Professor Kunibert Raffer (born 1951) is a development researcher. His main contributions are on international economic relations and the problems of
unequal exchange
Unequal exchange is used primarily in Marxist economics, but also in ecological economics (more specifically also as ecologically unequal exchange), to describe the systemic hidden transfer of labor and ecological value from poor countries in ...
. From 1979–1980 he was Associate Professor of Economics at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
and from 1983–84 consultant to
UNIDO
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...
. He was a visiting lecturer (1986–89) at the
University of Klagenfurt and then Visiting Fellow of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...
. He spent 1990–93 as honorary research fellow, Department of Commerce,
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
and in 1998 participated in the
UNDP
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...
's research project "International Development Cooperation and Global Public Goods". Since 2002 he has been Senior Associate of the
New Economics Foundation
The New Economics Foundation (NEF) is a Great Britain, British think-tank that promotes "social, economic and environmental justice".
NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES) with the aim of working for a "new m ...
(London), with a winter term (002-03) as visiting Professor at the Centre for the Study of International Institutions (CSI), SOWI Faculty,
University of Innsbruck
The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669.
It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...
.
His articles on
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...
of US Title 11 (
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
) in the context of the problem of sovereignty created a veritable flood of international reactions. In 1987 Raffer proposed to internationalise the basic features of the US
Chapter 9, maintaining that its essential points can be applied to sovereign borrowers immediately and without problems. There were numerous academic responses.
[P.K. Rao (2003) Development Finance, Springer, Berlin etc.]
International reception
Raffer was given the opportunity to discuss his ideas with
Members of the European Parliament
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Comm ...
on 7 December 2005 as a guest speaker at the Workshop on the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, and on 9 June 1992 at a Roundtable with MPs on international insolvency at
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
. In the US, Raffer's proposal was incorporated into the "Global Development Resolution", initiated by Rep.
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
(for the
106th Congress, 1st Session). Other legislative assemblies, reciting to Raffer's proposals, were the Argentine Parliament in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, the Uruguayan Parliament (Palacio Legislativo), and the Indonesian Parliament in
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
. On 18 March 1999, Raffer was invited to present his ideas at a consultative meeting between the international
Jubilee 2000 campaign, representatives of the
G-7 governments and the
Bretton Woods institutions on
developing countries' debts in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
Major publications
* The economic north–south divide six decades of unequal development. Singer, Hans Wolfgang: Cheltenham, UK; Northampton, MA, US : Edward Elgar, 2001
* The foreign aid business: economic assistance and development co-operation . Singer, H. W: Cheltenham, UK; Brookfield, Vt., US : E. Elgar, 1996
* Unequal exchange and the evolution of the world system: reconsidering the impact of trade on north–south relations. New York : St. Martin's Press, 1987
* Reinforcing divergence between North and South : unequal exchange and the WTO framework. Journal für Entwicklungspolitik, ISSN 0258-2384, Bd. 21 (2005), 4, S.6-24
* Applying musgrave's branches of government expenditures to ODA : tentative estimates. Journal für Entwicklungspolitik, ISSN 0258-2384, Bd. 20 (2004), 1, S.104-118
References
External links
* http://homepage.univie.ac.at/kunibert.raffer/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raffer, Kunibert
World system scholars
1951 births
Academic staff of the University of Vienna
Living people