This paper gives a conceptual overview of the openness and vulnerability, sharing which in both cases respectively depends on economic policy and on structural factors, independent from policy. It focuses on openness policy, proposed to be measured by the residual of an openness function...

Convergence has been much less studied with regards to human development than it has been done in economic growth models. However, since the evolution of human development indicators is bounded, the analyse of their convergence may be importantly biased. This paper investigates the question of...

This paper argues that, for a given average level of income per capita, the real currency depreciation has a negative impact on child survival, due to higher relative prices of tradable goods such as food and drug. This assumption is significantly tested from a dynamic panel model covering about...

In this paper we consider the link often alleged between ethnic diversity and the growth rate of GDP per capita. We first assume that it is ethnic polarization rather than ethnic fragmentation that is harmful for growth so that the relationship may be non-linear. Second, we hypothesize that the...

This paper, relying on the results of several cross-sectionnal growth regressions, examines the factors determining the sustainability of policy reforms and growth in Africa. Five structural factors are considered as determinants of policy: 1) ethno-linguistic fragmentation, which influences...

Macro vulnerability of the poor countries, an increasing concern of the international community, is analyzed as the risk that their development be hampered by the shocks they face, natural or external. Structural vulnerability mainly results from the size of the shocks and the exposure to the...

This paper examines the meaning and consequences of the developing countries economic vulnerability to the volatility of commodity prices. It first considers how to define and measure this vulnerability, which has three components, shocks, exposure and resilience, and focuses on the two first...

A dominant trend of the literature maintains that donors’ assistance should be targeted to poor countries with sound institutions and policies. In this context donors’ selectivity refers to what extent their aid is allocated according to the principles of this “canonical” model. This...

Since 1992, Vietnam has been implementing a policy aimed at anchoring its currency vis-à-vis the dollar. Does the "Asian crisis" threaten this policy? The aim of this paper is to present the arguments of this debate through an analysis of both the consequences of the Asian financial crisis on...

Based on an annual sample of 122 countries over the 1963-1994 period, this paper shows that real exchange rate depreciation reduces deforestation in relatively developed countries (with GDP per capita greater than $900) whereas it has the opposite effect in poor countries. A possible explanation...