Desmond McNeill

• Mcneill, Desmond James (2026). Misleading Metaphors: Culpable Optimism Concerning Development. Forum for Development Studies. ISSN 0803-9410. doi: 10.1080/08039410.2025.2589194. Full text in Research Archive
• Stein, Felix & Mcneill, Desmond James (2025). Blended finance to the rescue? Subsidies, vaccine bonds and matching funds in global health. Global Public Health. ISSN 1744-1692. 20(1). doi: 10.1080/17441692.2025.2468338. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  To close persistent global health financing gaps, policymakers have in recent years promoted the idea of ‘blended finance’, i.e. the strategic use of public funds to attract additional private sector investment. To better understand this trend, this paper studies three major blended finance instruments, namely vaccine bonds, advanced market commitments, and matching funds. In doing so, this paper makes two important contributions. On a practical level, it shows that these three blended finance instruments tend to be expensive and of questionable effectiveness. Their high costs favour large corporate actors, private investors and middlemen, while their benefits for potential beneficiaries in low- and middle-income countries and for public donors remain unclear. On a theoretical level, the paper asks why these instruments remain popular in policy circles despite their shortcomings. It finds that blended finance mechanisms proliferate thanks to their seemingly innovative nature, a constant emphasis on urgency or crisis, and the promise of combining market-based self-interest with positive social impact. The paper ends on a call for much greater critical scrutiny concerning blended financing mechanisms.

• Mcneill, Desmond James (2024). Global ethics in practice. Journal of Global Ethics. ISSN 1744-9626. 20(1), p. 120–126. doi: 10.1080/17449626.2024.2339442. Full text in Research Archive
• Reinertsen, Hilde; Bjørkdahl, Kristian & McNeill, Desmond (2022). Accountability versus learning in aid evaluation: A practice-oriented exploration of persistent dilemmas. Evaluation: International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice. ISSN 1356-3890. 28(3), p. 356–378. doi: 10.1177/13563890221100848. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Learning and accountability are customarily defined as ‘the dual purpose’ of development aid evaluation, yet this notion is contested. Based on an overview of the existing literature, we identify four ideal type positions in this debate: (1) accountability and learning are complementary objectives, (2) there is a reconcilable tension, (3) there are problematic trade-offs and (4) the two are irreconcilable. Drawing on empirical evidence from Sweden and Norway relating to evaluation processes, evaluation reports and evaluation systems within the sector of development aid, we conclude that pursuing this dual purpose in practice involves trade-offs which need to be recognised. We end with implications for aid evaluation policy and practice.

• McNeill, Desmond (2021). Global Public Goods:A Threat to Nordic Humanitarianism? In Puyvallée, Antoine de Bengy & Bjørkdahl, Kristian (Ed.), Do-Gooders at the End of Aid: Scandinavian Humanitarianism in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781108772129. p. 222–240. Full text in Research Archive
• Bull, Benedicte & McNeill, Desmond (2019). From market multilateralism to governance by goal setting: SDGs and the changing role of partnerships in a new global order. Business and Politics. ISSN 1369-5258. 21(4), p. 464–486. doi: 10.1017/bap.2019.9. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Business has been involved in cooperation with multilateral organizations through public-private partnerships (PPPs) since the late 1990s. With their adoption of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), multilateral institutions increasingly consider partnerships as a means to achieve their goals given their own limited implementation capacity. However, the global economic order has changed significantly since the first expansion of PPPs, particularly due to growing participation by non-western states and companies. This article asks how this shift has changed the eagerness to form partnerships, as well as their qualitative content. It analyzes the 3964 partnerships in the SDG partnership registry, focusing on the subset of them that includes business partners. We divide these into five groups: local implementation, resource mobilization, advocacy, policy, and operational partnerships. We study PPPs involving companies from different varieties of capitalism—private, market based forms, and state-led forms of capitalism. We find that PPPs are still dominated by companies and other actors from Western countries. Moreover, business participate more in U.S.- and Canadian-led partnerships than others. We also find strong differences regarding what category of PPPs that companies from different backgrounds engage in, and discuss the linkages between varieties of capitalism and PPP participation.

• McNeill, Desmond (2019). 'Natural Capital','Human Capital','Social Capital': It's All Capital Now. In Jordheim, Helge & Sandmo, Erling Sverdrup (Ed.), Conceptualizing the World: An Exploration across Disciplines. Berghahn Books. ISSN 9781789200362. p. 123–135. doi: 10.2307/j.ctvw04kj6.12. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond & Fukuda-Parr, Sakiko (2019). Knowledge and Politics in Setting and Measuring the SDGs: Introduction to Special Issue. Global Policy. ISSN 1758-5880. p. 5–15. doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.12604. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  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, environment – show 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.

• McNeill, Desmond (2019). The Contested Discourse of Sustainable Agriculture. Global Policy. ISSN 1758-5880. 10, p. 16–27. doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.12603. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The article critically analyses how the transformative ambition of the SDGs may be threatened in the process of moving from vision, through goals and targets to indicators. This is exemplified by a case study concerning sustainable agriculture, and most specifically indicator 2.4.1, where two contrasting approaches – industrial agriculture and agro‐ecology – stand in opposition, each with its associated discourse and interests. The process is analysed in great detail, noting the complex interplay of political and technical considerations. FAO has played a central role in establishing a compromise with regard to the wording of indicator 2.4.1 which papers over the disagreements and does not explicitly promote either of the two competing approaches. And the organisation has facilitated a technical process which, instead of one simple indicator, has led to a composite, multidimensional version with nine sub‐indicators, as a result of which it has been relegated to ‘Tier III’ status, implying that it will not be used for global monitoring purposes. The article concludes that – owing to a combination of political and technical factors – the transformative potential of the SDGs may, in this instance, be lost.

• McNeill, Desmond (2019). Reflections on IPES-food: Can power analysis change the world? IDS Bulletin. ISSN 0265-5012. 50(2), p. 27–36. doi: 10.19088/1968-2019.116. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The major way in which IPES-Food seeks to achieve change is by preparing and widely disseminating reports on different aspects of the global food system, which are rigorous in both empirical and analytical terms. These reports are heavily critical of the productionist approach, demonstrating its negative impacts on the environment and human wellbeing. They use a political economy lens to analyse how powerful actors promote both this approach and the narrative that supports it. The five major reports so far published build on the work of the first, where a number of ‘lock-ins’ are identified, such as path dependency, export orientation, and the expectation of cheap food – as well as the fundamental ‘concentration of power’. IPES-Food is well placed to have political impact; and there is room for the power analysis to be made still more comprehensive and theoretically rigorous, while ensuring that the reports are still widely read and cited.

• McNeill, Desmond (2018). Å skrive rapporter: en dialog. In Bjørkdahl, Kristian (Eds.), Rapporten: Sjanger og styringsverktøy. Pax Forlag. ISSN 9788253040523. p. 88–106. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond; Furuly, Maria Marmande & Vatn, Arild (2018). REDD+, NGOs and local government in Tanzania. International forestry review. ISSN 1465-5489. 20(3), p. 375–389. doi: 10.1505/146554818824063087. Full text in Research Archive
• Hermansen, Erlend Andre T.; McNeill, Desmond; Kasa, Sjur & Rajao, Raoni (2017). Co-operation or co-optation? NGOs' roles in Norway's international climate and forest initiative. Forests. 8(3). doi: 10.3390/f8030064. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper investigates non-governmental organisation (NGO) involvement in policy processes related to Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI) comparing four countries: Norway, Brazil, Indonesia, and Tanzania. Based on documents and interviews, NGO involvement is mapped using a conceptual framework to categorise and compare different roles and modes of engagement. NGOs have co-operated with government in policy design and implementation, albeit to varying degrees, in all four countries, but expressed relatively little public criticism. Funding seems to have an influence on NGOs’ choices regarding whether, what, when, and how to criticise. However, limited public criticism does not necessarily mean that the NGOs are co-opted. They are reflexive regarding their possible operating space, and act strategically and pragmatically to pursue their goals in an entrepreneurial manner. The interests of NGOs and NICFI are to a large extent congruent. Instead of publicly criticising a global initiative that they largely support, and thus put the initiative as a whole at risk, NGOs may use other, more informal, channels to voice points of disagreement. While NGOs do indeed run the risk of being co-opted, their opportunity to resist this fate is probably greater in this instance than is usually the case because NICFI are so reliant on their services.

• Mcneill, Desmond James (2017). Safety in Numbers: why everyone listens to economists. In Eriksen, Thomas Hylland & Schober, Elisabeth (Ed.), Knowledge and power in an overheated world. Department of Social Anthropology. ISSN 9788277202006. p. 126–140. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Suddenly, we seem to live in a time dominated by ‘fake news’, ‘alternative facts’, conspiracy theories, scepticism of scientific research, partial accounts parading as ‘the real truth which has hitherto been concealed from us, the people’, revolts against allegedly smug academic elites and distant political elites – a time where YouTube videos claiming research into climate change to be a scam get far more viewers than videos presenting the science of climate change. In this world, where the authority of science and empirical methods is being questioned and where even world leaders may brush aside uncomfortable facts as ‘fake news’, it is increasingly difficult to know whose knowledge to trust. This insight is the starting point of this slim collection of articles, which has grown out of a workshop organised by the ERC AdvGr project ‘Overheating: The Three Crises of Globalisation’ in Oslo in 20151. We are very pleased to be able to offer these texts as a free e-book, not least considering the fact that its subject-matter is knowledge. In this introduction, we give a brief outline of the study of knowledge regimes in anthropology and related disciplines before presenting the e-book, but first, some context on acceleration and overheating is required. [...]

• McNeill, Desmond; Barlow, Pepita; Birkbeck, Carolyn Deere; Fukuda-Parr, Sakiko; Grover, Anand & Schrecker, Ted [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2017). Trade and investment agreements: Implications for health protection. Journal of World Trade. ISSN 1011-6702. 51(1), p. 159–182. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Trade and Investment Agreements (TIAs) have been widely criticized for their potentially negative effects on health. Many governments, particularly from low- and middle-income countries, have voiced concerns that mega-regional agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, will erode governments’ scope for health protection, weakening for instance those options that remain permissible under World Trade Organization rules. Further, these mega-regional agreements will set default standards and rules of the game that even non-signatories will need to emulate in order to be competitive in the global market. This article begins by reviewing the changing structure of trade and investment policy, global production, and the relation between the two. The effects of trade and investment agreements on health are then analyzed, based on some of the most relevant evidence. Key power asymmetries within the global trade and investment architecture are described, and the way they influence how trade rules are made, implemented and adjudicated. Section 5 examines a particularly striking and topical instance of such power asymmetries, investor-state dispute settlement provisions in TIAs, and their relevance to health. The article concludes with recommendations to mitigate the potential negative health externalities of TIAs.

• McNeill, Desmond; Birkbeck, Carolyn Deere; Fukuda-Parr, Sakiko; Grover, Anand; Schrecker, Ted & Stuckler, David (2016). Political origins of health inequities: trade and investment agreements. The Lancet. ISSN 0140-6736. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31013-3. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, signed on Feb 4, 2016, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently under negotiation, have generated a groundswell of opposition from politicians, civil society, and academics. Growing evidence suggests that they will have major, and largely negative, consequences for health that go far beyond those of earlier trade agreements. This situation is particularly disturbing since the agreements have created blueprints for future bilateral and regional trade agreements: a rewriting of the rules that govern the global economy, promoting corporate interests at the expense of public health priorities.

• Roalkvam, Sidsel & McNeill, Desmond (2016). What Counts as Progress? the Contradictions of Global Health Initiatives. Forum for Development Studies. ISSN 0803-9410. 43(1), p. 69–88. doi: 10.1080/08039410.2015.1134645. Full text in Research Archive
• Wilhite, Harold Langford & McNeill, Desmond (2015). Making sense of sustainable development in a changing world. In Hansen, Arve & Wethal, Ulrikke Bryn (Ed.), Emerging Economies and Challenges to Sustainability: Theories, strategies, local realities. Routledge. ISSN 9780415747325. p. 34–51. Full text in Research Archive
• Fukuda-Parr, Sakiko & McNeill, Desmond (2015). Post 2015: A new era of accountability? Journal of Global Ethics. ISSN 1744-9626. 11(1), p. 10–17. doi: 10.1080/17449626.2015.1004738. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2015). Norway and REDD+ in Indonesia: The art of not governing? Forum for Development Studies. ISSN 0803-9410. 42(1), p. 113–132. doi: 10.1080/08039410.2014.997791. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond & Ottersen, Ole Petter (2015). Global Governance for Health: How to motivate political change? Public Health. ISSN 0033-3506. 129(7), p. 833–837. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2015.05.001. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond & Sandberg, Kristin Ingstad (2014). Trust in Global Health Governance: The GAVI Experience. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations. ISSN 1075-2846. 20(2), p. 325–343. doi: 10.1163/19426720-02002009. Full text in Research Archive
• Ottersen, Ole Petter; Dasgupta, Jashodhara; Blouin, Chantal; Buss, Paulo Marchiori; Chongsuvivatwong, Virasakdi & Frenk, Julio [Show all 24 contributors for this article] (2014). The political origins of health inequity: Prospects for change. The Lancet. ISSN 0140-6736. 383(9917), p. 630–667. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62407-1. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond; Bursztyn, Marcel; Novira, Nina; Purushothaman, Seema; Verburg, René & Rodrigues-Filho, Saulo (2014). Taking account of governance: The challenge for land-use planning models. Land Use Policy. ISSN 0264-8377. 37, p. 6–13. doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.09.006. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond; Roalkvam, Sidsel & Blume, Stuart (2013). Concepts and Approaches. In Roalkvam, Sidsel; McNeill, Desmond & Blume, Stuart (Ed.), Protecting the World's Children: Immunisation policies and Practices. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780199666447. p. 31–58. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond; Roalkvam, Sidsel & Blume, Stuart (2013). Have means become ends? Getting children's health back in focus. In Roalkvam, Sidsel; McNeill, Desmond & Blume, Stuart (Ed.), Protecting the World's Children: Immunisation policies and Practices. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780199666447. p. 187–204. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780199666447.003.0007. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2013). UN-REDD and the global discourse on climate change and poverty. In Sygna, Linda; O'Brien, Karen & Wolf, Johanna (Ed.), A Changing Environment for Human Security - Transformative Approaches to Research, Policy and Action. Routledge. ISSN 9781849713016. p. 216–223. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Environmental change presents a new context and new opportunities for transformational change. This timely book will inspire new ways of understanding the relationship between environmental change and human security. A Changing Environment for Human Security: Transformative Approaches to Research, Policy and Action both supports and informs a call for new, transformative approaches to research, policy and action. The chapters in this book include critical analyses, case studies and reflections on contemporary environmental and social challenges, with a strong emphasis on those related to climate change. Human thoughts and actions have contributed to an environment of insecurity, manifested as multiple interacting threats that now represent a serious challenge to humanity. Yet humans also have the capacity to collectively transform the economic, political, social and cultural systems and structures that perpetuate human insecurities. These fresh perspectives on global environmental change from an interdisciplinary group of international experts will inspire readers – whether students, researchers, policy makers, or practitioners – to think differently about environmental issues and sustainability. The contributions show that in a changing environment, human security is not only a possibility, but a choice.

• McNeill, Desmond; Andresen, Steinar E & Sandberg, Kristin Ingstad (2013). The Global Politics of Health: Actors and Initatives. In Roalkvam, Sidsel; McNeill, Desmond & Blume, Stuart (Ed.), Protecting the World's Children: Immunisation policies and Practices. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780199666447. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2012). Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Environment and Development: From Practice to Theory – and Back Again. In Nielsen, Kenneth Bo & Bjørkdahl, Kristian (Ed.), Development and Environment: Practices, Theories, Policies. Akademisk Forlag. ISSN 9788232100330. p. 23–40. Full text in Research Archive
• Brouwer, Floor; Nesheim, Ingrid & McNeill, Desmond (2012). Introduction, Land Use Policies for Sustainable Development: Exploring Integrated Assessment Approaches. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781849802925. p. 1–8. Full text in Research Archive
• Brouwer, Floor; McNeill, Desmond & Nesheim, Ingrid (2012). Conclusions and policy recommendations, Land Use Policies for Sustainable Development: Exploring Integrated Assessment Approaches. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781849802925. p. 282–285. Full text in Research Archive
• Nesheim, Ingrid; McNeill, Desmond; Bezlepkina, Irina; Brouwer, Floor; Cisse, Youssouf & Feng, Shuyi [Show all 11 contributors for this article] (2012). Lessons from a comparative analysis of case studies, Land Use Policies for Sustainable Development: Exploring Integrated Assessment Approaches. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781849802925. p. 219–247. Full text in Research Archive
• Verburg, Rene; Bursztyn, Marcel & McNeill, Desmond (2012). Institutional context for sustainable development, Land Use Policies for Sustainable Development: Exploring Integrated Assessment Approaches. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781849802925. p. 24–44. doi: 10.4337/9781781002476.00009. Full text in Research Archive
• Wertz-Kanounnikoff, Sheila & McNeill, Desmond (2012). Performance Indicators and REDD+ Implementation, Analysing REDD+: Challenges and choices. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). ISSN 9786028693806. p. 233–246. Full text in Research Archive
• Angelsen, Arild & McNeill, Desmond (2012). The Evolution of REDD+, Analysing REDD+: Challenges and choices. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). ISSN 9786028693806. p. 31–50. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2011). The Global Politics of Poverty Reduction and Social Policy. Global Social Policy. ISSN 1468-0181. 11(2-3), p. 16–18. doi: 10.1177/1468018111421274f. Full text in Research Archive
• Clair, Asuncion St. & McNeill, Desmond (2011). Poverty, Human Rights and Global Justice: The Response-Ability of Multilateral Organisations. Globalizations. ISSN 1474-7731. 8(1), p. 97–111. doi: 10.1080/14747731.2011.544212. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In this article we argue that questions about responsibility for eradicating poverty may be restated as ‘who is response-able?’—in other words, ‘who is capable of responding in such a way as to remedy the harm?’; and an important part of the answer is international organizations. Created and maintained by ourselves acting collectively, these organizations play an important role in making and applying global rules that often determine the capabilities of people to live dignified lives. And in the case of development organizations they are specifically mandated to act on behalf of the poor. This gives these organizations, and particularly the latter, a special responsibility. We argue that multilateral organizations are ‘response-able’, in the sense that they are uniquely placed to act by virtue of the powers that we, the people of the world, have given them: economic resources, expertise, and the political legitimacy they enjoy by virtue of their mandates. We argue further that people have a responsibility as individuals to ensure that the organizations fulfil these tasks to the best of their ability: to use their power, expertise, and political position to promote a fair and egalitarian world driven by the avoidance of poverty.

• McNeill, Desmond & Clair, Asuncion St. (2011). Poverty, human rights, and global justice: the response-ability of multilateral organizations. Globalizations. ISSN 1474-7731. 8(1), p. 97–111. doi: 10.1080/14747731.2011.544212. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond & Clair, Asuncion St. (2011). The World Bank's Expertise: Observant Participation in the World Development Report 2006, Equity and Development. In Mosse, David (Eds.), Adventures in Aidland - The Anthropology of Professionals in International Development. Berghahn Books. ISSN 9780857451101. p. 103–121. Full text in Research Archive
• Nesheim, Ingrid; McNeill, Desmond; Joy, KJ; Manasi, S; Nhung, DTK & Portela, MM (2010). The challenge and status of IWRM in four river basins in Europe and Asia. Irrigation and Drainage. ISSN 1531-0353. 24, p. 205–221. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2010). Social capital. In Hart, Keith; Laville, Jean-Louis & Cattani, Antonio David (Ed.), The Human Economy. Polity Press. ISSN 9780745649795. p. 273–283. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond & Bull, Benedicte (2010). From Business UNusual to Business as Usual: The future legitimacy of PPPs with multilateral organizations, Democracy and Public-Private Partnerships in Global Governance. Palgrave Macmillan. ISSN 9780230239067. p. 103–121. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2010). Ethics, Politics, Economics and the Global Environment. In O'Brien, Karen; Clair, Asuncion St. & Kristoffersen, Berit (Ed.), Climate change, ethics and human security. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9780521197663. p. 97–112. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond; Lichtenstein, Gabriela & d'Arc, Nadine Renaudeau (2009). “International Policies and National Legislation Concerning Vicuña Conservation and Exploitation”. In Gordon, Iain J. (Eds.), The vicuña: The theory and practice of community based wildlife management. Springer. ISSN 9780387094755. p. 63–80. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond; McAllister, Ryan & Gordon., Iain (2009). “Legalizing markets and the consequences for poaching of wildlife species: the vicuña as a case study”. Journal of Environmental Management (JEM). ISSN 0301-4797. 90, p. 120–130. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2009). “What is Wrong with Aid? What is Wrong with Africa?”. Forum for Development Studies. ISSN 0803-9410. 35(1), p. 199–211. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). Social Capital or Sociality? Methodological contrasts between economics and other social sciences. In Ionnides, Stavros & Nielsen, Klaus (Ed.), Economics and the Social Sciences: Boundaries, Interaction and Integration. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781840647907. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). The Ethics of Sustainable Development. In Grenholm, Carl-Henric & Kamergrauzis, Normunds (Ed.), Sustainable Development and Global Ethics. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ISSN 9789155468941. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). ’Human Development’: the Power of the Idea. Journal of Human Development. ISSN 1464-9888. 8(1), p. 5–22. Full text in Research Archive

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• McNeill, Desmond (2021). Fetishism and the Theory of Value: Reassessing Marx in the 21st Century. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9783030561222. 322 p. Full text in Research Archive
• Roalkvam, Sidsel; McNeill, Desmond & Blume, Stuart (2013). Protecting the World's Children: Immunisation policies and Practices. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199666447. 248 p. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond; Nesheim, Ingrid & Brouwer, Floor (2012). Land Use Policies for Sustainable Development: Exploring Integrated Assessment Approaches. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 9781849802925. 292 p. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond & Clair, Asuncion Lera St. (2009). Global poverty, ethics and human rights: The role of multilateral organisations. Routledge. ISBN 9780415445948. 192 p. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  BIBSYS-ITAR./tøf --------------------------------------------------------- Severe poverty is one of the greatest moral challenges of our times. But what place, if any, do ethical thinking and questions of global justice have in the policies and practice of international organizations? This books examines this question in depth, based on an analysis of the two major multilateral development organizations - the World Bank and the UNDP - and two specific initiatives where poverty and ethics or human rights have been explicitly in focus: in the Inter-American Development Bank and UNESCO. The current development aid framework may be seen as seeking to make globalization work for the poor; and multilateral organizations such as these are powerful global actors, whether by virtue of their financial resources, or in their role as global norm-setting bodies and as sources of hegemonic knowledge about poverty. Drawing on their backgrounds in political economy, ethics and sociology of knowledge, as well as their inside knowledge of some of the case studies, the authors show how, despite the rhetoric, issues of ethics and human rights have – for very varying reasons and in differing ways – been effectively prevented from impinging on actual practice.

• Bull, Benedicte & McNeill, Desmond (2007). Development Issues in Global Governance: Public-Private Partnerships and Market Multilateralism. Routledge. 218 p. Full text in Research Archive

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• Mcneill, Desmond James (2024). The World Economic Forum and stakeholder capitalism. Full text in Research Archive
• Mcneill, Desmond James (2023). The World Economic Forum: An unaccountable force in global health governance? 14(5), p. 782–790. doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.13254. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract 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.

• McNeill, Desmond (2021). The Limitation of Bond Schemes. [Journal]. Development Today. Full text in Research Archive
• Holsten, Hilde Hartmann & McNeill, Desmond (2018). Hvem skal bestemme hva naturen er verdt? [Journal]. Forskning.no. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  I klimasøksmålet ble økonomer kalt inn som eksperter. De skulle vurdere hvor mye oljeboringen ville koste samfunnet vårt. Men går det egentlig an å sette en prislapp på natur og miljø

• Reinertsen, Hilde; Bjørkdahl, Kristian & McNeill, Desmond (2017). Confronting the contradiction. An exploration into the dual purpose of accountability and learning in aid evaluation. Conference poster. Full text in Research Archive
• Reinertsen, Hilde; Bjørkdahl, Kristian & McNeill, Desmond (2017). Bistandens læringsproblem. Full text in Research Archive
• Reinertsen, Hilde; Bjørkdahl, Kristian & McNeill, Desmond (2017). Two sides of the same coin? Are learning and accountability compatible in aid evaluation? EBA report seminar. Full text in Research Archive
• Reinertsen, Hilde; Bjørkdahl, Kristian & McNeill, Desmond (2017). Vi måste prata om utvärderingarnas syfte. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2017). Fra anti-urban til pro-urban i løpet av en generasjon? Full text in Research Archive
• Reinertsen, Hilde; Bjørkdahl, Kristian & McNeill, Desmond (2016). Confronting the contradiction: An exploration of the tensions between accountability and learning in aid evaluation. Seminar presentation. Full text in Research Archive
• Bjørkdahl, Kristian; Reinertsen, Hilde & McNeill, Desmond (2016). Confronting the contradiction: An exploration of the tensions between accountability and learning in aid evaluation. Conference presentation. Full text in Research Archive
• Borchgrevink, Axel; Aasen, Berit & McNeill, Desmond (2015). Et linjeskifte i norsk bistand. p. 18–19. Full text in Research Archive
• Ottersen, Ole Petter; McNeill, Desmond; Dasgupta, Jashodhara; Scheel, Inger B. & Roalkvam, Sidsel (2014). Authors' reply. The Lancet. ISSN 0140-6736. 383(9926), p. 1380–1381. Full text in Research Archive
• Holsten, Hilde Hartmann; Nesheim, Ingrid & McNeill, Desmond (2013). Miljøet taper for økonomien i u-land. [Internet]. www.forskning.no. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Mange utviklingsland har nasjonale planer for bærekraftig utvikling av naturressursene sine. Men oftest må hensynet til miljøet vike for hensynet til økonomien.

• McNeill, Desmond (2012). Rio+20 i et historisk perspektiv. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2012). What is Sustainable Development? Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2012). Reflections on development assistance. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2012). Africa Human Development Report 2012. Full text in Research Archive
• Banik, Dan; McNeill, Desmond & Aase, Maren (2011). Poster presentation:'Ethics, Rights and Poverty: Global theory and national practice'. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2008). Lomborgs spekulative konklusjoner. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2008). “The Moral Authority of Multilateral Organisations: UNDP, World Bank and UNESCO. Full text in Research Archive
• Winther, Tanja & McNeill, Desmond (2008). Kontroller pengebruk nedenfra. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). ISSN 0804-3116. Full text in Research Archive
• Nesheim, Ingrid & McNeill, Desmond (2008). D2.2 Components of the analytical framework. Full text in Research Archive
• Nesheim, Ingrid & McNeill, Desmond (2008). WP 5, D5.1 An IWRM assessment report for the four case basins. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2008). vil benåde bistandsarbeiderne. [Journal]. dagbladet. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2008). “The World Bank's Expertise: Observant participation in WDR2006 Equity and Development". Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2008). norsk bistand i verdenstoppen. [Internet]. aftenposten. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). Kampen om vannet - hvem kontrollerer dagens vannfordeling? Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). The Role of Ethical Ideas in the Multilateral System: The Case of UNDP, the World Bank and UNESCO. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). ‘Sociality’: exploring alternatives to the standard economic concept of the person. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). The Role of Ethical Ideas in Multilateral Organisations: UNDP, World Bank and UNESCO. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). Ethics, Politics and the Global Environment. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). Global Poverty, Ethics and Human Rights: The Role of Multilateral Organisations. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). verdensbanken og wolfowitz. [Radio]. dagsnytt 18. Full text in Research Archive
• Nesheim, Ingrid & McNeill, Desmond (2007). WP 2 - Design the of analytical framework. Full text in Research Archive
• Nesheim, Ingrid & McNeill, Desmond (2007). WP 7 - Policy assessment and dissemination. Full text in Research Archive
• Bull, Benedicte & McNeill, Desmond (2007). Bedrifter som samarbeider med FN om utvikling: mer opptatt av image enn av u-hjelp. [Journal]. Ukeavisen ledelse. Full text in Research Archive
• Nesheim, Ingrid & McNeill, Desmond (2007). WP 5, IWRM assessment, and the conceptual framework. Full text in Research Archive
• Bull, Benedicte & McNeill, Desmond (2007). Hvem tjener på offentlig-privat samarbeid? [Journal]. Apollon. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). Global Institutions, Expertise and Poverty. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). Culture and Development Ten Years On: Global and Local Perspectives. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). Ethics, Responsibility and Expertise in the Multilateral Development System. Full text in Research Archive
• McNeill, Desmond (2007). Multilateral Institutions, Ethical Discourses, and the Ascription or Avoidance of Responsibility: The Discourses of Human Development-Human Rights-Human Security. Full text in Research Archive
• Bull, Benedicte & McNeill, Desmond (2007). FN og private selskapers interesser. Ny tid. ISSN 0803-3498. 55(4), p. 37–37. Full text in Research Archive
• Reinertsen, Hilde; Bjørkdahl, Kristian & McNeill, Desmond (2017). Confronting the contradiction: An exploration into the dual purpose of accountability and learning in aid evaluation. Expertgruppen för Biståndsanalys (EBA). ISSN 9789188143280. Full text in Research Archive
• Vatn, Arild; McNeill, Desmond; Trædal, Leif Tore & Angelsen, Arild (2013). Options for national REDD+ architectures. Report from aconference. Noragric. Full text in Research Archive

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