While a variety of perspectives existed within the broad school of dependency theory, they all reject ed modernisation theory’s ahistorical approach to development and criticised its failure to account for the importance of the role of global economic and political structures. One of the key tenets of dependency theory is its attention to the role of history and, in particular, the role of colonialism in constructing the positions of different countries within the global economy. Analysis of why a country occupies a certain position within the world economy should therefore begin at the global level. Dependency theorists argue that, beyond the end of formal colonialism, the value transfers of profits have continued to flow from the Global South to the North. This implies that the “core countries” of the North continue to benefit from their extraction of wealth from the “peripheral countries” of the South. Within such a framework, the underdevelopment of countries in the South can be explained via their continued exploitation at the hands of the North, rather than only by way of internal policy failures. vii At this point, however, the different strands of dependency theory begin to diverge. Those who follow Andre Gunder Frank’s theory of “the development of underdevelopment” argue that development in core countries always produces underdevelopment and poverty in the periphery. On the other hand, the proponents of “dependent development,” following Cardoso and Faletto, and Peter Evans, argue that, with the right policies (albeit not those recommended by modernisation theorists), a limited form of developmental catch - up is possible within the system. Dependency theory also encompasses world systems theorists and structuralists. And, in fact, some regard dependency theory as more of an approach than a theory, which becomes apparent upon reading some of the interviews in this collection. With the interviews contained in this book, we aim to explore the degree to which different strands of dependency theory can explain underdevelopment. In particular, we want to develop an understanding of the theoretical element s academics find useful today, as well as examine their limitations. While we tried to engage with as many scholars and major theorists who employ dependency theory as possible, we could not obtain interviews with all of them. The collection should therefore be considered as a window into some possible ways of thinking about dependency theory’s relevance today, rather than a complete overview.
Book Chapters:
This chapter brings many of the topics covered in this book together in an overview of the unprecedented financial flows to sub-Saharan Africa since the global financial crisis in 2008. As this region is often overlooked in discussions on finance and development, this chapter provides a basis for further analysis and research. While the Economist Intelligence Unit (2012) and others write about the possibility of an African “economic miracle,” this chapter offers a more sober perspective on developments in the region, pointing to both risks and opportunities related to the changing character of financial flows. Trends in financial flows to sub-Saharan Africa since the financial crisis involve both a drastic increase in private capital and a recent decline in aid and nonconcessional lending. Furthermore, the nature of capital flows to the region is changing in terms of types of capital attracted, origin countries and types of countries taking part in international finance. This chapter starts by considering some general macroeconomic trends in the region of sub-Saharan Africa and the core structure of the economies in the region as a whole, such as trends in growth, current account balances, export diversification, domestic debt issuance and foreign reserve accumulation. Next, the chapter goes into the specifics of the nature of financial flows to the region such as aid, foreign direct investment (FDI), export earnings and loans. Thereafter, the chapter analyzes the risks and opportunities these new developments offer, given the countries’ economic structures and the global environment in which they find themselves, raising a cause for concern. Finally, some concluding observations are offered.
Book Reviews:
Book review of Anwar Shaikh’s Capitalism – Competition, Conflict, Crises.
This paper reviews the methodology and theory supporting Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson's (2001) famous “Reversal of Fortune” thesis. Their thesis provides a simple and linear explanation to why some countries are rich today, while some are poor. It argues that European colonialists settled and introduced “good” institutions in countries that were poor in 1500, while they did not settle in countries that were rich in 1500, and “extractive” institutions were introduced instead. AJR argue that the types of institutions introduced had persistent effects on economic growth in the countries colonized. They argue that countries where “good institutions” were introduced, meaning private property rights for a large section of society, were able to take advantage of industrialization opportunities, and develop, whereas those countries with extractive institutions are poor today. This paper finds significant flaws in the methodology employed by Acemoglu et al., both with the proxies used for wealth in 1500 and with the oversimplified historical framework employed. Strikingly, re-running their regressions with better data causes much of the reversal to disappear. Furthermore, by examining the development trajectories of countries of countries in the West, East Asia and Africa, suggests that it is the creation of a nurturing environment for industrial development that has allowed countries to develop, and institutions of private property only come into place after countries have reached a certain level of development. Thus, this paper recommends a closer examination of how countries have managed to successfully develop throughout history. Although this paper does not launch a thesis as simple and appealing as Acemoglu et al.'s, it uncovers important weaknesses in the reversal of fortune thesis, and suggests alternative policy recommendations.
Other:
Many sub-Saharan African countries have undergone substantial transformations with respect to the type of finance they have been attracting over the past decade. Private flows are becoming more important while the importance of public flows is diminishing, particularly for the middle-income countries in the region. A crucial characteristic of the changing flows to the region is the growing importance of sovereign bonds issued in foreign currency, so-called Eurobonds. Although this form of financing is a form of debt issuance, investors rarely apply principles for responsible lending when making such investments. Since 2006, sixteen sub-Saharan countries have issued Eurobonds and many have is sued more than one. Such bonds are considered to be a much-needed source of financing for development expenditures as well as a convenient way to plug budget deficits. These issuances have amounted to over USD 25 billion in total, which re - presents about 20% of foreign aid to the region. In 2014, the IMF cautioned African countries that they could be endangering their debt sustainability by issuing sovereign bonds. In light of these developments, this report discusses the risks and opportunities this form of financing entails. As financing for development is central to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the question of whether the existing frameworks for and practices of contracting debt are likely to be pro-development is of concern. Furthermore, Eurobonds should be of particular interest to the Norwegian public, since approximately 20% of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund is invested in sovereign bonds, which amounts to approximately NOK 1500 billion.
We raise some basic conceptual questions regarding global development goals: Why have them at all? What function, if any, might they serve, and under what conditions could they do so successfully? Based on our answers to these questions, we identify serious inadequacies in the contemporary approach to development goals and relate these to weaknesses in how the goals were conceived and formulated. Despite these failings, higher-level goals may play a useful role if the practical approach to them is embedded in a holistic and integrated vision of a better world. Focusing on goals rather than targets opens needed space for flexibility, innovation, and fuller democratic accountability.
Media Appearances:
TV Appearances:
I debate foreign aid and development with William Easterly, Daniel Kaufmann and Ken Opalo.
Radio Appearances:
Here I’m interviewed by Debt Justice Norway on international finance and the UNCTAD Principles on Promoting Responsible Sovereign Lending and Borrowing (on which I once wrote a report).
Newspaper Quotes:
An interview: "Democratizing Economics: the Heterodox Approach of Two NSSR Graduate Students."
New solutions needed to tackle mounting sovereign debt crisis – UN trade and development agency
The New School Free Press interviewed me about being the first student Trustee on the Board of Trustees of The New School.
Blog Posts:
Is ‘Imperialism’ a Relevant Concept Today? A Debate Among Marxists
200 Years of Ricardian Trade Theory: How Is This Still A Thing?
What Can We Learn from Alternative Theories of Economic Development?
Why Isn’t The World Bank’s Choice of Chief Economist More Controversial?
Development Economics: A Study of Economies, Systems, or Methods?
Philanthropy in Development: Undermining Democracy?
The Trouble with Sub-Saharan African Debt
Are Norwegian Investments in Sovereign Bonds Responsible?
Financial Inclusion and Its Discontents (with Paulo dos Santos)
Can development goals help development finance? If so, how?
How to Justify Teaching the Worst of Economics to Non-Economists
Does the world really need global development goals? (with Sanjay Reddy)