June 2010
In the developing world the implications of urban development for overall economic prosperity are not well known. Raj Desai explores the political-economy of urban poverty and examines several pathologies of political life for the urban poor in the developing world.
June 2010
With most of the future population growth in developing countries likely to take place in urban areas, the share of the urban poor among all poor in developing countries is expected to continue rising and will likely reach 50 percent around 2030. Johannes Linn explores options for research on urban poverty in developing countries, finding that there are many new issues and approaches that need now be considered.
May 2010
Improved urban infrastructure, for water supply, sanitation, urban transportation and solid waste management is widely believed essential in encouraging and facilitating economic growth. James Alm, dean of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, explores the "demand-side" aspect of infrastructure and issues involved in providing additional infrastructure spending that is needed to provide basic services.
May 2010
Urban population growth and economic growth require cities to expand into the agricultural land on their periphery. Urban planner Alain Bertaud examines the proper role of government in urban land development and proposes an agenda for action to address the issues of urban expansion.
April 2010
Child development in Cuba after the revolution greatly improved due to the government's decision to invest heavily in education services. In this case study, project consultant, Alfredo R. Tinajero, attempts to answer a number of questions regarding the implementation and expansion of the Educate Your Child Program in Cuba between 1992 and 1998.
April 2010
The South African government has increasingly recognised the significance of investment in early childhood development services of different kinds to help address the rights and needs of all children. This case study, written by project consultant Linda Biersteker, tracks the development of the policy environment leading to the introduction of Grade R, the Reception Year for five year olds, in the years of transition to democracy in South Africa and its subsequent rollout towards universal provision originally set for 2010/11 but recently revised to 2014.
March 2010
Cities are central to efforts in tackling poverty and vital to economic growth. This capacity to create positive change suggests that the urban development agenda would be a natural draw for the international development community. Homi Kharas, Laurence Chandy, and Joshua Hermias review what has been happening with external assistance for urban development and examine urban development in the broader context of changes in the global aid architecture.
October 2009
Official Development Aid grew significantly from 1992 to 2006; and transformed from mostly humanitarian aid and food assistance to financing the reforms and development of Tajikistan. In this case study, Rustam Aminjanov, Matin Kholmatov, and Firuz Kataev present Tajikistan's perspective of, experiences with, and challenges to foreign aid.
October 2009
Rapid growth in private development aid raises a host of questions regarding the allocation of aid and its selectivity across recipient countries. Raj Desai and Homi Kharas analyze giving patterns from two large, internet-based non-profit organizations and discuss the need for private and official aid partnerships.
August 2009
Pakistan has historically received large volumes of aid but it has also faced an increasingly difficult task of aid coordination. Abdul Malik examines aid quality and discusses its implication for the coordination and effectiveness of aid.
July 2009
The dilemma of what to do about aid fragmentation remains a challenge. In a new working paper, Johannes Linn discusses comprehensive approaches to aid coordination and how joint country assistance strategies could be an effective strategy.
April 2009
International aid has significantly impacted Ethiopia's development initiatives since the end of World War II, and Ethiopia has been a major recipient of foreign aid in recent times. Project consultant Getnet Alemu examines the country’s aid flows—predominantly assisting Ethiopia's health sector—and argues that although aid has been instrumental in the country's development, donor coordination has been challenging.
January 2009
Because foreign aid to Kenya is highly volatile and fragmented, efforts are being made to coordinate and harmonize aid allocations. Project consultant Francis M. Mwega analyzes these efforts and focuses on the health sector to compare and contrast trends and experiences. This case study highlights the innovations and competencies that have developed over time to respond to the challenges in development aid.
December 2008
Cambodia received over $5 billion in development assistance within the past decade, yet the country faces unpredictable donor flows and duplication of technical cooperation and funding for more than 400 donor missions. Ek Chanboreth and Sok Hach from the Economic Institute of Cambodia analyze these challenges and the government’s actions to strengthen aid coordination and management systems—most notably by developing an online database to better coordinate official development assistance.
November 2008
On December 26, 2004, an earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami killed more than 150,000 people and displaced an estimated 700,000 inhabitants in Aceh, Indonesia. With unprecedented damage to the region, Aceh received an influx of aid and assistance—the largest reconstruction program in the developing world at the time. Project consultants Harry Masyrafah and Jock MJA McKeon analyze the aid effectiveness by examining the international community’s response to the disaster, challenges in reconstruction, and coordination of the aid agencies involved.
October 2008
Central Asia has attempted to strengthen its regional integration and cooperation since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Johannes Linn and Oksana Pidufala globally examine regional cooperation initiatives and organizations, and analyze functions and performance to draw lessons for the future success of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program.
October 2008
Scaling up—expanding, adapting, and sustaining successful projects, programs, or policies over time—can substantially reduce poverty. To improve the effectiveness of development programs, Arntraud Hartmann and Johannes Linn outline the key aspects that allow for scaling up to occur. This framework includes the implementation phases of development interventions—monitoring, evaluating, planning and effective management. Hartmann and Linn also reflect on lessons learned, case studies, and implications for aid and aid donors.
July 2008
Aid volatility, caused by various reasons including shifts in the donor’s economic and political landscape, can negatively affect development growth. Homi Kharas measures the cost of aid volatility using a financial metric, which if used by policymakers, can create a better system of aid flows and effective development. At times, recipient countries can incur negative income shocks, and Kharas calculates that in recent years about 16 billion USD in development assistance has been lost to aid volatility.
November 2007
Antipoverty programs can significantly increase developing countries' incomes by means of "scaling up" small-scale programs Raj Desai, Brookings Visiting Fellow at the Wolfensohn Center for Development, explains. Desai provides insight as to how small development programs can expand over time and across geography while overcoming political and institutional challenges.
November 2007
By examining the trends in aid flows and the changing aid architecture, Homi Kharas, Brookings Visiting Fellow at the Wolfensohn Center for Development, discusses the shortfalls in the dissemination of billions of dollars in development assistance.