The latest in a series of World Bank Policy Research Reports, this major new report summarizes the findings of a multi-year research program on aid effectiveness. The 1990s has seen official Development Assistance fall by one-third in real terms. One of the reasons for this has been "a sense that aid does not work very well. Assessing Aid aims to understand when aid works and when it does not, so...

A research center within the Institute of Economics and Statistics, University of Oxford, the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) applies macroeconomic and microeconomic methods to African sociological, demographic, and political contexts. Selected abstracts and working papers from 1993 to present are available on topics ranging from central bank policy to health, crop choice, wages,...

A joint project from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the Debt Initiative for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) consists of an outline for adjustment and reform programs sponsored by these two organizations. The Website contains the framework for the project, which targets the 41 most heavily indebted poor countries, and gives examples as to how the initiative will...

Leaders of the seven largest industrial nations were sharply criticized at the start of their annual economic summit, held this year in Okinawa, for not following through on last year's pledge to write off $100 billion of the $260 billion owed to the West by the most indebted states. Most of the opening discussions have focused on how the debt forgiveness process might be sped up or at least how...

Released in June 2000, this 184-page report from the General Accounting Office reviews the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Originally undertaken by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 1996 as a way of providing financial relief to the most indebted countries in the world, the initiative was enhanced in September 1999 as a response to the continuing vulnerability of...

Authored by Monica Das Gupta, Helene Grandvoinnet, and Mattia Romani, this compelling 31-page report is part of the World Bank's Policy Research Working Paper Series. The report, released in January 2003, begins by asking the question that has perplexed many policymakers on the national and international level: How can poor developing countries make their institutional settings more conducive to...

Founded in 1974, the Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID) is an interdisciplinary center at Harvard University whose mission is to assist the economic growth of developing nations. Publications on-site include an extensive compilation of Development Discussion Papers (1974-present) with selected full text on agricultural and food policy, education, taxation, economic reform, and...

The International Monetary Fund has begun to make selected staff country reports available (Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] format only). At present reports covering ten countries are available. The reports are in-depth studies that discuss such issues as recent economic developments and policies, poverty issues, banking systems, income developments and growth, among others. Topics covered vary by report. As...

The International Budget Project of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities works with non-governmental organizations mainly in developing countries and new democracies "in their efforts both to analyze budget policies and to improve budget processes and institutions." This organization's Website is rich in resources including the comprehensive "A Guide to Budget Work," which spans the steps of...

The Third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries was held 14-20 May 2001 in Brussels. At the official site, visitors can access the full text of the declarations, programme of action, documents, and related publications. Also available are official statements, press releases, the conference program, and other information.