International Development Pages

Economic Development in Practice

It has always been challenging. I am quite serious about development work; I try to do some good for those who need our help, and I always try to get better at it.

On these pages, you will find a brief introduction to a few areas in which I think I have learned something. Your comments are welcome.

Islamic Economics-- I lead the design and implementation of significant economic development programs in eight countries, five of which have significant Muslim populations. It is a serious, twelve month program which delivers sustained support to the poorest of the poor via market-oriented micro-enterprise support. It's all about entrepreneurship, rational decision makers, and self-interest-- based on liberal democracy and free market thinking. Will that work in a Muslim society? To make efforts like this more likely to succeed one must understand how people make decisions, and economics does that by examining exchanges. This well-received essay illuminates a number of the values and practices of Muslim societies in theory and practice.

Credit in economic development -- One aspect of almost all economic development programs is "access to credit". I have sat on the board of directors of a bank and sat in association meetings, pleaded with central bank officials and heard the pleas of poor farmers. I started one lending operation, oversaw loan programs in a couple of places, and organized more bank fairs and borrower training than I can remember. Experience is a teacher, and some of my thoughts have gone into this examination of micro-credit. As a strong supporter of savings perhaps I come off as too critical in this essay, but I think we need to be as realistic as possible about development programming.

Community-based development -- Local economic development works best through broad community involvement. I've done it in three countries. It was particularly successful in Bosnia, where we had good working groups, broad stakeholder groups, and support from local governments. We focused on the process and the inclusion of previously excluded groups. A basic strategic planning process over about eight to ten months delivered plans so well received that the local governments changed their budgets and public hearing rules. A similar effort for an island in the Bahamas never took off. We weren't very good at overcoming a general feeling that an idyllic island should "be developed" and never got the needed buy-in. You can read about it in this introductory piece.

Starting a project -- Before we can put the plan into action we need to get it organized. I've been the director of several projects and discovered that bringing a project plan to life and making it work is a demanding task in itself. This essay describes a dynamic, quick start approach to a complicated multi-task project you should consider.

Several essays -- This is an assortment of short pieces visitors to the site seem to like-- a few of the columns I did for a Kiev newspaper, survey results, travelogues, and some cross-cultural stuff. Reading -- Development assistance is a very complicated field, and I try to improve my understanding and knowledge continuously by reading everything I can find related to the subject. 15-18 titles are reviewed here. For fun, a fictional short story I wrote about what life as an expatriate development professional could be if you wanted it so, or if you weren't careful. One of those two. And a few links to other sites I've found useful.

My resume -- Over 25 years' experience in a lot of places, the current job, and a write up on a major agribusiness project I led.

Good fortune is not as blind as it is generally thought to be. It is often nothing more than the result of sound, consistent actions that go unnoticed by the crowd but nonetheless make a particular event possible. Still more often, it is the result of an individual's characteristics, nature, and behavior.

--Catherine the Great

Worldwide contact info:

jonthiele@global.t-bird.edu
skype: jonthiele
fax: +1-866-227-5416

This site was updated on January 19, 2010, and is hosted by