While public education is often intended to be progressive in its effects on income distribution, in reality its incidence is often skewed toward the rich. This paper argues that the extent of this bias is directly related to institutional weaknesses in governance. We present a simple dynamic...

Adoption and adaptation of foreign technology is an important catch-up mechanism for developing countries and can contribute towards the achievement of the millennium development goals. Despite this until now very little foreign aid has been specifically targeting innovation in developing...

In recent years, the private sector has been recognized as a key engine of Africa's economic development. Yet, the most simple and fundamental question remains unanswered: how large is the African private sector? We present novel estimates of the size of the private sector in 50 African...

This Selected Issues Paper presents an analysis of Belarus-specific conditions and cross-country research, and proposes a roadmap for real-sector reforms. It highlights distortions resulting from the government’s interference in the economy, and presents an overview of economic benefits...

This paper analyzes the reasons countries have for choosing to incorporate the private sector into the provision of infrastructure and will briefly review the modalities in which private sector privatization occurs and their impact on the relationship between government, the private sector, and...

Despite its many advantages, the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean region remains relatively backward in economic and social terms and is rightly considered a potential source of social and political instability. Its average GDP per capita lags behind the global average and is increasing slowly...

This paper analyzes the reasons countries have for choosing to incorporate the private sector into the provision of infrastructure and will briefly review the modalities in which private sector privatization occurs and their impact on the relationship between government, the private sector, and...

Value chain interventions are increasingly used by international organizations and national donor agencies in the context of their private sector development strategies. This paper argues that an understanding of Global Value Chains (GVCs), their drivers, and their governance structures is...

This paper provides an overview of the state of the art of the intersection of development and entrepreneurship. Given the neglect of entrepreneurship by development scholars it deals with (i) recent theoretical insights from the intersection of entrepreneurship and development studies; (ii) the...

The private sector contributes to economic development by generating jobs and incomes, as well as through investments, new technologies, knowledge transfer, and enhanced productivity. This is particularly true in Asia and the Pacific, where much of the recent success in reducing poverty has been...