Decentralisation has become a key issue in development policy in the past two decades. Whereas the advantages and risks of transferring power and resources to local tiers of government have been debated for quite some time, it is only very recently that the linkages between decentralization and...

Africa’s economic progress now seems on a firm footing after a third straight year of satisfactory performance in 2005, with overall growth of 5 per cent, average per capita income up 3 per cent and inflation steady at under 10 per cent. Two-thirds of the 30 countries surveyed in the Africa...

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 to be desired. International NGOs need a...

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.

Latin America has put its faith in democracy and the market economy. Efficient, fair and equitable fiscal policy can help foster development and consolidate democracy. * This Policy Insights is based on the Latin American Economic Outlook 2008.

Strong commodity prices are driving Africa’s growth, which should be about 6 % in 2007 and 2008. External vulnerability is a function of its limited integration into international trade and investment flows. Africa should mobilise external sources more strategically. In this respect, aid for...

How can Mali and the donor community enhance competitiveness of the Malian cotton sector and realise its growth potential? Mali is already promoting the abolition of cotton export subsidies in Northern nations in the current WTO Doha Round. To enhance the cotton sector’s competitiveness and...

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 pressure, as BSEC-CA countries compete on the...

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 development and the labour market – is a critical...

MDGs and new aid-effectiveness targets are an opprtunity for donors to explain what they do before growing scepticism erodes taxpayer support for aid.