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I will be visiting PNG soon to gather information about a book I am writing about PNG. I worked there from 1964 to 1975 first in Port Moresby, then in Madang and later at the Dauli Teachers College near Tari. That College was established by a mission operating out of the Gulf region and I have recently interviewed one of the people who was there at the time about the work he did. I am hoping to include a chapter on changes in PNG since independence. Of course I want to make sure it will be a balanced account and it is so encouraging to hear about dedicated teachers and health workers continuing their activities despite the difficulties. Keep up the good work. It may take longer than we hope but it wll happen if people continue to work for it. I would appreciate hearing from anyone reading this message. My email address is bf99@optusnet.com.au

Thanks Rohan. An excellent blog, highlighting how PNG's exchange rate could have been used more effectively to deal with the recent fall in international commodity prices. For reasons of international comparability, it is understandable that Table 2 is based on changes relative to the US dollar. In PNG’s case, the relatively small appreciation shown against the USD of 5.99% to 1 June 2015 understates the Kina’s strong appreciation against most of its other trading partners. Its overall trade weighted index (TWI) is still well above its market levels back in June 2014 by about 20% reflecting strong appreciations against the AUD of 34%, the Indonesian Rupiah of 27% and the Malaysian Ringgit of 40%. Of even greater significance for PNG’s international trade competitiveness, PNG’s exchange rate (weighted by trading patterns and relative inflation rates – so the “Real Effective Exchange Rate”) is still at high levels not seen since the late 1980s, and some 60% higher than its levels in the early 2000s. It is this longer term pattern of real exchange rate appreciation that is undermining PNG’s international competitiveness, hurting domestic exporters, reducing incentives for foreign investment as well as failing to act as a shock absorber for commodity price changes.

Did you see the TIPNG election observer report? It says some interesting things not just about women candidates but also the protection of the right of women to vote.

Thanks for the post Michelle. I've worked with CARE's VSLA model in Cambodia and found it had important positive benefits for communities, as you point out. It was also far more effective when incorporated with other interventions in agriculture/livelihoods, women's health and WATSAN. Commenting on Terence's <a href="https://devpolicy.org/new-evidence-on-microfinance-20150423/" rel="nofollow">earlier blog post</a>, I mentioned the need to differentiate between the kinds of things that fall under the general heading of "microfinance". Savings-led microfinance programs, such as VSLAs (CARE) or Saving for Change (Oxfam) are substantially different from credit-led schemes. Part of the problem in Cambodia was educating people on the differences. Indeed I was surprised by the lack of knowledge in the donor community, who tended to view all "microfinance" as one particular product - i.e. small loans offered by one of the large number of commercial providers. Another important aspect of savings led microfinance that is often overlooked in evaluations is the "safety net" feature. Most groups we worked with had an emergency fund that could be accessed quickly by members. Loans could also be taken out to fund "non-productive" activities such as health or education costs. My Oxfam colleagues referred to savings led microfinance as being the only self-funded social protection scheme in the world. It was disappointing to see donors prepared to finance the many and varied (and expensive) social protection/cash transfer pilot schemes in places like Cambodia, while the roll out of successful savings led microfinance remained idle.

The reform should start at the household level. The greater value towards women's education would motivate parents to send their daughters to school. This will eventually empower women and reduce violence at the family level.

Informative and varifiable

Thanks Lindy for highlighting the conclusions of this important ODI study. In public policy, hard data such as the business costings included in the study can be vital for informing evidence-based decision-making and getting decision-makers attention. It appears early days for such studies, and sampling of more firms would help improve understanding of some of the surprising results (the level of male referenced gender violence) and the variability across the three firms surveyed. I wondered whether such a measure could be incorporated into broader tools such as the World Bank’s work on “The Costs of Doing Business”. However, that measure only covers the costs of regulation and not broader issues directly relevant to business environment such as security costs or even macro-economic stability issues such as the shortage of foreign exchange facing PNG businesses. Additional similar studies should be encouraged to help get domestic violence firmly onto the central policy agenda.

I discussed some of these issues with The Wire <a href="http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=13259#.Vh9Tcr0S5PA.twitter" rel="nofollow">here</a>.

According to the OECD, the point seven target has a <a href="http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats/the07odagnitarget-ahistory.htm" rel="nofollow">long history</a> stretching back to 1969!

Thanks for your comment Alex. I agree that promoting women into roles of responsibility is important for a variety of reasons and could definitely make significant contributions to achieving SDGs in other areas. For example, we know that women often give greater priority to areas such as health and education spending (at least at the household and community level). But often it is not just a case of promoting women. There is also a need to remove or reduce the barriers to their participation, and to enable them to be able to lead, rather than to simply be in a higher position without authority and influence. Removing the barriers, particularly those that stem from attitudes or culture, is particularly tricky, and a long-term challenge.

I don't think "treating women unequally is good for your bottom line" is the best argument to use when engaging the private sector if we are actually trying to achieve gender equality. The approach would surely only perpetuate the issue, and send a message that it was somehow OK to undervalue women's labour, even if they are in positions of responsibility.

Hi Kate - thanks for your comment. You're raising an important issue, but my take is pretty much the exact opposite of what you're suggesting. While issues of international trade, finance and taxation fall squarely into what the UN might usefully tackle, inequality within countries is a national issue that has little prospect of being addressed through global targets.