Policy pointers

International Development

Which Countries Jump the FY2010 Corruption Hurdle?

CGD

This 8-page note offers a preliminary analysis of country scores on the FY10 control of corruption indicator to qualify for MCC funding

International Development, CorruptionPosted: 2009-09-21

Toward Results-Based Social Policy Design and Implementation

CGD

This 42-page US paper shows how Mexico has improved the evidence base for public policy in a number of ways

International Development, Social PolicyPosted: 2011-04-20

Reconciling Climate Change and Trade Policy

CGD

This 45-page US working paper offers some preliminary quantification of the impact of possible climate change policy approaches on growth in developing countries

International Development, Climate Change & EnvironmentPosted: 2009-11-25

Young Democracies in the Balance: Lessons for the International Community

CGD

An 8-page brief exploring the underlying reasons for backsliding in the world's fledgeling democracies

Governance & Politics, International DevelopmentPosted: 2008-01-23

George Bush's Foreign Aid: Transformation or Chaos?

CGD

This 136-page study analyzes the dramatic changes in foreign aid during the Bush Administration

International Development, Poverty & HungerPosted: 2008-05-26

Reflections on the Macro Foundations of the Middle Class in the Developing World

CGD

This 22-page US working paper reviews how macroeconomic policies shape incentives for inclusive growth

International Development, Economic PolicyPosted: 2007-10-30

It's One Climate Policy World Out There—Almost

CGD

The results of a US survey of a broad sample of development and climate afficionados on what should be done about climate change

Climate Change & Environment, International DevelopmentPosted: 2009-12-09

What Happens When Donors Fail to Meet Their Commitments?

CGD

A US blog considering whether the aid industry introduced the reforms it agreed in 2005 to make aid more effective

International DevelopmentPosted: 2011-10-05

Beyond the ABCs: Higher Education and Developing Countries

CGD

This 109-page working paper examines higher education in developing countries and its effects

Education, International DevelopmentPosted: 2008-02-08

The New Bottom Billion: What If Most of the World’s Poor Live in Middle-Income Countries?

CGD

A 4-page US brief reporting that an estimated 960 million poor people — a - new bottom billion — live in middle-income countries, and considering how donors will have to change the way they think about poverty alleviation

Poverty & Hunger, International DevelopmentPosted: 2011-03-30

Girls Count

CGD

This 97-page report describes why and how to provide adolescent girls in developing countries with a full and equal chance in life

International Development, Families, Children & YouthPosted: 2008-01-15

Incentive Proliferation? Making Sense of a New Wave of Development Programs

CGD

This 26-page US paper proposes a way of classifying and distinguishing the range of development incentive programmes being debated today, emphasizing two particular dimensions: the agent whose behavior the incentive seeks to change and the specificity of the output or outcome measure

International DevelopmentPosted: 2011-09-08

Opening Markets for Poor Countries: Are We There Yet?

CGD

This 28-page US working paper finds that much remains to be done to achieve the goal of meaningful market access for the poorest countries, including reformed rules of origin that facilitate rather than inhibit trade.

International Development, Globalisation & International TradePosted: 2009-10-14

Seizing the opportunity on AIDS and Health Systems

CGD

This 72-page report examines how the HIV/AIDS donor programs interact with key operational parts of health systems

Health, International DevelopmentPosted: 2008-08-06

Through the Looking Glass, and What OLS Found There

CGD

A 38-page paper examining the relationship between foreign aid and growth

International DevelopmentPosted: 2008-02-27

The Future of Development Finance

CGD

A 21-page US working paper arguing that the rules of the game and the tools of development assistance need to evolve to focus on transparency, results, accountability, a market-driven division of labor and flexible partnerships for the future development finance system to become an effective tool of global problem solving

International Development, Poverty & HungerPosted: 2011-05-26

Macro Aid Effectiveness Research: A Guide for the Perplexed

CGD

This 23-page working paper studies how foreign aid affects country-level outcomes

International DevelopmentPosted: 2008-01-14

Beyond Planning: Markets and Networks for Better Aid

CGD

A 45-page US working paper arguing that a considered combination of market mechanisms, networked collaboration, and collective regulation would be more likely to lead to significant improvements in the utilization of aid than reliance on a planning paradigm

International DevelopmentPosted: 2009-10-19

Technologies, Rules, and Progress: The Case for Charter Cities

CGD

This 12-page US working paper argues that a new type of development policy would be to voluntarily charter new cities for the purpose of changing rules, using a range of new legal and political structures analogous to the ones that made Hong Kong and Shenzhen possible

International Development, Urban IssuesPosted: 2010-03-10

Failed States, Vicious Cycles, and a Proposal

CGD

This 14-page US working paper examines the problems of failed states, including the repeated return to power of former warlords, which he argues causes institutions to become weaker and people to get poorer

Governance & Politics, International DevelopmentPosted: 2011-03-08

Banned Aid: Why International Assistance Does Not Alleviate Poverty

CFR

A 3-page US article examines the flaws in the concept of foreign aid

International DevelopmentPosted: 2010-01-10

The Future of Foreign Assistance Amid Global Economic and Financial Crisis

CFR

A 45-page US report urging the new US Administration to stay the course in its commitments to global health and development, as well as basic humanitarian relief.

Health, International DevelopmentPosted: 2009-01-27

A Global Education Fund: Toward a True Global Compact on Universal Education

CFR

This 42-page US working paper examines the question as to whether the world needs a new Global Education Fund to elevate education on the global agenda

Education, International DevelopmentPosted: 2009-01-19

Tragedy and Opportunity for Haiti

CFR

This US article argues that the desire to move fast and "do something" to alleviate suffering in Haiti must be matched to what is a bitter opportunity to secure a more consistent and lasting commitment to Haiti's political and social stability

Public Safety & Disaster Mitigation, International DevelopmentPosted: 2010-01-18

Reform of the International Monetary Fund

CFR

A 48-page US report arguing for the continuation and reform of the IMF

International DevelopmentPosted: 2007-05-11

Bolivia on the Brink

CFR

A 56-page US report addressing the ongoing social, political and economic challenges facing Bolivia

Governance & Politics, International DevelopmentPosted: 2007-02-23

The Challenge of Global Health

CFR

This 10-page article calls for a more coordinated approach to improving health in the developing world

Health, International DevelopmentPosted: 2006-12-31

Congo: Securing Peace, Sustaining Progress

CFR

This US paper analyzes the problems besetting the DRC and proposes some solutions

International Development, Defence, Terrorism & SecurityPosted: 2008-11-02

The Politics of Hunger

CFR

A 4-page US article explaining what needs to be done to end the global food crisis

Poverty & Hunger, International DevelopmentPosted: 2008-11-07

Financial Crisis May Worsen Poverty in China, India

CFR

A US backgrounder examining how reduced economic growth in India and China could reverse poverty alleviation efforts and even push more people into poverty

Poverty & Hunger, International DevelopmentPosted: 2008-11-25

Planning for Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe

CFR

This 56-page US report examines the prospects for regime change in Zimbabwe

Governance & Politics, International DevelopmentPosted: 2007-12-08

Nigeria: Elections and Continuing Challenges

CFR

A 53-page US report suggesting immediate and mid-term courses of action for Nigerians and the international community, in the interest of the country's stability

Governance & Politics, International DevelopmentPosted: 2007-04-20

Resource Rents, Democracy and Corruption: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

CESifo

This 18-page working paper examines the effect of the interaction between resource rents and democracy on corruption for a panel of 29 Sub-Saharan countries during the period from 1985 to 2007

Corruption, International DevelopmentPosted: 2011-09-29

Natural Resources: Curse or Blessing?

CESifo

This working paper studies whether natural resources are a source of benefit or loss for developing countries

International DevelopmentPosted: 2010-08-05

Delayed Participation of Developing Countries to Climate Agreements: Should Action in the EU and US be Postponed?

CESifo

This 22-page paper analyses the cost implications for climate policy in developed countries if developing countries are unwilling to adopt measures to reduce their own GHG emissions

Climate Change & Environment, International DevelopmentPosted: 2008-12-02

Acting Autonomously or Mimicking the State and Peers? A Panel Tobit Analysis of Financial Dependence and Aid Allocation by Swiss NGOs

CESifo

A 37-page working paper examining the relative effectiveness of official development aid and NGO aid

International DevelopmentPosted: 2009-06-09

Decentralization and Foreign Aid Effectiveness: Do Aid Modality and Federal Design Matter in Poverty Alleviation?

CESifo

This 27-page working paper empirically studies the impact of decentralization on foreign aid effectiveness

International Development, Governance & PoliticsPosted: 2010-05-13

Aid, Growth and Devolution

CESifo

This 37-page working paper examines whether the federal structure of aid-receiving countries matters in explaining aid effectiveness

International DevelopmentPosted: 2009-11-05

Economic Geography and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

CESifo

This 42-page working paper assesses the importance of relative geography, and access to foreign markets in particular, in explaining the substantial income differences between SSA countries

International Development, RegionalPosted: 2009-01-21

Re-imagining EU Development Aid

CER

An article reporting on a new EU approach to development aid

International Development, European UnionPosted: 2007-07-26

The Financing of the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF)

CEPS

This 10-page policy brief provides an update on GEEREF with a special focus on its financing and possible impacts of the financial crisis

Energy, International DevelopmentPosted: 2009-07-12

Escaping the Vicious Cycle of Poverty: Towards Universal Access to Energy

CEPS

A 33-page working paper showing that renewable energy sources – and especially small decentralised solutions – have huge potential for providing reliable, sustainable and affordable energy services for the poor, particularly in rural areas of developing countries

Energy, International DevelopmentPosted: 2012-03-13

Update - Debt Cancellation for Haiti: No Reason For Further Delays

CEPR

This 17-page US paper presents an update of CEPR’s December 2007 overview of Haiti’s outstanding foreign debt, and how much of this debt is scheduled to be canceled under Haiti’s participation in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank’s Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.

Poverty & Hunger, International DevelopmentPosted: 2008-12-08

Ecuador’s Economy Since 2007

CEPR

This 25-page US paper describes how Ecuador has experienced strong progress in key economic, social and health indicators since 2007, with a dramatic rebound from the global recession since 2009

Economic Policy, International DevelopmentPosted: 2012-05-03

Capital Controls and Monetary Policy in Developing Countries

CEPR

This US paper looks at both the theoretical and empirical literature on capital controls and finds that capital controls can play an important role in developing countries by helping to insulate them from some of the harmful effects of volatile and short-term capital flows

International Development, Economic PolicyPosted: 2010-05-03

Empowering the IMF: Should Reform be a Requirement for Increasing the Fund's Resources?

CEPR

A 23-page US paper that argues that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is still prescribing inappropriate policies that could unnecessarily worsen economic downturns in a number of countries

International Development, Economic PolicyPosted: 2009-04-20

Using Food Aid to Support, Not Harm, Haitian Agriculture

CEPR

A 5-page US issue brief arguing that buying up all of Haiti's rice should be close to the amount of food aid for rice that the international community is likely to provide this year, and would provide a tremendous boost to Haitian farmers, who currently are unable to compete with low-cost rice imports from the U.S.

International Development, Poverty & HungerPosted: 2010-04-07

What Are the EU Trade Preferences Worth for Sub-Saharan Africa and Other Developing Countries?

CEPII

This 37-page French study examines the utilization reate and value of EU preferences to developing countries

International Development, European UnionPosted: 2006-01-10

WTO Trade Talks: A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush

CEPII

A 4-page French article arguing that for sub-Saharan Africa, the losses from multilateral liberalisation may be largely offset by unrestricted access for their products into major emerging countries

Globalisation & International Trade, International DevelopmentPosted: 2007-02-14

International Trade and Income Distribution: Reconsidering the Evidence

CEPII

A 44-page working paper reconsidering the evidence concerning the effect of international trade on income distribution

Globalisation & International Trade, International DevelopmentPosted: 2005-11-07

Signposts to More Effective States: Responding to Governance Challenges in Developing Countries

Centre for the Future State

This 60-page study examines how public authority in developing countries can best be reshaped and reconstituted to meet the challenges of poverty reduction

International DevelopmentPosted: 2005-06-21

Agricultural-forestry linkages: Development of timber and tree crop plantations towards sustainable natural forests

Centre for Strategic and International Studies - Jakarta

This 29-page working paper provides a historical perspective of agricultural development in Indonesia, exploring agricultural-forestry linkage as a route to future sustainable forest management

Climate Change & Environment, International DevelopmentPosted: 2004-02-29

Sustaining East Asia's Economic Dynamism: How Aid Worked

Centre for Strategic and International Studies - Jakarta

A 35-page working paper examining the role of foreign aid and development assistance in helping to sustain East Asia's economic dynamism

International DevelopmentPosted: 2004-06-03

The Pacific Is Viable!

Centre for Independent Studies

This 12-page issue analysis argues for radical changes in economic policy and governance to enable Pacific economies to grow

International Development, Economic PolicyPosted: 2004-12-10

The Effects of Trade Liberalization on Agriculture in Smaller Developing Countries: Implications for the Doha Round

Centre for European Policy Studies

This study examines how the agriculture of small developing countries can benefit from international trade

International Development, Globalisation & International TradePosted: 2006-07-01

Applying Conditionality to Development Assistance

Centre for Democratic Institutions

This 14-page Australian paper examines the efforts of the Bush Administration's Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) to apply the principle of conditionality to development aid

International DevelopmentPosted: 2005-03-31

Security Promotion in Fragile States: Can Local Meet National?

Centre for Conflict Studies

This 142-page Dutch study argues that the lack of local involvement in Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) is arguably one of the causes of the limited success of DDR programmes

Defence, Terrorism & Security, International DevelopmentPosted: 2009-09-09

Do Democratic Transitions Produce Bad Economic Outcomes?

Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law

This 16-page working paper examines the effect of democratization on economic performance

Governance & Politics, International DevelopmentPosted: 2005-01-26

Linkages Between MDGs and PRSPs in Transitional Countries of Eurasia

Center for Social and Economic Research

This 19-page Polish paper examines the linkages between MDGs and PRSPs in 6 transition countries

International Development, Poverty & HungerPosted: 2006-03-27