2009
August 2009
The debate between theorists and practitioners on monetary policy challenges for emerging market economies continues. This paper by Brookings expert Eswar Prasad, Gill Hammond, and Ravi Kanbur addresses the dialogue between academics and policymakers on this issue and sets an agenda for further research.
May 2009
The financial crisis has re-ignited the debate about the merits of financial globalization and its implications for growth, especially for developing countries. In a new paper, Eswar Prasad and co-authors present a framework for certain economic “thresholds,” such as institutional quality, that once met, can increase the benefits of financial openness.
April 2009
In a new working paper, Eswar Prasad and co-authors examine the economic policies that can help developing countries manage the process of financial globalization and recommend a tailored approach to balance the risks and benefits of financial integration.
January 2009
There is a vast empirical literature analyzing the impact of financial openness on economic growth but far less attention has been paid to its effects on productivity growth. This is surprising given the strong evidence that productivity growth is the main driver of long-term economic growth. In a new working paper, Eswar Prasad, along with M. Ayhan Kose and Marco E. Terrones, argues that financial openness in fact has a positive impact on productivity growth, although the effects are subtle.
January 2009
A long line of work emphasizes the correlation between institutions and economic performance. In a new working paper, Peter Blair Henry and Conrad Miller explore this relationship on two Caribbean islands and how economic policy decisions can have permanent effect on a country's general economic well being.
2008
December 2008
Africa’s resource boom offers the hope of economic growth to many countries on the continent but how can governments ensure that natural resources fuel long-term growth rather than become a curse? In a new working paper, John Page discusses how natural resource wealth can be an effective driver of growth for Africa.
December 2008
In China, the household savings rate rose by 7 percent from 1995 to 2005, reflecting savings of about one quarter of disposable income. Why are Chinese households saving so much across all demographic groups? In a new paper, Eswar Prasad and Marcos Chamon analyze the savings patterns of households in China and discuss the economic drivers.
December 2008
Lex Rieffel and James Fox propose seven recommendations the next administration can take to strengthen the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which they call one of the best innovations of the George W. Bush presidency. However, severe budget constraints and the MCC’s inability to show results could jeopardize the agency’s existence.
November 2008
The global financial crisis underscores the importance of developing global climate change policies that can withstand major economic disruptions. In a new working paper, Warwick McKibbin, Adele Morris, and Peter Wilcoxen examine the effects of unexpected economic shocks on three potential climate change policy regimes.
October 2008
In a new working paper, William Easterly examines Western efforts to “save Africa” through development policies and interventions. He assesses the performance of aid efforts to date and examines successes and failures.
September 2008
Sixty years following the creation of the IMF and the World Bank, the nature of global financial, emerging markets and poverty aid has changed dramatically. Lex Rieffel argues that if the institutions were to be created today they would be structured differently and located outside of Washington. His case and recommendations for reform are contained in a new working paper.
August 2008
The need for U.S. economic leadership continues despite a global financial crisis, and new and emerging economic powers. But while the need for U.S. leadership in the global economy is clear, the capacity is less so. In a paper prepared for the Aspen Strategy Group in August 2008, Lael Brainard and David Lipton explore the changing context for US international economic leadership, review economic goals, and discuss the adequacy of the instruments available for pursuing those goals.
August 2008
In “What Does a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific Mean to China,” the latest installment of the Brookings Global Economy and Development working paper series, Tingsong Jiang, Senior Economist at the Centre for International Economics in Australia, and Warwick J. McKibbin, Nonresident Senior Fellow in Global Economy and Development, assert it is in China’s interest to actively liberalize trade in the Asia-Pacific region.
July 2008
Climate change may be the key obstacle in preventing China from reaching equivalent living standards with the Western world. Warwick McKibbin, Peter Wilcoxen, and Wing Thye Woo analyze the future of international climate change agreements and offer recommendations on how to engage China, continue growth and establish an effective framework.
June 2008
In this new working paper on the best (and worst) practices in foreign aid, Easterly and Pfutze compare 48 bilateral and multilateral aid agencies across five dimensions and rank the agencies according to these criteria of “best practice.”
March 2008
In new research, Peter Blair Henry shows the benefits of stock market opening for developing countries.
March 2008
William Easterly and Yaw Nyarko discuss the costs and benefits of brain drain for African countries.
January 2008
In a new Global working paper, Raj Desai and co-author Anders Olofsgård examines cronyism, specifically focusing on the competitiveness of politically favored firms, and finding that influential firms do innovate and invest less.
January 2008
William Easterly, with co-authors Shanker Satyanath and Daniel Berger, tackle the impact of superpower interventions on democracy, examining the type of effect of the intervention and whether it matters whether the superpower is democratic or authoritarian.
2007
December 2007
In a new Global working paper, Jessica Cohen studies malaria prevention efforts in detail, analyzing whether free distribution or cost-sharing of anti-malarial insecticide-treated nets in Kenya affects prevention of the disease.
November 2007
U.S. policymakers and presidential hopefuls often express concern over the large and growing U.S.-China trade deficit and propose solutions, including appreciation of the yuan, to help resolve it. Yet, what are the real economic issues underlying the trade deficit and what policies would help successfully resolve it?
November 2007
In a new Brookings Global working paper, William Easterly analyzes the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and argues that the initial definitions of “success” or “failure” have made attainment of the MGDs less likely in Africa than in other regions.
October 17, 2007
Leonardo Martinez-Diaz examines if the influence of developing countries has been strengthened after eight years of participation in the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G-20).
October 2007
This working paper by William Easterly shows that the record on aid agencies indicates little evidence of progress in response to political changes, experience or new knowledge.
September 2007
A Working Paper by William Easterly (September 2007)
July 01, 2007
This scoping study has two principle objectives. It provides a summary of current poverty reduction strategies of US and UK-based international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) with a special emphasis on the underlying frameworks that form the basis of their development interventions.
June 2007
For countries to engage successfully in the international trading system, their industries, firms, and workers must respond continually to new conditions of competition.
March 23, 2007
Following years of economic stagnation, Nigeria embarked on a comprehensive reform program during the second term of the Obasanjo administration. In a new working paper Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Philip Osafo-Kwaako review Nigeria's recent experience with economic reforms and outlines major policy measures that have been implemented.
February 2007
Poor countries are rarely challenged in formal WTO trade disputes for failing to live up to commitments, reducing the benefits of their participation in international trade agreements. This paper examines the political-economic causes of the failure to challenge poor countries and discusses the static and dynamic costs and externality implications of this failure. Given the weak incentives to enforce WTO rules and disciplines against small and poor members, bolstering the transparency function of the WTO is important to make trade agreements more relevant to trade constituencies in developing countries. While our focus is on the WTO system, our arguments also apply to reciprocal North-South trade agreements
January 01, 2007
Dictatorships do not survive by repression alone. Rather, dictatorial rule is often explained as an "authoritarian bargain" by which citizens relinquish political rights for economic security. The applicability of the authoritarian bargain to decision-making in non-democratic states, however, has not been thoroughly examined.
2006
December 19, 2006
From Sierra Leone to Tajikistan and Indonesia's Aceh Province, civil war has erupted in countries suffering from persistent poverty or sharp economic decline, further crippling fragile economies, depleting resources and claiming millions of innocent
November 2006
Writings on the macroeconomic impact of capital account liberalization find few, if any, robust effects of liberalization on real variables. In contrast to the prevailing wisdom, I argue that the textbook theory of liberalization holds up quite well to a critical reading of this literature.
November 2006
This working paper provides a brief introduction to asset-based approaches to poverty reduction in a globalized context. The aim is to show the added value of asset-based approaches, in terms of both better understanding poverty and developing more appropriate long-term poverty reduction solutions.