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This article offers a discursive analysis of the Conservative green paper for international development, published as part of the closely fought election campaign of 2010 that culminated in a UK coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. The article examines the paper in comparison with the discursive shifts represented by the first Department for International Development (DfID) white paper, published by the outgoing Labour administration in 1997. In contrast with the optimistic and globalist developmentalism that characterised Labour's development discourse, the green paper sounds a more cautious note, using empire to focus on Britain's leadership role in poverty alleviation rather than on global progress, and brings back the full force of developmentalism only at the point where it seeks to legitimate spending on security concerns as a development concern. The article then moves on to examine the green paper's most explicit discursive move, the signalling of a 'post-bureaucratic age'. This move towards increased information provision to promote transparency and accountability is likely to signal greater control by powerful donors in securitised times, albeit with a potential re-scaling of responsibility for poverty alleviation to the poorest local communities. Finally, the article looks briefly at information technologies in relation to the transnational spatiality of civil society, arguing that attention needs to be paid to the more embodied forms of transnational association encouraged by the green paper, and to the selection and impacts of information, which need to be seen in the discursive context of wider Conservative constructions of the 'big society'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a paper by Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg and Tristan Reed that explores the role of market size in economic development and poverty reduction. The paper argues that market size is a significant constraint on development and that conventional development policies may not be fully effective. The authors present evidence that supports their perspective and propose measures of market size. However, the article also highlights the potential negative effects of international integration on domestic producers and raises questions about the strong version of the argument. It suggests that other factors, such as macro policies and commodity prices, may have contributed to the recent economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries. The article concludes by discussing the changing global context and the need to focus on domestic demand for sustained economic development. [Extracted from the article]

A more polycentric global development landscape has emerged over the past decade or so, rupturing the formerly dominant North–South axis of power and knowledge. This can be traced through more diversified development norms, institutions, imaginaries and actors. This paper looks at one trend within this turbulent field: namely, the ways in which ‘Northern’ donors appear to be increasingly adopting some of the narratives and practices associated with ‘Southern’ development partners. This direction of travel stands in sharp contrast to expectations in the early new millennium that the (so‐called) ‘traditional’ donors would ‘socialise’ the ‘rising powers’ to become ‘responsible donors’. After outlining important caveats about using such cardinal terms, the paper explores three aspects of this ‘North’ to ‘South’ movement. These are (i) the stronger and more explicit claim to ‘win‐win’ development ethics and outcomes; (ii) the (re)turn from ‘poverty reduction’ to ‘economic growth’ as the central analytic of development; and (iii) related to both, the explicit and deepening blurring and blending of development finances and agendas with trade and investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There is a large and growing literature on the relation between economic growth and poverty reduction. The evidence points to a negative correlation between growth and poverty. However, many studies also find that growth does not mechanically reduce poverty, arguing that in many cases rapid economic growth has not necessarily been pro-poor. This paper uses the concept of 'exit time from poverty' to assess the potential of economic growth to reduce poverty in Benin; thus accelerating the progress of the country toward the achievement of the sustainable development goal of eliminating poverty by 2030. It uses nationally representative household data covering the period 2009-2011 and analyses the impacts of various growth scenarios on poverty. The results show that, with a growth rate in income per capita of 4.2% per year, it will take between 7 and 10 years for the average poor household to escape from poverty. The paper also finds that stronger economic growth leads to shorter average time to exit from poverty. However, there is a lot of heterogeneity in the exit time from poverty, with various households' characteristics such as households' size and human capital being important determinants. Taken together, the results suggest that policies to accelerate poverty reduction should emphasize the development of human capital and ensure that growth is inclusive and pro-poor. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One major aim of the Greater Mekong Subregion ( GMS) integration programme, supported by the Asian Development Bank ( ADB), is to foster regional 'community' for sharing resources, people and financial flows. This 'community' is the target of both economic growth and poverty reduction. The emphasis on 'community' in the ADB's mushrooming quantity of documents raises important questions about what kinds of people are included, in what roles and with what kinds of support and protection. This paper explores these questions in relation to the political economy of regulating ethnic migrants from Myanmar working in Thailand. This paper argues that extra-legal relations between migrants and state/para-state agents constitute a crucial part of regulation. In transferring the regulation of migration to the national scale, the ADB inadvertently reinforces national differences between Thais and cross-border people. Additionally, the complicated and fluctuating implementation of national regulations in both countries leaves migrants subject to violence and extortion from state and quasi-state agents in Thailand. This paper shows that the dynamics of global capitalism require 'deportable labour' supplied by ethnic migrants who are included in the GMS community as the most invisible, vulnerable and exploited members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to provide empirical evidence to determine whether microfinance, measured through a country's gross loan portfolio per capita, has a heterogeneous effect on poverty reduction among countries with different levels of poverty. We have used a panel‐data quantile regression with a data set for 57 countries for the years 2005, 2008, and 2011 to estimate the distributional impacts of microcredits on two poverty indices. Results reveal not only that microfinance significantly reduces the incidence and depth of poverty, but also that this effect differs across the different poverty levels (quantiles). The effect of microcredit on poverty reduction is slightly larger among countries where the incidence and depth of poverty are the highest, suggesting that microcredit reaches and benefits even the poorest individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Financial crises have detrimental impacts on the economy via depressed economic growth and rising unemployment, however, their impact on the poorest in society is relatively under‐researched. This paper investigates the impact of three different types of financial crises on the income of the poor. Using a variety of estimation techniques and controlling for a lagged dependent variable, the results suggest that currency crises are the most harmful to the poor, followed by banking crises. Debt crises only have a statistically significant effect on the income of the poor in richer countries. © 2017 The Authors Journal of International Development Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the factors explaining the sustained fall in poverty experienced in Kazakhstan in the period 2001-2009. It examines the contribution of economic growth and redistribution policies to poverty reduction through an analysis of household survey data. It finds that growth has been strongly pro-poor. Growth was the main driver behind the fall in poverty in the first half of the decade, but redistribution gained in importance in the latter part of the decade. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Win—win outcomes between biodiversity conservation and local economic development are now a goal of many governments and conservation organizations but can be difficult to achieve. Where they occur, reductions in poverty from protected areas are often thought to be driven by economic gains from tourism that are sufficient to outweigh losses due to restrictions on land‐use or resource extraction. However, evidence about this channel is scarce. In this paper, we explore the potential compensatory effect of tourism by comparing poverty alleviation outcomes for cultural heritage sites in Mexico across two decades from 1990 to 2010. These sites are similar to protected areas in terms of attracting tourists, but they do not impose substantial restrictions on local land or resource use, allowing us to isolate tourism as a possible channel for economic development. Overall, we find mixed evidence that proximity to cultural heritage sites is associated with poverty reduction. During the first study period (1990–2000), localities close to cultural heritage sites saw reduced poverty of 0.034 standard deviations for each additional site. However, during the second period (2000–2010), localities close to heritage sites saw less poverty reduction than the comparison group (−0.014 standard deviations for each additional site). In both periods, poverty alleviation effects were not consistently correlated with the total number of visitors, but were larger further from cities, where baseline poverty was higher, and in the Yucatán Peninsula. This heterogeneity indicates that variability in the ability of local communities to capture benefits from tourism depends on a particular combination of institutional and geographic factors—as was the case in the Yucatan peninsula, where cultural heritage sites had consistent poverty alleviation effects over two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multilateral trading system, first established formally in 1947 with the goal of bringing about sustainable peace and greater prosperity through increased cross‐border commerce underpinned by globally agreed upon rules, has contributed significantly to economic development and reduced poverty. However, as the global trading system enters the 2020s it cannot rely on past success and must adapt to a rapidly changing world, one that requires both more and different kinds of inclusion in order to address new challenges around inequality and global economic and geopolitical shocks. To address these new challenges the World Trade Organization (WTO) must be updated and reformed by its member governments, who must also recognise that many current global challenges have linkages across trade, tax, environment, and health areas which require increased coordination across global bodies. Further, the challenges of growing domestic inequality in many countries, while a domestic policy concern, will have significant impact on the political will to undertake the necessary updating and reform of the multilateral trading system and the required enhanced coordination with other international bodies and agreements. The recent positive outcomes from the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference in June of 2022 show that global cooperation on trade issues is possible. Building on this success, the WTO can reshape itself to be fairer and more resilient and better able to address current global and domestic challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is commonly argued that 'institutions matter' for growth and poverty reduction. While recognising the importance of institutions, it is necessary to go ' beyond institutions' in understanding the factors that promote growth and poverty reduction. This paper draws on the research findings of the IPPG Research Consortium (Improving Institutions for Pro-Poor Growth), some of which are included in this issue, to make the following arguments. We argue, first, that the ways in which economic, political and social institutions interact are crucial in shaping pro-poor development outcomes. Secondly, the establishment of effective institutions also requires the building and strengthening of effective social, political and economic organizations, across sectors and issue areas, which can push for, negotiate, implement and monitor locally appropriate and legitimate institutional arrangements if the aim of poverty reduction is to have sustained traction as a policy goal. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the findings in Chen and Lee (2007) to show that the use of congestible public goods can produce both local and global indeterminacy in a two‐sector endogenous growth model with productive public services financed by income taxation. Basically, we observe the effects on growth rates by changing parameters, and compare the case of a single steady‐state with the emergence of dual steady‐states, identifying the feasible ways to avoid a possible low‐growth poverty trap. The novelty of our analysis is to detect the presence of global indeterminacy by making use of the Bogdanov‐Takens bifurcation theorem. Some examples are also provided to achieve concrete policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience has become prominent in academia where it is used as a central framework in disciplines such as ecology, climate change adaptation or urban planning. Policy makers and international development agencies also increasingly refer to it. The objective of this paper is to assess the advantages and limits of resilience in the context of development. Although the review highlights some positive elements-for example, the ability to foster an integrated approach-it also shows that resilience has important limitations. In particular, it is not a pro-poor concept, in the sense that it does not exclusively apply to, or benefit, the poor. As such, resilience building cannot replace poverty reduction. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty reduction remains the most important challenge for policy makers in Islamic communities. The World Bank (2010: Poverty profile in Muslim world, from ) estimates that approximately 3 billion people are living in poverty and 46 million more people will come under the income level of US$1.25 a day due to the recent global economic meltdown and slow economic growth rates. Thirty-five percent of these people are Muslims from Islamic countries. The global Muslim community has an essential role to play in addressing the injustice of global poverty through zakat. Zakat is an Islamic faith-based institution and is being underutilized for poverty reduction in many of these poor Muslim countries. Since zakat constitutes one of the pillars of Islam, it is logical to assume that policy makers among Muslims should pay serious attention to it. However, that is not the case for many Muslim countries and this paper will show that not all Muslim countries are seriously applying zakat in its strategy of combating poverty. This paper will specifically examine the role and effect of zakat in three Muslim countries ( Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia) providing the facts of countries that practise zakat in comparison with those that do not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using changes in the possession of household assets over the past 20 years, several recent papers have argued that economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa was substantially better than suggested by national income data and income poverty statistics, which suffer from well-known weaknesses. We scrutinize these claims and first argue that trends in assets provide biased proxies for trends in incomes or consumption. In particular we show that the relationship between growth in assets and growth in incomes or consumption is extremely weak; instead, we find evidence of asset drift using macro and micro data, which is consistent with the claims we make about possible biases in the use of asset indices. As a result, we find no evidence supporting the claim of an African growth miracle that extends beyond what has been reported in official GDP/capita and consumption figures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southeast Asia is a development success story. By 2025, it is forecast that extreme poverty in the region will have been ‘eradicated’. Does this mean that the challenges so evident in the 1960s when the countries of the region began to pursue development have been met, and the objectives achieved? The paper makes a case for thinking afresh about development and the poverty project, recognising that development is never neatly achieved but, rather, re‐worked, re‐engineered and re‐imagined over time. This is done through identifying different categories of ‘poor’, each produced through different poverty‐making processes, measured and viewed in different ways, and their poverty addressed using different approaches and policies. With specific reference to the cases of Laos and Thailand, and drawing on longitudinal research in the latter country, it is argued that while economic growth does trickle down, it trickles down in quite discrete and often contingent ways. Furthermore, there is always development work to be done, because development creates its own work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The tourism sector's contribution to economic development depends upon complex and dynamic socioeconomic, environmental, and institutional factors. Policymakers require objective evidence to base decisions on which public policies or investments to pursue. In this paper we develop an economy‐wide approach to assessing public investments in tourism. The approach is powerful in that it considers all inter‐sectoral linkages that are critical for tourism‐sector analysis. This framework is linked to a microsimulation module that enables estimation of household‐level and destination‐specific impacts and the distribution of benefits. To illustrate the framework and the insights it can generate, we apply it to a public investment in Belize's Cayo District. Our findings show that the overall level of economic activity increases while an appreciation of the real regional exchange rate results in slower growth in traditional nontourism exports. Greater availability of capital and labor to meet increased demand would reduce this effect. The investment results in a reduction in the poverty headcount on the order of 0.7 percentage points, though there is a small increase in inequality that is a function of the skill requirements of the new positions created as a result of the investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study reviews the post‐2005 national development strategies of 50 countries from diverse income groups, geographical locations, human development tiers and official development assistance (ODA) levels to assess Millennium Development Goal (MDG) absorption into development planning. Reviewing Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and non‐PRSP national strategies, the majority of the development plans have either adopted the MDGs as planning tools or ‘localized’ them in a meaningful way, using diverse adaptation strategies. A high correlation is detected between the income group, PRSP status and ODA reliance of countries, and their propensity to incorporate MDGs in their planning instruments. However, MDG alignment is not coterminous with greater pro‐poor or MDG‐oriented policies. Countries that have not integrated MDGs into their national plans were as likely to allocate government funds to social sectors as MDG aligners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many low- and middle-income countries are achieving good rates of economic growth, while high inequality remains a priority concern. Some countries meanwhile have low growth, high inequality, and pervasive poverty-often linked to their fragility. There is now active debate on how countries should set themselves goals for achieving both absolute poverty reduction and lower inequality. But policy action needs to be better served by analysis and data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the impact of tourism on total and extreme monetary poverty, in order to illuminate the debate surrounding the links between tourism and poverty. We apply fixed effects models to panel data on the Peruvian departments for the period 2001-2013. We also identify the key factors in the tourism model affecting the empirical results. Our findings show that tourism is important for the poor, but its benefits do not reach the extreme poor to the same extent, and its potential is not fully exploited. The weak macroenvironment and low community participation impede poverty reduction through tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased trade openness and rapid market-oriented transformation have largely altered the patterns of wealth accumulation and wealth distribution in post-reform China. In the present paper, with the help of Chinese provincial level data over the period of 1986 to 2000, simultaneous equations estimation and generalized method of moment techniques are applied to investigate the relationship between trade and poverty in urban China. Empirical results suggest that China's trade liberalization helps to reduce urban poverty both directly and indirectly through its favorable impacts on economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper describes the benefits and costs, in qualitative terms, of managing food price instability in Asia in the context of promoting economic growth and poverty reduction to improve food security. The experience of Asian governments in actual practice with price stabilization is discussed in the context of managing an efficient transition to market-mediated food security. Recent experience in Indonesia, where a sharp increase in rice prices (caused by a ban on rice imports) pushed 4 million people into poverty, provides continued motivation for the analytical story in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper re-examines the relationship between inflation and economic growth in developing countries. Both the theoretical and the empirical literature are extremely divided on this issue. We apply a relatively new empirical technique - the continuous wavelet transform - to Bangladesh. Bangladesh is of interest because of its remarkable economic growth and poverty reduction during the last 30 years in combination with, for a developing country, a controlled inflation. The wavelet analysis is a contribution because it displays how the correlation and the lead-lag structure between variables change over timescales, taking into account that growth and inflation can follow several different cycles. Comovements between variables are generally studied in the time domain. Results from studies in the time-domain study can be sensitive to the frequency of observations. On the other hand, studies in the frequency domain are not easily translated into time domains that can be associated with economic policies. The wavelet methodology finds a balance between time and frequency domains. Our study finds that growth Granger causes inflation at all frequency scales, starting from the short run to the very long run. Inflation, on the other hand, Granger causes growth in the long run but not in the short run. This result has implications for Bangladesh, and as such for similar developing countries, where some policymakers believe that inflation must be kept at very low levels for sustained economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small-scale aquaculture ( SSA) sector is recognized as making an important contribution to food security, poverty alleviation, and socioeconomic development. A value chain analysis can uncover insights into the linkages and trust within a value chain and constraints and challenges that face the sector. This paper examines the linkages and trust between SSA producers and traders in Asia in order to better understand the constraints and opportunities faced by small-scale producers. The perspective revealed by the value chain analysis provides response strategies that can enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of the entire value chain and the actors that comprise it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper decomposes changes in poverty into growth and redistribution components and employs several pro-poor growth concepts to explore the growth, poverty and inequality nexus in Sri Lanka over the period 1990-2010. We find a 'trickle-down' situation, in which the poor have received proportionately less benefits from growth than the non-poor. All pro-poor measures suggest that economic growth in Sri Lanka was particularly beneficial for those located at the top of the distribution. Regression-based decompositions suggest that variation in expenditure by education characteristics that persist after controlling for other factors to account for around two-fifths of total household expenditure inequality. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper we draw on the concept of governmentality to examine the relationships between donors and northern non-governmental organisations (NGOs) during moments of policy change. Our case study comes from New Zealand/Aotearoa where a change in government has seen aid policy shift from poverty alleviation to sustainable economic development. We detail three mechanisms through which the government sought to normalise this change: changes in language and fields of visibility; institutional reform; and funding delays and cuts. Far from being complete, however, we also trace how some NGOs contested the new agenda through engaging in the practice of politics and how, at least temporarily, new more politicised development subjectivities were created. While our study raises awkward questions about the autonomy of NGOs within current funding environments, we also emphasise the productive possibilities and openings that emerge as one set of development ideas and techniques, or developmentalities, shifts to another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses poverty and calorific undernourishment in the Indian state of Gujarat, where high and market-led industrial growth has resulted in rapid economic improvement. The study is carried out through a combination of secondary and survey-based data. We conclude that the neoliberal agenda of uncontrolled, outward-looking growth has not resulted in significant reduction of poverty or malnourishment in rural areas. Furthermore, while land ownership is officially used as a proxy for wealth distribution, class position appears a better predictor of poverty status in the rural areas than landownership per se. At the policy level, there is a need to revive the agrarian economy and create new non-agricultural assets, and the primary focus in the state must shift to the distribution of created assets rather than a single-minded focus on growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of foreign aid on poverty. The impact of aid on poverty is assessed using dynamic panel estimation techniques, which enable us to control for time-invariant country-specific effects and endogeneity of aid. The results suggest that aid has a significant poverty-reducing effect even after controlling for average income. Specifically, foreign aid is associated with a decline in poverty as measured by the poverty rate, poverty gap index and squared poverty gap index. We also find that the composition of aid matters-multilateral aid and grants do better in reducing poverty than bilateral aid and loans. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments globally have several responsibilities to its citizen, and one of these responsibilities is the improvement in the living standard and to stimulate social well‐being and sustainability in communities. A meta‐review of over a 100 article was conducted of both the qualitative and quantitative method related to the antecedents to business models, community economic development, and poverty alleviation. The basis for the paper is the proposition of the stakeholder model for implementing Community Economic Development in municipalities for alleviating poverty in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Donors increasingly acknowledge that, without the participation of the private sector, achievement of the Millennium Development Goals is unlikely. Up until recently, priority has been given to improving the business enabling environment in developing countries, so as to remove unnecessary impediments to profit-making activity. Whilst this approach has undoubted merit it does not yet seem to be stimulating change at the pace or scale required. This paper argues that there is now a clear case for directly engaging international business in the poverty reduction agenda. It argues that such efforts will have the greatest development impact where profit-making is the driving force, and considers how the impact of such initiatives might best be measured. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the economic impacts of an infrastructure investment programme in Guinea‐Bissau for the period 2014–2030 using a dynamic computable general equilibrium model. Social accounting matrix (SAM) takes into account informal activities, and the model integrates funding schemes for infrastructure investment. We found that debt‐funded infrastructure investment will generate positive macro‐ and micro‐level externalities in terms of growth and well‐being outcomes across household groups in the urban and rural environments and contribute to inequality reduction. However, direct tax funding scheme is not the best economic development alternative for a country with a low per capita income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Motivation: While economic growth is usually necessary to reduce poverty, it is often not sufficient. Industrialization, especially manufacturing, tends to create jobs that are more productive than in other sectors, and which pay more, thereby reducing poverty. Structure of production therefore matters as well as growth of production. Purpose: How much does industrialization mediate the relation of economic growth to poverty reduction? Methods and approach: We deploy Causal Mediation Analysis, with industrialization as the mediator. The mechanism decomposes the impact of economic growth into direct effects on poverty, and those that apply indirectly through the mediator of industry. Data comes from the Groningen Growth and Development Centre and UNU‐WIDER Economic Transformation Database (ETD) which covers 51 countries in the global South from 1990 to 2018. Findings: Economic growth directly reduces poverty, but the full impact arises from the mediating role of industrialization. Almost 50% of the impact on poverty occurs through employment in manufacturing. Policy implications: Social policies to reduce poverty will be incomplete if the production structure of economy is disregarded. Economic policy must consider the importance of industrial economic activities to amplify the impact of economic progress. On the contrary, policies promoting economic growth without creating industrial jobs will fail to offer accurate solutions to the poverty problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article tries to clarify Government behaviours as to how to manage aid in Tanzania. Contrary to the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donor intentions, the development aid structure, carefully constructed under the poverty reduction regime in Tanzania, has led to Tanzanian‐owned initiatives toward a national development plan (NDP). Furthermore, this article shows that, in the process of creating an international development aid system, the Tanzanian Government has learned to manage aid in a recipient‐driven manner not only from DAC donors, but also from China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The federal solution has been widely discussed in relation to political systems where the articulation of major cleavages, differences, and pluralities threatens political integration and stability. The relationship between conflict, development, and federalism, however, has been poorly accounted for in the literature on federalism. Existing theories about the utilitarian value of federalism thus face serious challenges, especially with respect to post‐colonial Africa. The relationship between conflict, economic development, and federalism in the African context needs to be carefully examined from the perspective of governance, as well as the impact they have on society‐state relations. This article discusses the impact of ethno‐linguistic, ethno‐regional, and ethno‐religious conflicts on economic development in Nigeria – informed by the inequalities, insecurity, and poverty prevalent in the country – and examines the relevance of the federal solution for mitigating such centrifugal pressures as well as other divisive and violent tendencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub-Saharan Africa will be undergoing substantial demographic changes over the next 15 years with the rising working-age share of its population. The opportunity of African countries to convert these changes into demographic dividends for growth and poverty reduction will depend on several factors. The outlook will likely be good if African countries can continue the gains already made under better institutions and policies, particularly those affecting the productivity of labor, such as educational outcomes. If African countries can continue to build on the hard-won development gains, the demographic dividend could account for 11-15% of gross domestic product ( GDP) volume growth by 2030, while accounting for 40-60 million fewer poor in 2030. The gains can become more substantial with better educational outcomes that allow African countries to catch up to other developing countries. If the skill share of Africa's labor supply doubles because of improvements in educational attainment, from 25 to about 50% between 2011 and 2030, then the demographic dividends can expand the regional economy additionally by 22% by 2030 relative to the base case and reduce poverty by an additional 51 million people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular migration has come into vogue in policy circles, particularly in Europe. However, if circular migration is to be the object of policy intervention, it will have to be clearly identifiable as a particular type of population mobility. In this paper, I consider both internal and international migrations. I examine the antecedents of the idea of circulation, together with the difficulties of separating and identifying it as a migration type. I argue that the form and composition of circular migration change over time, making it difficult to design policies specific to that type of mobility. I examine the consequences of circular migration for human welfare. While circular migration extends the resource base of households and helps minimize risk and support subsistence, long-term rather than shorter-term circulatory movements may provide the more reliable pathway to improving welfare, although the available data are hardly robust. I consider the issues of free versus unfree labour and the likelihood of becoming trapped in marginal positions in destination areas in relation to defining circular migration. Circular migration may be a more useful conceptual approach in migration theory than a tool for policy prescription. Hence, I advocate a cautious approach to the role of policy intervention in circular migration in this paper, although I recognize that attempts to limit its scope will be counterproductive. Equally, attempts to regulate it within some form of institutional framework are likely to turn circular migration into a form of temporary labour migration. Nevertheless, I argue that creating an environment in which circular migration is a rational response may have a greater potential to foster development in places of origin than designing policies to manage circulatory movements directly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large investments in road infrastructure continue to be high on the agenda of many African countries, only a few of which have actually amended their investment strategy. In many cases, there seems to be a preference for a status quo that can easily be explained by political-economy factors driving policies in the sector. After presenting data on the state of roads in sub-Saharan Africa (length, density, condition), this article demonstrates how most countries' transport strategies are based on certain misperceptions and recommends better prioritisation of investments, better procurement and contract management, better projects implementation and better monitoring to improve the developmental impact of recent road investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While Africa may have overcome its growth tragedy, it is facing a statistical tragedy, in that the statistical foundations of the recent growth in per-capita GDP and reduction in poverty are quite weak. In many countries, GDP accounts use old methods, population censuses are out of date, and poverty estimates are infrequent and often not comparable over time. The proximate reasons have to do with weak capacity, inadequate funding, and a lack of coordination of statistical activities. But the underlying cause may be the political sensitivity of these statistics, and some donors' tendency to go around countries' own National Statistical Development Strategies ( NSDS). Greater openness and transparency of statistics, and a higher profile for the NSDS, possibly with 'naming and shaming' of those who try to circumvent it, may help Africans turn around their statistical tragedy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2003 Nigeria's economic growth has been consistently above 6% and has been driven by non-oil sectors. This article attempts to assess the contribution of the 2005 debt-relief agreement to this higher growth. The agreement eliminated Nigeria's US$30 billion debt to Paris Club creditors who cancelled US$18 bn, while Nigeria paid back US$12 bn. The article traces the three possible impact channels of debt relief, namely, the flow (reduced debt service), the stock (removal of debt overhang) and the conditionality channel, and comes to the conclusion that the debt-relief agreement played a key role in the country's improved economic performance, in particular through successful conditionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I argue that micro-equity may be used to complement or substitute micro-credit programmes, which involve lending rather than risk sharing. By becoming a stockholder in the micro-enterprise rather than a lender, the micro-equity provider is in a more tightly coupled relationship, providing knowledge and guidance necessary for ensuring success of the venture. Moreover, I show that while micro-credit financing places a heavy cash drain on micro-enterprises and leads to sub-optimal growth during the course of the evolution of the micro-enterprise, the mix of micro-equity with micro-credit may prove to be more valuable to nurture the sustainable growth of micro-enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dominant view in academic and policy arenas is increasingly one in which the major contribution of capture fisheries to development should be derived from the capacity of society to maximise the economic rent of fishery resources. Drawing upon empirical experience from the South, this article highlights the potentially disastrous consequences that a universal implementation of the rent-maximisation model would have in developing countries, and argues that a more gradual approach would be preferable. The welfare function of small-scale fisheries, namely, their capacities to provide labour and cash income to resource-poor households, should be preserved until the appropriate macroeconomic conditions for rent-maximisation and redistribution are fulfilled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous essay (Part 1), we examined the economic arguments for development policies that placed certain groups at the vanguard of development policy, making note of the place of the poor in these arguments. In this essay (Part 2), we look at the case for making the poor the central focus of development policy, following the principle in Catholic social thought of the "preferential option for the poor." That principle recommends evaluation of policies and outcomes first and foremost on how they affect the poor. In looking at the U.N. development agenda, from the first development decade to the millennium development goals and sustainable development goals, we can see a tension between economic growth and eradication of poverty. Over time, a shift in focus has occurred towards placing the poor at the center of development policy. By focusing on the poor and poverty eradication, development policy becomes more about human flourishing, which, ironically, produces higher levels of growth in developing countries. It does, however, lower the growth rate of developed countries, as it reduces their privileged position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alleviating poverty, mitigating inequality and achieving growth are all acknowledged goals of development, whatever the degree of success with which these goals might have been addressed in various economies of the world. Apart from questions of resolve and genuine commitment, what makes it hard to engage with these goals is that the pursuit of any one of them does not necessarily secure the ends of either or both of the other two. Such engagement requires a measure of conceptual clarity, an identification of normative priorities, and the deployment of carefully crafted policies that accommodate trade‐offs among competing goals. In particular, policies such as the single‐minded pursuit of growth as a panacea for all the difficulties of development appear to be misguided, and based on a faulty application of deductive reasoning to past experience. These issues are addressed here by attending to some elementary arithmetic revolving around the measurement of money‐metric poverty and inequality, and the decomposition of poverty changes into effects attributable to growth and distributional changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After five decades of rapid expansion of microfinance worldwide, little is known about its aggregate effects and whether the "microfinance promise" of poverty reduction holds at the macro level. Challenging questions have arisen. Here we explore the dynamic response of microfinance on economic growth, financial deepening and income inequality. Countries are grouped into three broad clusters (stable, moderate and poor) based on macro‐institutional variables. Our results show that microfinance has a significant long‐term ability to affect the broader economy. However, the impact and dynamics of microfinance differ substantially across macro‐institutional environments. It grows in weaker environments, reaches its peak in developing economies, and then gradually "dies out" in more stable economies. While there is evidence of a positive impact of microfinance at the aggregate level, the response is different depending on whether countries are poor, moderately developed or economically stable. Once countries climb up the macro‐institutional "ladder," microfinance can take a different shape and its relationship with other macroeconomic fundamentals can change. Our results indicate that microfinance has the strongest effect when the external environment is supportive and proactive; in weak environments, microfinance cannot grow sufficiently. Therefore, more attention should be given to supporting the socioeconomic dimensions of economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern economies, the advancement of well‐being of the citizens should be in an inclusive and sustainable way. In this respect, the sustainable welfare targets should exclusively include three main pillars: economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection. These pillars consist of qualitative and nonmonetary, as well as monetary and quantitative indicators to monitor. Although sustainable development today is well‐appreciated in most governments' agenda, yet it is generally not a trivial task to measure its progress especially due to multidimensional nature of some targets. In this article, sustainable development is measured by using a wide range of indicators within multidimensional perspective of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2015. Indicators cover wide spectrum of areas such as poverty reduction, health, education, gender equality, and environment. An index creation method is developed for measuring the level and the performance of countries' progress through achieving MDGs. The index score levels and the rankings of countries are compared with similar indexes developed by United Nations. Finally, countries are classified according to their achievements relative to other countries (which is measured by the index) versus their self‐achievement performances (in terms of improvement of the index over years) in a big matrix. Results demonstrate the importance of measuring country performances in both dimensions. Understanding the progress in MDGs can help settle on binding targets for achieving the country specific goals in economic and noneconomic areas and on the mechanisms to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030, which set amid on the success of MDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the nexus between globalization and energy demand for 86 high‐, middle‐, and low‐income countries over the period 1970–2015. We use a simple approach based on the cross‐correlation to understand how globalization and energy consumption are related in terms of time lags and leads. Our findings show that for 64 out of the 86 countries (approximately 74%), there is clear evidence in support of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. The globalized environment (e.g., globalization) has been conducive for the majority of the countries in reducing their long‐term energy consumption. From a policy perspective, our findings suggest that the role of "globalization" in the EKC function should not be underestimated by policymakers and governments of these countries while designing a policy framework for the reduction of energy demand in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Despite the importance of remittances in total international flows, the conclusion of the studies on the relationship between remittances and financial development, is still not completely unanimous, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, financial development matters for growth and poverty alleviation and financial inclusion have many beneficial effects for households. We examine the relationship between remittances and financial sector development with several dynamic panel data methods. We find a positive, significant, and robust bidirectional link between remittances and financial development for the panel of 32 countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]