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The effectiveness of foreign aid in stimulating economic development is a topic of intense debate in the scientific community and among policy analysts. Numerous empirical studies are devoted to investigating the impact of foreign aid on the economic growth/development of recipient countries. This study reviews the literature relevant to this debate using the bibliometric data of scholarly papers in the Scopus database. Our intention is to identify the trends of publications, their geographical distribution and the most influential journals, authors and articles in this field of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most aspects of the argument of the UK government's 2000 White Paper on globalization and development stand up reasonably well to the findings of subsequent research. But there is significant new evidence in two areas: the size of the contribution of institutions to growth; and the complexity of the effects of increased openness on poor people. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NGOs have, by and large, given a warm welcome to the new UK White Paper on International Development. But, after 20 years of political marginalization, is the development community too easily satisfied? This article argues that the White Paper does mark a welcome break from the previous Conservative approach with a number of commendable policy ideas. The document overall, however, still contains important flaws, particularly in areas where the Treasury will have inevitably played a critical role. If DFID and the new Secretary of State can take credit for the best of the White Paper's contents then her Cabinet colleagues are the obvious culprits for the worst. This article argues that NGOs can play a constructive role by recognizing the weaknesses of the Paper and undertaking to help in building the public constituency for further, and more fundamental, change. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the implications of the strong poverty focus in the new White Paper for advancing gender equality. Recognizing that there are efficiency arguments in its focus on poor women and some dangers in too rigid a link being made between gender and poverty, it is argued that an equity and empowerment focus nevertheless inform the gender and poverty nexus. This does not necessarily imply that women's subordination is adequately dealt with. Making gender a cross-cutting issue in human rights goes some way towards escaping an anti-poverty approach to women. However, this does not automatically address gender relations and there are some contradictions even within the human rights focus itself. Beyond the principles of the White Paper, the real potential for promoting women's empowerment and advancing gender equity lies in its practice. The commitment to building partnerships needs to be extended to gender equitable partnerships which imply developing skills and new forms of practice among all partners to accommodate the participation of poor women, and recognising that accountability is a two-way street. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Labour government's new White Paper promises great changes in the British aid programme: re-focusing aid on poverty reduction, partnerships replacing one-sided conditionalities, and policy coherence so that the broad gamut of British policies in areas as diverse as agriculture, trade and investment are in line with the needs of international development. However, the Paper is stronger on broad policy statements than detail as to how to implement these strategies. Moreover, an examination of the history of British aid shows continuity to have been greater than change. Both Labour and Conservative governments have presided over cuts in UK aid, and so instead pointed to the high quality of British aid. But efforts to improve aid quality have been impeded by the use of aid to achieve political and commercial objectives. Whether the White Paper represents a break with the past cannot be determined by the Paper's brave rhetoric, but only by the future actions of the Department for International Development. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the perspective of the Independent Group on British Aid (IGBA) 1997 White Paper on International Development. Measures for which the IGBA has been campaigning since the publication of "Real Aid: A Strategy for Britain," in 1982; Significance of the White Paper; Advice from the group regarding the White Paper on International Development.

The White Paper signals a clear, strong and comprehensive commitment by the British government to use its aid and influence to help poor people. It spells out a range of specific aims to benefit and empower the poor and especially women. It endorses a new powerful concept of partnership with its own commitments to partners and it specifies the implications of any lack of commitment by them to poverty reduction. Unfortunately there is no systematic exposition of the changes in policies required to achieve pro-poor growth; there are ambiguities about targeting and no lessons are drawn about what has worked well in its own past interventions. DFID appears to want to ‘go it alone’ with little indication of the collective efforts (including other donors) required to achieve these ambitious goals. Nevertheless, the agency has organizational strengths to achieve its new strategy which gives confidence that more precise operational strategies will be devised and pursued with conviction in the coming years. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the White Paper from the rural perspective. It notes that very little attention is paid in the text to natural resources spending. However the text does provide some indication of the direction in which rural development policy within DFID might evolve. In particular it can be expected that the scope of rural interventions will expand to embrace a more holistic concept of rural livelihoods. This has several implications which DFID must address in the near future if this important opportunity for reorientation is not to be lost. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1997 White Paper on international development is the first such policy statement since 1975. Comparison of the two thus gives us an opportunity for assessing how official thinking and politics in the UK have responded to the many changes that have occurred in the meantime. This article first compares the views of the two papers on the nature of development and of the poverty problem; and then compares the treatment of EC/EU issues. Neither Paper was just about aid. We conclude that WP75 appears comparatively narrow in focus and unsophisticated in its appreciation of the problems addressed, but is better at taking a strategic view and more forthcoming about specifics. What WP97 gains in the breadth and sophistication of its appreciation of problems it loses in detachment from reality and retreat from specifics. Its treatment of EU issues is surprisingly laconic. But overall WP97—in its various forms—is more accessible and decidedly more populist. It has already been disseminated to a far wider audience than WP75 ever reached. Its success is in simplifying a world which development officials know has grown more complex; its failing is that they seem unsure about specifically how their influence and modest resources can best be applied to improving it. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK Government published a new White Paper on International Development in November 1997. The White Paper sets out the UK Government's vision and new policies for the elimination of international poverty; it explains the new objectives and strategy for the Department for International Development and details the new objective of ensuring that all UK Government policies take account of their impact on sustainable development. This article summarizes the content of the White Paper and discusses in detail some of the issues involved in operationalizing the policies. It looks particularly at the new proposals for partnership between UK Government and developing countries and explores some of the implications of policies to support pro-poor economic growth. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides an overview of the research on the implementation of the new public management in developing countries. Purpose of the research; Modes of organizational reform; List of papers published in the research program.

There is a widespread perception among academic researchers and aid practitioners alike that empirical cross-country analysis fails to find any significant link between aid flows and growth, and that aid is successful only when associated with good policies in the recipient countries. These positions do not stand up to careful scrutiny of existing studies. In this paper, we offer a re-examination of the literature on the aid–savings, aid–investment, and aid–growth relationships, and a comparative appraisal of more recent research contributions. Using an analytic framework for evaluating the empirical work, a coherent and positive picture of the aid–growth link emerges. There is a robust aid–growth link even in countries hampered by an unfavourable policy environment. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores whether Ethiopia's rapid economic growth is transformative enough for the country to eventually catch up with high‐income countries. It does so by exploring the change and continuity of four elements of social capability from 1950 to 2020: structural transformation, economic inclusion and the state's autonomy and accountability. It finds that Ethiopia's social capability modestly strengthened until the mid‐1970s, then weakened until the early 2000s, and has since strengthened again. However, the level of inclusion has been persistently low. In conclusion, although there are grounds for optimism, limited economic inclusion is a key concern for future catch‐up growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is argued that the civil war which erupted in Nepal in the mid 1990s had its seeds sown five decades ago when the country embarked on the economic development plan which placed a heavy emphasis on an urban-based import-substitution strategy. This strategy failed to benefit 86 per cent of the population who live in rural areas and rely on agriculture. This, together with poor governance, significantly increased unemployment, poverty and rural–urban inequality by the mid 1990s, leading to the eruption of civil war. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the socio‐economic dynamics that, in the Colombian case, underlie the relationship between mining and the territory where it takes place. The description includes the key features of public policy regarding mining, under which mineral resource extraction may have produced unintended effects that raise doubts regarding mining's contribution to Colombian economic development. Under a qualitative approach, I carried out a documentary analysis from which I identified several aspects of the economic and mining policy. The analysis confirms several of the explanations for the so‐called resource curse hypothesis, the connection between these aspects, and of them with specific policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considers the conceptual underpinnings, the objectives and instrument of regional social protection (SP) strategy used by the World Bank (WB) in its regional development projects. Activities covered by the lending and non-lending schemes by the WB in the SP area; Analysis of the risks arising from the globalization of trade in goods, services, and factors of production; Advantages to using social risk management as the analytical framework for SP; Reasons for the World Bank's concern with social risk management.

The Labour government's White Paper is welcome as it builds firmly on the policies of the previous Conservative administration. In particular, the four aims of aid policy laid out in the Fundamental Expenditure Review—support for sound political and economic policies, promotion of stronger health and education services, encouragement of sustainable development, and a commitment to work with our international partners to alleviate poverty and to provide disaster relief—are all confirmed in the White Paper. The White Paper's support for this agenda represents some U-turns, for example with respect to the relationship to the IMF, a possible social clause in the WTO and the position on the quantity and quality of British aid. However, there are also areas of confusion created by some of Labour's statements on aid policy that the White Paper does little to resolve—such as the relationship between DFID and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (including the respective roles of the Know-How Fund and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy), the role of NGOs, and the future of mixed credits. While the White Paper is welcome, the real test lies in Labour's future performance, which will have to be carefully scrutinized. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Policy Arena examines some of the development challenges faced by SIDS. It brings together a collection of papers arising from the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) project [Fragility and Development]. These investigations were presented at the UNU-WIDER project meeting held in Lautaka, Fiji in December 2006. The Policy Arena contains four studies that look, respectively, at various aspects of trade, foreign direct investment, aid and remittances, and migration, focusing on countries in the Pacific and the Caribbean. This introduction briefly describes the papers and distills some key messages for development policy. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent economic relations including foreign assistance scenario in Africa show expansion of China and India as emerging bilateral partners, competing with traditional countries in Europe and North America. The results of this paper found that the relationship of China and India with Zimbabwe has resulted in several challenges including increasing resource‐backed debt burden, exploitation of the natural resources, and flouting of constitutional, environmental, and labor provisions. The paper recommends that the Zimbabwean government must demand loans and investments that are contracted under clear terms and conditions, with parliamentary oversight and public scrutiny to avoid abuse by the elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Special Issue comes from the Development Studies Association (DSA) 30th Anniversary conference in 2008. The theme was ‘Development's Invisible Hands’, focusing on the forces likely to influence global change and re-shape development agendas over the next 30 years. The first section comprises brief invited thinkpieces mainly from DSA past presidents. Interestingly, while some focus on Adam Smith's original ‘invisible hand’ analogy and others discuss a range of non-market issues, several invoke Karl Polanyi on the limitations of market society. The second and third sections consist, respectively, of ‘synthesis’ papers on parallel panel themes and papers developed from the best panel presentations. The papers demonstrate the range of issues raised by questioning the future of development and development studies—while the limitations of future gazing are pointed up by the unexpected challenge to current development models presented since the conference by the global financial crisis. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues strongly in favour of a re-examination of the term 'sustainability' in international development research, policy and practice. It demonstrates that the term is understood pluralistically, being both environmental and economic. Within economic interpretations, this paper identifies three clear understandings of 'sustainability', which effect programme design and, ultimately, their impact on poverty significantly. The paper argues that the ramifications of this definition go far beyond semantics and have a significant impact on the development outcomes realised by programmes that incorporate the term. Having evaluated these conceptions, the paper argues for sustainability in development as being interventions that alter the causes of poverty so that the process through which change occurs is improved in an adaptive and permanent way, a permanent increase in adaptability. Evidence is drawn from a review of the literature and policy documentation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tracks the financial growth in Tunisia over the period 1984–2016 with a special focus on the shadow economy. Using Tanzi's measures, we worked on a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model to test the impact of the informal economy. The results suggest that the long‐run effect of the financial growth becomes negative if there is a positive change in the shadow economy and the opposite holds. While changes in the shadow economy have no significant influence on the links between financial development and economic growth in the short run, they play a significant role in the Tunisian economy in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides the theoretical and empirical context to the papers contained in this special issue. We provide background on the recent developed country financial crisis and perspective via a review of prior shocks and crises. The paper then considers the transmission mechanisms through which economic crises can affect economies and individuals in the developing world. The linkages centre on trade, capital flows and remittances. This section also critically surveys the literature concerning the macroeconomic and microeconomic impact of such crises on developing countries. Finally, we review the papers that comprise the special issue, before providing some policy conclusions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The link between gender inequality and economic growth is a topic that is of growing interest, both in the academic literature and the policy arena. In this paper, we survey the literature that analyses this relationship from a macroeconomic perspective. We argue that that the existing theories provide a wide range of mechanisms through which these two variables may affect each other but also that more work needs to be carried out to obtain quantitative predictions out of these models. In the empirical arena, we note the lack of connection between most studies and the existing theories described earlier. In both cases, we propose approaches to alleviate these problems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The old aid architecture is being replaced by a more complex and diverse landscape of development cooperation in which there are new actors, new approaches and attempts to create an overarching architecture which, by embracing all, is expected to be more developmentally effective. The papers in this special issue address different aspects of the new landscape. This paper provides an overview of the landscape and summarizes the findings of the papers. It argues that they show that the new development cooperation landscape is characterized by both vibrant dynamism and systemic inertia and that to achieve progress in development cooperation, more support needs to be given to bottom-up processes of change which can generate effective development outcomes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principal objective of international development policy as implied by the title of the 1997 White Paper on International Development: Eliminating World Poverty, is to improve the quality of life of the majority of people in developing countries. This objective implies that aid should be directed at, and guided by the interests of, the poor in developing countries with the objective of promoting development. Such an objective is often undermined in practice because other interests affect aid policy or other policies affect aid practice. This paper addresses the proposals relating to the accommodation of business interests in aid policy, in particular measures regarding tying, and the consistency between aid policy and policies regarding trade, agriculture and investment. In spite of many high sounding statements on the aspirations and intentions of international development policy, we conclude that there is little in the White Paper to suggest that there will be any appreciable changes in British aid policy in the next few years. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-2015 moment is a moment in time in which multiple efforts are being made to envision a better long-term future for humanity and to forge, post-2015, a new and different global development trajectory. There is a need for not only new global goals but also a new global development paradigm. The papers in this special issue assess the Sustainable Development Goals in the making and offer constructive suggestions to further a paradigm shift that would bring the post-2015 development agenda to life in a transformative way rather than sustain business as usual. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The private sector, after shifting fortunes in development theory and practice over the years, is now widely recognised as the key to economic growth, which itself is indispensable for poverty reduction. The Development Studies Association (DSA) Annual Conference in 2006 brought together academics, private sector actors, NGOs and policy makers to share insights and experiences on how this vital contribution to growth, development and poverty reduction can be realised. This paper summarises the main themes and discussions of the conference and introduces the papers selected for inclusion in this conference issue. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper surveys five decades of empirical research on the macroeconomic impact of aid, looking mainly at studies examining the link between aid and growth. It argues that studies dating until the late 1990s produced either contradictory or inconclusive results. Aid either worked, or it didn't, according to this research. The paper then highlights a major shift in the literature that coincided with the release of the World Bank's Assessing Aid: What Works, What Doesn't and Why. Practically, all research published since that report agrees with its general finding that aid works to the extent that in its absence, growth would be lower. One controversy may therefore have been settled. Yet, as shown in this paper, the report has set-off an intense debate over the context in which aid works. That debate centres on whether the effectiveness of these inflows depends on the policy regime of recipient countries. Some possible avenues through which the heat might be taken out of this debate are considered. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how development studies teachers in Japan are caught between Western and Eastern discourses of development amidst the changing political and economic realities unfolding in East Asia. The generally weak involvement of anthropologists in development studies teaching results in the preoccupation of Japan's development community with the task of uncovering the country's unique development experience distinct from the Western countries'. The paper argues that development studies institutions in Japan should become more sensitised to their identity as a source of discourse and that students doing development studies there should be taught to discern the competing Eastern and Western discourses of international development. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses how political settlements can help deepen our understanding of how underlying rules of the game and power relations shape patterns of inclusion and exclusion, and prospects for political, social and economic transformation. Drawing on insights from a growing body of research in the area of the politics of development, the paper explores what kinds of factors have helped to foster more inclusive institutions across the developing world. By way of conclusion, it offers reflections on how a political settlement approach can enable donors to engage more effectively in efforts to foster progressive change. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the analysis of growth using cross-country/ state growth regressions. The paper uses the example of state level growth in India and a case study of the growth experience of the state of Kerala in the 1990s. In practise empirical results using cross-country/ state growth regressions remain disappointing. Orthodox analysis tends to stop with the assumption that it is only an empirical problem. This paper goes on to show that there are also theoretical and finally methodological-ideological problems why empirical results are poor. Each successive problem is engaged with by fewer and fewer researchers. In conclusion, this paper makes a case for the greater use of country case studies. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to estimate China's net foreign aid from 2001 to 2013 as compared with net official development assistance (ODA) figures, which the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) customarily uses. First, a practical definition to capture China's foreign aid activities as a proxy for China's ODA was proposed. Second, both net and gross disbursements of China's foreign aid were estimated. Third, the results were compared with DAC members' ODA; China's donor ranking has moved up from 16th in 2001 to 6th in 2012 and 2013. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the location decisions and geographical expansion of microfinance institutions (MFIs) across Peru. To this end, econometric analyses are performed on a self-constructed dataset that covers MFI presence and expansion in the 1832 districts of Peru, and this for 39 MFIs and 13 commercial banks over the period 2001-2008. The paper shows that Peruvian MFIs have expanded considerably during the last decade. MFIs especially increase access in districts with higher levels of development and therefore seem to follow principally a commercial logic. Districts with banks have also a higher probability of an MFI opening. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the aid allocation behaviours of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors and their response to the emergence of China in the aid landscape. Our analysis presents evidences of donors' competition in Africa. We investigate whether African countries with the Chinese influence expanding receive favourable aid modalities from G7 donors over the period 2000-2011. We find a robust positive relationship between the level of aid and the number of China projects a country receives and the level of bilateral aid from G7 donors, even after accounting for standard economic and political factors. Results indicate that DAC donors use bilateral aid to tackle the increasing influence of China in Africa, by delivering more aid to countries with natural resources or strategic political interest. The paper also assesses empirically whether strategic interests and economic competition between DAC donors and China have influenced the composition of aid flows received by African countries. Our empirical strategy is sharpened by the use of a spatial-X model and a difference-in-difference estimation that leverages a 'natural' experiment in DAC aid flows in the aftermath of the financial crisis, with China increasing his sphere of influence in Africa. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent surge in African economic growth rates associated with the rise in commodity prices have led to renewed interest in the role of resources in economic growth. Africa has multiple economic and social needs, infrastructure being one of them. The resource sector is contributing towards growth of investments in infrastructure, but how effective this contribution is to wider development goals needs to be chronicled. This paper examines two vectors of interaction between infrastructure and commodities: first, the direct provision of infrastructure for commodity extraction; second, the use of resource rents for infrastructure spending. This paper emphasises the policy need to align infrastructure spending with development needs, rather than building transport networks per se. We find there are positive indications that such recognition exists on a policy level, and there are partial successes. However, more needs to be carried out to ensure sub-Saharan Africa can benefit from its infrastructure spending in relation to the commodity sector. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper bridges two related, but up to now, unconnected literatures: economic growth stability and population-economic growth. The paper differs from previous population-economic growth analyses by focusing on instability of economic growth in developing countries. This study contributes to a previous paper on the developing country growth collapse by adding important demographic variables. The paper provides an explanation for 'new' negative correlations of population and economic growth: because 1960s were a relatively smooth time for economic growth, youth dependency did not seem important; however, during turbulent 1970s and 1980s, countries with falling dependency burdens weathered economic shocks better. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial introduces the three papers in this Policy Arena on the contribution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to development. Contribution in terms of technology diffusion and use – especially of mobile phones – is easy to detect. But focus has only recently shifted along the ‘ICT-for-development value chain’ from these indicators of ICT readiness and availability, to the question of development impact. In part, the absence or poor quality of ICT impact assessment to date derives from its lack of conceptual foundations. This editorial maps out the intellectual roots of the emerging sub-discipline of ‘development informatics’ to show where such foundations may come from. It also summarises the conceptualised contributions made by each of the Policy Arena papers. The papers draw on models of enterprise value chains, empowerment and Sen's capability theory to demonstrate ICTs' contribution to conceptions of development as economic growth, as sustainable livelihoods, and as freedom. Of course, not all ICT initiatives succeed, and the editorial provides a good practice summary drawn from experiences of success and failure. It moves beyond the perennial call for practitioners and policy makers to incorporate impact assessment as part of this good practice. First, by identifying the need to address motivational and structural issues around impact assessment. Second, by calling on policy makers to be more aware of the transformational potential of ICTs in development; so-called ‘Development 2.0’. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international donor community has grave concerns about the effectiveness of aid to countries it classifies as ‘fragile states’. The impact of aid on growth and poverty reduction and the ability to efficiently absorb additional inflows is thought to be significantly lower in these countries compared to other recipients. This paper examines this issue and suggests that a while a number of fragile states can efficiently absorb more aid than they have received, a number receive far more aid than they can efficiently absorb from a perspective based purely on per capita income growth. Policy recommendations are provided. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent economic performance of Sub Saharan Africa has been very disappointing. Its poverty has many dimensions and causes, both internal and external. This paper focuses on the role of institutions in promoting or hindering economic development in Africa and the implications for doing business on the continent. It questions our understanding of institutions and how they develop and warns against simplistic assumptions in this regard. The paper examines how it is that institutions come to affect economic growth and the characteristics of what makes for good institutions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the extent to which differences in the resources allocated to education explain differences in educational access and performance across countries. Cross-country regression analysis shows that the link between educational access and performance and public education expenditure is weak. The paper suggests that levels of household spending, the effectiveness of the public expenditure management system and the composition of public education spending are important factors explaining this weak link. The results imply that the achievement of the education millennium development goals will require more than just increases in expenditure on primary education. This does not imply that resources are unnecessary, but that increasing resources alone is unlikely to be sufficient. The composition of resources and institutions that govern the use of these resources play a central role in translating resources into better schooling outcomes. A stronger focus on these aspects of education systems will be required if the Millennium Development Goals in education are to be achieved. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the following question: why are we still arguing about globalization? Focus is placed on the conceptual point of departure, ‘globalization’ and its quantification. Differentiation is made between two perspectives on global economic integration: globalization as liberalization versus globalization as internationalism. The former, a policy input, a process of ‘opening’, leading to the latter. The latter, a policy outcome or the end outcome of ‘openness’, possible with or without the former. Selected literature on globalization and growth is discussed using the above criteria, categorizing ‘proponents’ and ‘sceptics’. The question is posed: to what extent differing approaches to conceptualizing globalization are responsible for generating different research findings. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper use both single period cross-section data as well as panel data for the period 1970 to 1990 (largely obtained from version 6.1 of the Penn World Tables) to identify the determinants of Africa's growth in per capita GDP, as well as to evaluate the empirical relevance of recent contributions that stresses the potential importance of geographical vs institutional factors in Africa's growth. The paper further contributes by making use of recent cross-country data on institutional quality and geographical characteristics of African countries. To address the danger of using an inappropriate estimation method, a number of estimation methods was used, namely OLS, LAD, GLS-random effects, fixed effects as well as a dynamic GMM-estimator. The results confirmed that the more efficient and dynamic GMM-estimator is superior and that controlling for unobserved heterogeneity, dynamic effects and endogeneity of the regressors is important. It is concluded that there is conditional convergence in Africa, and that literacy, investment, FDI and urban agglomeration have a significant positive effect on GDP per capita growth in Africa. Growth is negatively affected by government expenditure, settler mortality, malaria, landlockedness and landarea. These results support Acemoglu et al.'s (2001) ‘reversal of fortune’ thesis, namely that settler mortality is inversely related to economic growth. It further suggests that it is not one of either institutions or geography that are more important than the other, but rather that geography may have an important impact on institutions. The robust finding that the incidence of malaria has a particularly large impact on economic growth in Africa supports this conclusion. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development Education (DE) finds a significant part of its public face in England through the activities of local NGOs/Development Education Centres (DECs). DECs have emerged over a period of about 30 years as civil society institutions with little central government support. The creation of a Department for International Development (DFID) in 1997 encouraged fresh engagement with central government. The paper shows how inter-organisational relations deteriorated after 2000 producing disillusion. The paper then reflects on structural reasons for this process and finds clues in how the concept of citizenship has historically emerged. The paper concludes that changing the public face of development education depends on changes in governance in the UK. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do some informal institutions increase in prevalence while other informal institutions decline? We study why dowry deaths have increased with economic development in some Indian states but have decreased in others. We argue that when economic development is low, traditional institutions rather than state institutions govern behaviour. But as economic development increases to a high level, modern formal institutions replace traditional informal institutions. Women are increasingly exploited and murdered over dowry as incomes increase from a low level, but fewer deaths occur as incomes increase from a high level. We test this argument using a dataset of dowry deaths in years 2001–2011 for 32 Indian states and territories. Our paper contributes to understanding how exploitation through informal institutions rises and falls with economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests the effects of the impact of financial globalization on economic growth, examining its interaction with financial instability for a sample of 72 developing countries over the period 1972–2011, using dynamic panel estimator 'two‐step Generalized Method of Moments' (two‐step system GMM). The main results of the paper are the following: (i) financial instability and indebtedness‐globalization decrease growth; (ii) financial globalization and investment‐globalization increase growth; (iii) indebtedness‐globalization increases the effect of financial instability on growth; (iv) investment‐globalization decreases the effect of financial instability on growth; and (vi) financial globalization decreases the effect of financial instability on growth. These results are robust in a set of tests consisting of the insertion of alternative variables of financial instability, the inclusion of new control variables, inter alia an indicator of banking crises, using different time periods, and changing of the composition of the sample. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along the path of economic development, advancement of some groups naturally generates economic disparity in society. The concurrent presence of both winners and losers invariably give rise to the psychologically economic question of how the losers perceive and respond to the benefits of development. The 'tunnel effect' proposed by Hirschman provides valuable insights for understanding the changing tolerance of economic inequality in the process of economic development. This paper critically discusses this proposition, reviews the related literature, and provides possible extensions. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Domestic savings remain low in Ghana despite several attempts to improve this situation. Whereas existing studies on private savings have identified several determinants, the role of financial literacy in saving decisions has not been explored. In this paper, we build on existing studies and provide evidence supporting our hypothesis that financial literacy is key to promoting domestic saving. The study relies mainly on primary data, and the binary probit regression model is employed as the estimation technique. Our results show that improving financial literacy among Ghanaians should be incorporated into the broad policy package aimed at increasing domestic saving which is a prerequisite for investment and subsequently sustainable economic growth. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper quantifies the impact of external aid channelled through a support agency that practises a participatory approach to development. Researchers compiled completed project data collected from the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Agua del Pueblo and discovered a positive relationship between external funding for water development projects and resulting economic development. This paper discusses the importance of water development as a channel for achieving overall economic development and the importance of the participatory approach for community development projects. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Year 2015 is slated as a year of transformation to address unprecedented political, ecological, social, gender and economic inequities. UN negotiations are underway to produce new sustainable development goals (SDGs). The paper argues that ideas matter in the conceptualisation of development agendas, which in turn depend on power constellations within and between the first UN-the member states, the second UN-the UN secretariat and agencies, and the third UN-civil society. The paper tracks past development decades and examines whether the SDGs can and will be as visionary as the UN Charter adopted in 1945, which created moral pressure for institutional and policy change. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]