Political Economy in a Bad Economy
As the world struggles to recover from the financial crisis, developing and developed countries alike depend on effective finance ministries and their associated central finance agencies (CFAs) to help…
Small Is Beautiful in Job Creation
Investing more on roads, bridges and schools is an essential part of President Obama's American Jobs Act. If this is important in the current U.S. context, the role of…
Food Prices and the 7 Billionth Baby
Turmoil is not solely circumscribed to Wall Street and stock markets around the world. Volatility is also affecting global food prices, and with them, millions of people in developing…
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Market volatility, fears of a double-dip, lack of investor confidence and social demonstrations from Wall Street to Main Streets around the world are just some of the headlines we…
Gender and Trade
Gender inequality and discrimination can affect many areas of life, from a women’s access to basic health services to her prospects for education and future earnings. Accordingly, in order…
Remittances Rebound but Pressures Persist
Remittances, or the money migrant workers send home to their countries of origin, are finally recovering to pre-crisis levels. In 2010, remittance flows to developing countries reached $325 billion,…
Picking Up The Pieces
For the 600 million people living in fragile and conflict affected economies, the threat of relapsing into violence and slipping into deeper poverty is a reality they must face…
The Day After Tomorrow: Commodities And Uncomfortable Natural Riches
Commodity prices are experiencing a lot of volatility right now, with food and oil prices nearing record highs. But what about the medium-term? The answer is fundamental for developing…
How Human Rights Have Contributed to Development
The last 20 years have seen a growing engagement between development and human rights practitioners. But are we still mainly talking past each other? Or has there been valuable…
Delivering Aid Differently
There has been an ongoing debate on the future need for foreign aid—a debate made ever more crucial by the current budget constraints in many countries as a result…
How Public Spending Can Help You Grow
Last week’s State of the Union underscored the debate surrounding public spending as a measure to stimulate economic growth. President Barrack Obama argued that to “win the future” the…
Risky Growth Engines
While the rich world puts its post-crisis house in order, developing countries as a whole are becoming the new engine of global growth. But switching locomotives is never free of risk.
Can Developing Countries Continue to Lead Global Growth?
Developing countries are emerging as the new engine of global growth, but this success has led to new challenges that policy makers must overcome if their countries are to continue driving the world economy forward.
How Do Women Weather Economic Shocks?
From the Latin American Debt crises to East Asia’s financial sector turmoil, past macroeconomic shocks have traditionally affected women differently than men. Such asymmetries are even more evident in…
The Day After Tomorrow: If You Want To Grow, Learn
Why is it that some countries are more developed than others? A country is “less developed” not only because it lack inputs (labor and capital) but because it uses…