The present level of ODA falls short of the amount needed to finance the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The figure of additional $50 billion per year, roughly the present total of ODA spent by DAC donors, is often quoted (e.g. by the Zedillo...

In this paper we aim to answer the following two questions: 1) has the Common Monetary Area in Southern Africa (henceforth CMA) ever been an optimal currency area (OCA)? 2) What are the costs and benefits of the CMA for its participating countries?...

One of the priorities set out in the Capital Flows Initiative of the NEPAD is to increase private capital flows to Africa, whereby providing African economies with longterm affordable and sustainable resources to finance their development. In this...

Rural areas of the developing world are the last frontier of the information technology revolution. Telephone and internet penetration there remains a small fraction of what it is in the developed world. Limited means of electronic communication with...

The purpose of this paper is to develop a strategy for PCT in the DRC, drawing from the experience of other countries that have gone through this triple transition. These experiences will be used to identify the tasks that need to be carried out in...

Peer review and public-private partnerships hinge on transparency. Transparency is about commonly shared knowledge about the economy, its performance, and the way policy influences it. The Composite Indicator of Economic Activity in Mozambique (ICAE)...

Assessing the final impact of globalisation on poverty is a difficult task: i) globalisation affects poverty through numerous channels; ii) some linkages are positive and some are negative and therefore cannot be analysed qualitatively but require...

In spite of the remarkable developmental performance of Cape Verde, the private sector remains dominated by small and micro-enterprises which generate little employment and provide scant tax revenue. The authors suggest creating new forms of...

This paper offers an analytical framework for understanding the evolution of India’s software industry and its place in the broader economy. It then considers how well the framework helps to answer three questions: i) What difference has the IT...

The Doha Declaration stresses the “important role” of “well targeted, sustainably financed technical assistance and capacity-building programmes”. It dedicates a whole section to them, and reiterates the commitment of its membership to help the...

Summary of trends on public opinion and international development co-operation in OECD DAC member countries: i) Public support in OECD DAC member countries for helping poor countries has remained consistently high for almost two decades: there is no...

Timor Leste, the first new nation of the twenty-first century, is a young country facing many of the most challenging problems of underdevelopment: illiteracy, malnutrition, low skills base and high unemployment. It also is on the threshold of facing...

Analyses of responses to reforms in Ghana seem to indicate that current policies may be benefiting different segments of society disproportionately. Also, experience in the 1990s suggests that recurring budget deficits may adversely affect reform and...

The quest for large numbers has been going on for some time in international trade economics: models of trade liberalisation have consistently produced results that, compared ex post with real world data, show the right sign but the “wrong”...

The so-called “accession economies” preparing to enter the European Union are experiencing increased inward capital flows based upon positive interest spreads and expectations of currency appreciation. While the authorities of these countries have...

This paper takes advantage of a massive school construction program that took place in Indonesia between 1973 and 1978 to estimate the effect of education on fertility and child mortality. Time and region varying exposure to the school construction...

WTO membership and closer integration with the European Union in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership are reinforcing pressures on MEDA countries to improve their competitive position. Privatisation, regulatory reform, and the creation...

OECD Members, like those of the European Union, have created a new culture of policy interdependence and mutual respect. This gives the lie to the idea that cultures are deterministic, backward-looking realities that prevent some countries from...

The increased importance of rating agencies for emerging-market finance has brought their work to the attention of a wider group of observers — and under criticism. This paper evaluates whether the importance of ratings for developing-country finance...

This technical paper presents the complete technical specification of the current version of the RE-GEM (Regional and Environmental General Equilibrium Model) for India. The document lists all the key structural and behavioural equations, providing a...