Catalyzing Development

Some may dispute the effectiveness of aid. But few would disagree that aid delivered to the right source and in the right way can help poor and fragile countries develop. It can be a catalyst, but not a driver of development. Aid now operates in an arena with new players, such as middle-income countries, private philanthropists, and the business community; new challenges presented by fragile states, capacity development, and climate change; and new approaches, including transparency, scaling up, and South-South cooperation. The next High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness must determine how to organize and deliver aid better in this environment.

Catalyzing Development proposes ten actionable game-changers to meet these challenges based on in-depth, scholarly research. It advocates for these to be included in a Busan Global Development Compact in order to guide the work of development partners in a flexible and differentiated manner in the years ahead.

Contributors: Kemal Dervis (Brookings Institution), Shunichiro Honda (JICA Research Institute), Akio Hosono (JICA Research Institute), Johannes F. Linn (Emerging Markets Forum and Brookings Institution), Ryutaro Murotani (JICA Research Institute), Jane Nelson (Harvard Kennedy School and Brookings Institution), Mai Ono (JICA Research Institute), Kang-ho Park (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Korea), Tony Pipa (U.S. Agency for International Development), Sarah Puritz Milsom (Brookings Institution), Hyunjoo Rhee (Korea International Cooperation Agency), Mine Sato (JICA Research Institute), Shinichi Takeuchi (JICA Research Institute), Keiichi Tsunekawa (JICA Research Institute), Ngaire Woods (University College, Oxford), Sam Worthington (InterAction)

Homi Kharas is a senior fellow and deputy director of Global Economy and Development at the Brookings Institution. Koji Makino is the senior adviser to the director general in the Operations Strategy Department at the Japan International Cooperation Organization (JICA). Woojin Jung is a policy analyst at the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).