This paper explores the scope of IDF to compensate for declining ODA and/or to enhance the efficiency of ODA. It shows that IDF has not helped much to increase the volume of aid. With regard to efficiency, the role of IDF related mechanisms remains controversial. In view of the above, it may be...

The issue of introducing innovation in financing came into discussion at Monterrey in response to the recurring failure of most developed countries to live up to their commitment to enhance flows of official development assistance (ODA) to the developing countries in order to attain the...

In 1995/96, 47.5 per cent of the population of Bangladesh were still living below the poverty line. While this represents a decline compared to 62.6 per cent in 1983/84, the absolute number of poor people has in fact increased over the same period. This paper argues that the persistence of...

This paper argues that poverty originates in the structural injustices of a social order which incapacitates the poor from participating in the growth generating sectors of the economy and leaves them captives in the so called informal sector, characterized by low productivity and low earning...

Honoring Keith Griffin’s more than 40 years of fundamental contributions to the discipline of economics, the papers in this volume reflect his deep commitment to advancing the well-being of the world’s poor majority and his unflinching willingness to question conventional wisdom as...

South Asia inherited a shared identity, a shared infrastructure and institutions of governance, which were fractured by politics. There are now new opportunities that point to the possibility and necessity of reclaiming some of that inheritance. India's economy is now large enough to be welcomed...

The article focuses on some of the key issues identified in the Islamabad Declaration. While it provides a road map to a South Asian Economic Union, progress will depend upon the resolution of specific problems in interconnected issue areas. For instance, increasing intra-regional trade in South...