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 people’s attitudes towards the state and...

Informal employment persists, even when the economy is growing. Understanding the phenomenon is necessary to “tame the beast” of informality. Coherent policies are needed to create decent jobs and provide social protection

Foreign investment in telecommunications in Latin America has amounted to over $110 billion since 1990, more than for all other developing countries combined. Only one in four of the poorest Latin Americans has a telephone line; competitive markets and policies promoting access can help narrow...

Cancelling of poor-country debt does not mean that the best way to give aid is through grants only. Aid through loans may often prove superior, provided that it maintains debt sustainability. A new scheme for soft loans is suggested, with higher interest rates and cancellation provisions if bad...

A coherent institutional framework that supports investment, exchange and representation mechanisms is a key precondition for agricultural development. The importance of customs and traditions for the process of agrarian transformation has been overlooked. Changes in formal institutions must be...

The effects of migration on development depends on who leaves, where they go, and how home countries adjust to their leaving. Migration and development policies are comlements, not substitutes. Smart visa policies, coupled with capacity building at home can maximise the positive impact of migration

Different cultures entail both a great diversity of household structures and different saving patterns. The diversity of family relations and saving patterns creates different incentives for physical and human capital accumulation. Policies can alter saving incentives and create the conditions...

Although hard to measure, informality is by all accounts high in Latin America: about half of the region’s working population can be considered informal. In Mexico, the only Latin American country that belongs to the OECD, up to 60 per cent of non-agricultural workers – almost 22 million...

Poor countries will remain vulnerable to external shocks from export prices or from natural disasters for some time. Indeed, the lowest income countries have an even higher incidence of such adverse events than other developing countries and tend to suffer larger damages when they occur.