1. 20 Years of Economic Engagement: Rethinking Values and Approaches
Vahé Heboyan
Development Economist

2. Objectives Facilitate exploration and understanding of development
Promote use of development factors in designing intervention strategies and policies
Discuss Diaspora potential in promoting development
Set the stage for further exploration and discussions

3. Diaspora Contribution
Remittances
FDI
Art/Culture
Healthcare
Environment
Foreign Policy
Other
Critical in disaster mitigation
Earthquake
Post-Soviet
War
Helped to avoid a potential catastrophe
Ensured an existence

4. After 20 years…
22 years after earthquake a large # of people are still waiting for the promised housing
Poverty gap is increasing
Basic services are still unattainable for many
Healthcare is far behind
Education is slipping away
Civil society is weak
Government institutions are weak

5. After 20 years… What could have been achieved?
Robust long-term development fundamentals
Sustainability of Diaspora assistance
Strong governmental institutions
Empowered civil society
Economic development

6. Question
With the massive flow assistance from Diaspora and foreign aid, why did not we achieve all these?

7. Answer is in us… Failure to follow the concept of economic development
Lack of coordinated long-term strategy
Within Diaspora
With Armenia (gov. and others)
Lack of sustainability clause in Diaspora assistance
Lack of accountability
Failure to reform government institutions

8. Economic Development?
Note that growth was primarily dominated by non-tradable sector that did not add into capacity and longer term sustainability (re: DG)
Source:

9. Economic Growth
a common picture…
Copyright:
Economic growth...
Copyright: Flicker: Anne Onimous
Economic growth does not taken into account income distribution
A small proportion of the population can own a large amount of the wealth

10. Economic growth is often confused with development Economic growth:
A measure of the value of output of goods and services within a time period
Economic Development:
Organizing a country’s resources and institutions to produce and distribute more goods and services, and to sustain regular social progress and rising prosperity (-Justin Yifu Lin, 2010).
A measure of the welfare of humans in a society
Source:

11. Armenia 2030… Long-term strategy Capacity building Infrastructure
Human
Economic
Industrial revival
Sustainable jobs
Knowledge
Infrastructure
Empowerment

12. The Diaspora Challenge…
Re-evaluate approaches, priorities, and strategies to Armenia’s development and assistance
Ensure interventions and assistance
Are directed to building capacity
Have a long-term focus
Are sustainable
Reach the recipient
Less distortion
Less corruption / nepotism
More efficient resource allocation and intervention delivery
Larger impact in a long run

13. how?
1+1 › 2

14. our aim…