Are the financial markets politically correct? In other words, do they have preferences when it comes to political regimes or partisans? This issue has often been explored with regard to foreign direct investment (FDI) or public development aid, but...

The “raw materials curse” is far from being an inevitability, as shown by Norway and Chile. Both examples offer valuable lessons to developing countries on how to sensibly manage mining and oil resources. Following Norway’s example, Chile could build...

The idea of local “ownership” of development policies is now popular among the donor community, but without a reduction of conditionality on aid disbursements, enhanced ownership will be difficult to achieve. While there are still strong reasons for...

International NGOs want official donors to co-ordinate and harmonise their activities and to become more accountable to recipients. International NGOs are donors in their own right, and their own adherence to aid effectiveness principles leaves much...

New actors and instruments have increased the complexity of the international development-finance architecture Efficient aid delivery confronts challenges: multilateral duplication, mission creep and loss of leverage. Specific measures of...

“Ownership” makes aid work better when recipients can choose between policy options. Governments need to encourage home-grown development strategies and free local policy debates. Policy conditions on aid don’t work.

Informal employment is a widespread phenomenon in Romania and a key challenge for the country’s development. Policies should target two distinct groups: those who voluntarily opt out of the formal system and those with no alternative. Transforming...

Migration can strengthen the development process in sending countries. Potential gains from migration are currently insufficiently utilised. More coherence between various policy domains – in particular related to migration, human resource...

Globalisation has brought benefits to the economies in the Black Sea Economic Co-operation (BSEC) and Central Asia (CA), but compounded volatility and uncertainty associated with the transition to market economy. Labour markets have been put under...

Households in the Black Sea Economic Co-operation (BSEC) and Central Asia (CA) regions have adopted coping strategies to withstand negative income shocks during the transition. The most common strategies include family and community support,...

Higher food prices are likely to stay; emergency aid can only be a short-term solution. Making African agriculture a profitable business could turn a food-price curse into a blessing. African governments and donors should promote the...

Reducing under-five mortality rates in Africa by two-thirds is urgent. HIV-AIDS, malaria, lack of basic health services and conflict are hampering progress. Preventable diseases take a heavy toll on the under-fives. Preventing the deaths of children...

Growth will accelerate for net oil exporters and weaken slightly for oil importers. Inflation is rising due to increases in the price of food imports and rising oil prices. The current-account deficits of oil-importing countries are increasing.

Political and social troubles worsened in 2007, but the long term trend is positive. Progress towards democracy continues, despite some severe setbacks. Democratic institutions need to foster dialogue and social cohesion.

African countries face high youth unemployment and a skills shortage. Technical and vocational systems in Africa are poorly funded and managed. Skill-development strategies need to be integrated into poverty-reduction strategies and focused on...

More and better data are needed to monitor and evaluate the impact of vocational training on economic growth and poverty reduction. Labour market observatories can help align training systems to labour market needs. Analysis of youth unemployment is...

Private equity is the African investment story to watch. African countries have made serious efforts to attract foreign investment. Global downturn may yet put successes at risk.

Development economics can explain both saving sources and motives that have led to the recent SWF boom, thus helping avoid investment restrictions in OECD countries. As the economics underlying funds from oil exporting countries are different from...

Financial actors from developing countries are playing with other OECD financial giants as equals through their Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs). SWFs could become major actors of development finance if they chose to allocate 10 per cent of their...

China helps growth and debt sustainability in Africa through debt relief, infrastructure investment and higher exports. China and other emerging lenders should engage in a debt transparency initiative that considers such growth effects. This will...