. The poor are the principal beneficiaries of universal access to social services. . Instead of thinking in terms of supply, we need to meet the demand for services from the poor. . Policies should be judged by their outcomes rather than by the amount of resources employed. . Coherent, long-term...

• Many micro-enterprises are known to the authorities, in particular because they pay taxes. • Intermediate-revenue countries impose certain standards to protect consumers. • Wages regulations are only rarely respected. • The creation and development of micro-enterprises could be...

• Sound national systems of corporate governance are essential for all countries, including the poorest, to reap the benefits of globalisation. • “Corporate governance” comprises the institutions that govern the relationship between people who manage corporations and all others who...

. Deeply rooted social institutions – societal norms, codes of conduct, laws and tradition – cause gender discrimination. . Religion per se does not systematically define such discrimination. All dominant religions show flexibility in interpreting the role of women in society. . The...

Poor countries are and will remain for some time vulnerable to external shocks, whether to export prices or from natural disasters. The lowest-income countries have a higher incidence of shocks than other developing countries and tend to suffer larger damages when shocks occur. For the poorest...

• Trade barriers seriously distort patterns of international trade, allocation of resources, and economic growth. The total economic costs of the barriers are estimated to exceed $475 billion per annum • Partial reform, such as envisaged in the Uruguay Round, would yield benefits of $195...

• Participation by civil society in public expenditure management promises to improve social and economic outcomes while increasing confidence in public institutions. • Participatory budgeting (PB) programmes depend on the effective engagement of three key domestic stakeholders: governments,...

Managing migration has become a priority for policy makers both in developed and developing countries; it is a difficult challenge indeed. Large immigration or emigration flows relative to domestic population’s impact on almost all aspects of an economy and society: family structures,...

In the history of adjustment, concern with the political aspects appeared only after long reflection. At the beginning of the 1980s, given the urgency of the financial crises afflicting many developing countries, the only thought was to restore macroeconomic balances, particularly the balance of...