Showing papers in "Journal of International Development in 2008"
TL;DR: Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson as discussed by the authors argue that the kind of institutions established by European colonialists, either protecting private property or extracting rents, resulted in the poorer parts of the pre-colonial world becoming some of the richest economies of today; while transforming some more prosperous parts of non-European world of 1500 into the poorest economies today.
Abstract: Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson have dramatically challenged the tendency of economists to confine their empirical search for the causes of economic growth to the recent past. They argue that the kind of institutions established by European colonialists, either protecting private property or extracting rents, resulted in the poorer parts of the pre-colonial world becoming some of the richest economies of today; while transforming some of the more prosperous parts of the non-European world of 1500 into the poorest economies today. This view has been further elaborated for Africa by Nunn, with reference to slave trading. Drawing on African and comparative economic historiography, the present paper endorses the importance of examining growth theories against long-term history: revealing relationships that recur because the situations are similar, as well as because of path dependence as such. But it also argues that the causal relationships involved are more differentiated than is recognised in AJR's formulations. By compressing different historical periods and paths, the 'reversal' thesis over-simplifies the causation. Relatively low labour productivity was a premise of the external slave trades; though the latter greatly reinforced the relative poverty of many Sub-Saharan economies. Again, it is important to distinguish settler and non-settler economies within colonial Africa itself. In the latter case it was in the interests of colonial regimes to support, rather than simply extract from, African economic enterprise. Finally, economic rent and economic growth have often been joint products, including in pre-colonial and colonial Africa; the kinds of institutions that favoured economic growth in certain historical contexts were not necessarily optimal for that purpose in others. AJR have done much to bring development economics and economic history together. The next step is a more flexible conceptual framework, and a more complex explanation.
285 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the interactions between gender, social capital and information exchange in rural Uganda and found that men generally have better access to social capital than women, while women tend to have higher levels of social capital.
Abstract: Changing agricultural research and extension systems mean that informal mechanisms of information diffusion are often the primary source of information about improved seed and practices for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper investigates the interactions between gender, social capital and information exchange in rural Uganda. Within the framework of farmer-to-farmer models, we conceptualise the informal information diffusion process to comprise social capital accumulation and information exchange. We assume that each agent participates in information exchange with a fixed (predetermined) level of social capital and examine how endowments of social capital influence information exchange, paying close attention to gender differences. A multinomial logit model is used to analyse multiple participation choices of information exchange facing the farmer. Findings demonstrate that social capital is an important factor in information exchange, with men generally having better access to social capital than women. We also find strong evidence in support of group-based technology dissemination systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
208 citations
TL;DR: This paper measured education inequality between the coastal and inland provinces and compared it with rural-urban educational inequality in China, using Gini education coefficients and decomposition analysis, finding that disparities in access to education between rural and urban areas rather than between coastal and in inland provinces are the major cause of educational inequality.
Abstract: This article measures education inequality between the coastal and inland provinces and compares it with rural–urban educational inequality in China, using Gini education coefficients and decomposition analysis. The main finding of the article is that disparities in access to education between rural and urban areas rather than between coastal and inland provinces are the major cause of educational inequality in China. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
182 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors call for a more committed engagement between ICT practitioners and the development community, and make two contributions: the first is to show how it has never been more important, as the more mature discipline, for development studies to critique the operation of developmental ICT at policy level, as well as to inform and educate the increasing numbers of, usually foreign, ICT investors and practitioners who are involving themselves in these emerging markets.
Abstract: This paper calls for a more committed engagement between ICT practitioners and the development community, and seeks to make two contributions. The first is to show how it has never been more important, as the more mature discipline, for development studies to critique the operation of developmental ICT at policy level, as well as to inform and educate the increasing numbers of, usually foreign, ICT investors and practitioners who are involving themselves in these emerging markets. The second contribution is a description of the fundamental challenge that recent Web 2.0 models of networked social interaction are increasingly likely to pose to more established approaches and debates within development studies itself. Having outlined the challenge, the paper looks at how such thinking, conceived as ‘Development 2.0’, may contribute to four of the most pressing current debates within development studies today. Finally, the paper concludes with an acknowledgement of some of the immediate constraints to the transformational potential of Development 2.0, and outlines some work that will be required to develop these ideas further. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
148 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an article published in the Journal of International Development (JID), which is a journal dedicated to the development of women's empowerment in the developing world.
Abstract: Submitted version of an article published in the Journal of International Development.
Definitive published version:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jid.1432
144 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that once the best available techniques are employed, aid has a significant but moderate average effect on growth over the period 1970-2001, whereas the negative conclusions drawn by earlier research should be interpreted in their proper historical context, rather than as a necessary condemnation of current aid effectiveness.
Abstract: Previous aid effectiveness research often claims that foreign aid has been unsuccessful in increasing growth rates. This result could be due either to methodological weaknesses, or to genuine aid efficiency losses. Empirically, the author finds that once the best available techniques are employed, aid has a significant but moderate average effect on growth over the period 1970-2001. A promising explanation of why the estimated returns to aid are not larger is that bilateral aid had no significant effect on growth during the Cold War (pre-1990), but had a significant and sizeable effect thereafter. In contrast, multilateral aid seems to have had sizeable and significant effects throughout. These results imply that the negative conclusions drawn by earlier research should be interpreted in their proper historical context, rather than as a necessary condemnation of current aid effectiveness.
140 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a method to identify the most likely candidate genes for a specific task in the UHRA UMLA test set, and the definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.com.
Abstract: ‘The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.com '. Copyright Wiley [Full text of this article is not available in the UHRA]
110 citations
TL;DR: The authors used household survey data from Fiji and Tonga to estimate the impact of migration and remittances on income distribution and measures of poverty and found that the effect of remittance on poverty alleviation was stronger when the more rigorous, counterfactual income estimates are used, but their effect on income inequality was ambiguous.
Abstract: We use original 2005 household survey data from Fiji and Tonga to estimate the impact of migration and remittances on income distribution and measures of poverty. Measures of inequality and poverty based on observed, with-migration income and remittances are then compared with those based on two without-migration and remittances scenarios; one in which remittances are treated simplistically as an exogenous addition to household income, and another in which counterfactual household incomes are estimated, taking account of what the migrant members would have earned had they not migrated. The estimated effects of remittances on poverty alleviation were found to be stronger when the more rigorous, counterfactual income estimates are used, but their effect on income inequality was found to be ambiguous. The extent to which migration and remittances alleviate poverty was also found to be more substantial in Tonga, the country with a much longer migration history and higher remittance dependence. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
110 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the intersection of gender and collective action and present three entry points for a gendered analysis of collective action: motivations to engage in collective action, effectiveness of collective actions, and the process by which the group works to meet those objectives.
Abstract: Gender is often a key determinant of people's abilities to participate in collective action, yet there has been relatively little research on the links between gender and collective action. This article, and the ones that follow in this special issue, explore the intersection of these two fields. We present three entry points for a gendered analysis of collective action: motivations to engage in collective action; effectiveness of collective action (as defined by group objectives and the process by which the group works to meet those objectives); and impact of collective action on gender equity. We discuss each of these themes by highlighting key issues presented in the articles in this special issue. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
100 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors cluster households according to similar livelihood diversification strategies and explore the implications for income levels and sustainable soil management practices in the African farming community, showing that households with higher return agricultural activities earn more than twice as much as the lowest income groups, which were the least diversified.
Abstract: African farmers diversify their livelihood strategies through on-farm and off-farm activities. We cluster households according to similar livelihood diversification strategies and explore the implications for income levels and sustainable soil management practices. Five main livelihood diversification strategies were being pursued. Households with off-farm income, and those pursuing higher return agricultural activities earned more than twice as much as the lowest income groups, which were the least diversified. They also were more likely to implement soil conservation measures. Policies aimed at improving household well-being need to take into account a wide range of household asset endowments and livelihood strategies being pursued. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
95 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a clear analytical approach to understand the economic meaning of monopsony in contract farming is presented, and a strategy for grower cooperation that could effectively deal with monopsonies power in a contract farming system is presented.
Abstract: Contract farming has been considered a new hope to instil dynamism in third world agriculture. However, there remains serious concern whether small peasants will be able to benefit from this system since buyers may often be a single large or at most, few large corporations, a typical case of monopsony. In this paper we question the basis of the fears that are often raised in the literature. A clear analytical approach to understanding the (economic) meaning of monopsony helps us articulate a strategy for grower cooperation that could effectively deal with monopsony power in contract farming systems. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: A database of indicators of poverty and deprivation in six African countries over the last 100 years is presented in this article. But the authors focus on the first decades of the 20th century, when the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland allowed the occupation of agricultural land by European settlers, and argue that the legacy was a lack of bargaining power by Africans in the labour market, a real wage static at the subsistence level until late in the century, and a highly unequal income distribution.
Abstract: In this paper, we create the beginnings of a database on indicators of poverty and deprivation in six African countries over the last 100 years, with the intention of explaining the long-term trend of policy. We argue that an important key to those trends is provided by the decision during the first decades of the twentieth century to allow, or not to allow, the occupation of agricultural land by European settlers. If allowed (as in the white settler—controlled economies of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya, where Africans were squeezed out of income-earning opportunities by competition and prohibition until the 1960s at least) the legacy, we show, was a lack of bargaining power by Africans in the labour market, a real wage static at the subsistence level until late in the century, a highly unequal income distribution, and a small asset base from which to reduce poverty during the liberalisations of the 1980s and 1990s. If forbidden, as in the peasant-export economies of Ghana and Uganda (and to some extent Ethiopia), the legacy was a floor under the labour market, from the 1920s on, which could serve as a basis for poverty-reducing reforms in later years. Thus the potential for poverty reduction during the current ‘poverty reduction wave’ was indeed determined by the historical inheritance of institutions and policies, in particular settlement policies; but in a quite different way from that adumbrated by the recent analysis of Acemoglu et al. (2001). In their analysis, colonies with a high density of European occupation in colonial times persistently generate higher growth potential in later years; we argue the reverse. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the more typical forms of private sector involvement (PSI) and its actual importance (by type of public utility and by region) and show that the new strategy has failed in improving the provision of infrastructures in the developing world.
Abstract: The developing world needs far more financing for infrastructure than can be provided by domestic public finances alone and through Official Development Aid (ODA). Around middle 1980s a new strategy based on the use of public–private agreements, relying on ODA to enhance the quality of projects, reduce risks and raise profitability was gradually implemented for the provision of infrastructures and public utilities. This paper evaluates the more typical forms of private sector involvement (PSI) and its actual importance (by type of public utility and by region) and shows that the new strategy has failed in improving the provision of infrastructures in the developing world. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: The authors investigates how climate change is positioned within the wider field of sustainable development and argues that a greater awareness of underlying worldviews and perspectives behind the range of climate initiatives is necessary if the goal of global carbon emissions reduction is to be achieved.
Abstract: This paper investigates how climate change is positioned within the wider field of sustainable development. Analysis of theory and policy reveals an array of initiatives stemming from different interpretations of sustainable development. Most climate change policy is currently in less radical, reformist approaches to sustainable development that are market based and utilitarian, exemplified by a focus on energy efficiency and international political agreements. Some climate change discourse and policy is related to more radical interpretations of sustainable development, principally concerning equity, resource and consumption limits. Whilst coalitions of some approaches to sustainable development are constructed through the practice of creating initiatives on climate change, other perspectives are fundamentally irreconcilable. The paper argues that a greater awareness of underlying worldviews and perspectives behind the range of climate initiatives is necessary if the goal of global carbon emissions reduction is to be achieved. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors quantify the changes in well-being of the African population in Ghana and Kenya, at the regional level, during the years 1880-2000, using body stature as a measure of nutritional status.
Abstract: A growing body of scholarly research locates the roots of Africas poverty in its colonial past. However, studies avoid tracing Africas development over the full course of history. In this paper, I quantify the changes in well-being of the African population in Ghana and Kenya, at the regional level, during the years 1880-2000. By using body stature as a measure of nutritional status I overcome the scarcity and unreliability of historical data. The two countries had a much more diverse development under colonial times than commonly assumed, with phases of substantial progress (which was also unevenly distributed between the regions). Based on these new findings I confront the existing colonial legacy literature and point to possible lessons that can be drawn from human development over the last 120 years.
TL;DR: In this paper, a women-only, a men-only and a mixed community based organisation (CBO) is compared, each of which manages a seasonal wetland in Bangladesh.
Abstract: Floodplain wetlands are the major common pool natural resources in Bangladesh. Men do most of the fishing, but women collect aquatic plants and snails. A women-only, a men-only, and a mixed community based organisation (CBO) are compared, each of which manages a seasonal wetland. The CBOs involving women are in Hindu communities where more women use aquatic resources and belong to other local institutions. In the oldest of these CBOs, women have gradually increased their role as community recognition of their success has grown. In the Muslim community few women collect aquatic resources, and they have no role in the CBO. Community compliance was higher where both men and women played an active role in the process. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: The role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in small island developing states (SIDS) is an issue that has been neglected until relatively recently as mentioned in this paper, and the reasons for this lack of interest are unsurprising, given both the low absolute volume of capital flows
Abstract: The role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in small island developing states (SIDS) is an issue that has been neglected until relatively recently. The reasons for this lack of interest are unsurprising, given both the low absolute volume of capital flows
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed a framework to examine households' joint decision to acquire information on new technologies and the adoption of the technology in the presence of uncertainty, and the empirical application involved a sample of 406 dairy farmers in Tanzania.
Abstract: This article develops a framework to examine households' joint decision to acquire information on new technologies and the adoption of the technology in the presence of uncertainty. The empirical application involved a sample of 406 dairy farmers in Tanzania. Education, scale of production, household size, age, and liquidity constraints are hypothesized to be the determinants of information acquisition and adoption decisions. The empirical evidence indicates that information acquisition and adoption decisions are made jointly. The findings also show that human capital and scale of operation positively and significantly affect the decision to acquire information and to adopt the technology, while liquidity constraints negatively impact on the decision to adopt, as well as the extent of adoption. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the role of wellbeing in international development and argued that it offers discursive space for analysing conflicting policy priorities to the extent that they are based on different assumptions about what it means for a person to "be well" and about how this can be changed.
Abstract: What does talk of wellbeing offer international development? Four possible answers are explored. First, it offers discursive space for analysing conflicting policy priorities to the extent that they are based on different assumptions about what it means for a person to ‘be well’ and about how this can be changed. Second, it draws on positive psychology to offer new ways of measuring what matters most to individuals. Third, it enriches analysis of opportunities and obstacles to policy reform. Fourth, it strengthens the case for decentralisation in the way development is managed. The arguments are illustrated with particular reference to research on wellbeing in Peru. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors unpacked the final determinant into both political-economic institutions as well as the primarily political institution of democratic development, and showed that, properly instrumented, there is no evidence that democracies grow faster or slower than non-democracies.
Abstract: The recent empirical growth literature has proposed three underlying fundamental determinants of economic growth, namely, physical geography, economic integration and institutional quality. This paper unpacks the final determinant into both political-economic institutions as well as the primarily political institution of democratic development. Using both cross-sectional and panel datasets, we show that, properly instrumented, there is no evidence that democracies grow faster or slower than non-democracies. This result is in contrast to much of the more recent literature, which tends to find a weakly positive relationship. Political- economic institutions, however, remain positive and significant determinants of economic growth, which corroborates much of the empirical evidence in the existing literature. Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: The emerging relationships between science, technology and processes of social change are providing a fertile field for analysts and practitioners engaged in the diversity of what we might define as "development studies" as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The links between science, society and development are attracting research and policy attention as never before. Rapid advances in science and technology, whether in the fields of health, agriculture, information and communication, industrial production or environment offer, it seems, an array of new promises and opportunities in meeting development challenges. As we approach the end of the new Millennium's first decade, ‘science, technology and development’ have become a firmly embedded part of the international scene, attracting the attention of donors, intergovernmental and ministerial initiatives, NGOs and business corporations alike. This editorial for our special issue reflects on the fact that the emerging relationships between science, technology and processes of social change are providing a fertile field for analysts and practitioners engaged in the diversity of what we might define as ‘development studies’, yet also challenge them to engage more effectively with complex dynamics and multiple knowledges. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: In this paper, payments for environmental services (PES) are applied more widely in Brazilian Amazonia to help curb high rates of deforestation which are gradually undermining the region's capacity to supply key services such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity maintenance and water cycling, and to sustain people's natural resourcedependent livelihoods.
Abstract: Compensating natural resource users for the environmental services they supply is becoming an increasingly attractive policy option in a number of countries. Ranging from official carbon trading through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol to more informal arrangements, payments for environmental services (PES) can offer financial incentives for promoting ecologically sound conservation and development practices. PES principles could be applied more widely in Brazilian Amazonia to help curb high rates of deforestation which are gradually undermining the region's capacity to supply key services such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity maintenance and water cycling, and to sustain people's natural resource-dependent livelihoods. This potential could be especially significant if avoided deforestation were eventually to be permitted for acquiring certified emissions offsets under the CDM. Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored some of the central tenets of the natural resource curse literature by exploiting variation in mineral resources in Spain from 1860 to 1936 and found that natural resources had a positive, sizeable effect on industrialisation by 1920 and that they did not reduce real wage growth in the period 1860-1920 Moreover, extractive industries did not slow down the accumulation of human capital.
Abstract: The natural resource curse hypothesis predicts that natural resource windfalls can reduce the long run level of income per capita by crowding out manufacturing, slowing down the accumulation of human capital, damaging institutions and increasing inequality This paper explores some of the central tenets of the natural resource curse literature by exploiting variation in mineral resources in Spain from 1860 to 1936 The conclusions of the paper are that, contrary to the natural resource curse hypothesis, natural resources had a positive, sizeable effect on industrialisation by 1920 and that they did not reduce real wage growth in the period 1860–1920 Moreover, extractive industries did not slow down the accumulation of human capital When I look at the very long run by analysing real income per capita convergence from 1930 to 2000, there are no significant costs of early specialisation in extractive industries Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
TL;DR: The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has been a leading provider of global public goods (GPGs) for 35 years as mentioned in this paper, but little attention has been given to their role in science and technology.
Abstract: Global Public Goods (GPGs) are becoming increasingly important in international development, but little attention has been given to their role in science and technology. Yet one clear example—also overlooked in most of the GPG literature—has existed for 35 years: the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Agricultural research in the poorer developing nations is largely conducted in the public sector and the CGIAR was formed to develop, with these nations, improved technologies and policies for their use in food production—international research spillovers. The process has worked well: the CGIAR has, perhaps unwittingly, been a leading provider of GPGs. But public funding for the CGIAR from international development agencies has become tighter and more restricted, threatening to weaken its global scientific capacity. Additional and more research-oriented funding sources are needed. Greater understanding of the GPG concept as it applies to research, both public and private, is needed at the policy level if these efforts are to be realised and endure. Published in 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the impact of the unilateral trade policy concession known as African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on U.S. imports from eligible Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.
Abstract: We evaluate the impact of the unilateral trade policy concession known as African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on U.S. imports from eligible Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Using U.S.-SSA countries' trade data that span the years 1991-2006, we find that AGOA has contributed to the initiation of new and the intensification of existing U.S. imports in both manufactured and non-manufactured goods and several product categories. However, compared to its import initiation impact, the import intensification effect of the Act has been marginal. Our results have important policy implication for further intensification of African exports to the U.S. markets. Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: The Policy Arena as discussed by the authors is a collection of papers arising from the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) project [Fragility and Development], focusing on countries in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
Abstract: 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.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the gender dimensions of group membership and social networks using a unique longitudinal data set from the rural Philippines and found that men and women do not differ significantly intheir probability of participating in groups or the number of groups they join.
Abstract: International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, USAAbstract: This paper explores the gender dimensions of group membership and socialnetworks using a unique longitudinal data set from the rural Philippines. We investigatetwo types of social capital: membership in groups, or ‘formal’ social capital, and size oftrust-basednetworksor‘informal’socialcapital.Becausemenandwomenmayhavedifferentpropensities to invest in social capital, we analyse the determinants of group membership formenandwomenseparately.Wealsodisaggregatetheanalysisbytypeofgroup.Thepaperalsoexamines the determinants of the density of social capital, proxied by the number of groupsand the number of network members. Finally, it explores whether groups contribute toincreased sizes of social networks. We find that men and women do not differ significantly intheir probability of participating in groups or the number of groups they join. However, thereare clear gender differences in the types of groups to which men and women belong. We alsofind that group membership does not, in general, increase network density. The size of one’sinformal networks is influenced by the location and migration decisions of one’s sons anddaughters, suggestingthatsons anddaughtersplaydifferent rolesinprovidingsupporttotheirhouseholds of origin. Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Keywords: social capital; gender; groups; networks; Philippines
TL;DR: In this article, an extended case study from the highlands of Western Kenya shows that local communities can be successful in self-organisation for improved water supply, but only by mobilising considerable amounts of investment resources and local collective action.
Abstract: Provision of safe water supplies is a priority for the global community and for villages in Kenya. An extended case study from the highlands of Western Kenya shows that local communities can be successful in self-organisation for improved water supply, but only by mobilising considerable amounts of investment resources and local collective action. Gender relations are crucial to success, with women having primary responsibility for water management, but more or less hidden roles in community groups. There are legitimate concerns that Kenya's new water laws and institutions may make it more difficult for local community groups to self-organise, with additional biases against women. Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: This paper explored the determinants of investment using both aggregated industry-level data and disaggretated data on 27 sub-sectors of the manufacturing sector for the period 1970-2001.
Abstract: This study explores the determinants of investment using both aggregated industry-level data and disaggretated data on 27 sub-sectors of the manufacturing sector for the period 1970-2001. According to the results in this study, the government has potentially powerful means at its disposal to stimulate private investment. In particular, a domestic demand stimulus and public investment expansion will produce large gains in private investment. While the direct effects of lowering the interest rate appear to be quantitatively small, indirect effects operating notably through domestic demand and cheaper credit are likely to be large. The evidence in this study also indicates that it is important to minimize exchange rate instability to encourage investment.
TL;DR: This article explored the changing aid relationship between the European Union and Africa since the early 2000s, emphasising the existence of a paradox: on the one hand, the EU has been preoccupied with improving the quality of its aid; on the other hand, it has failed to fully take into account the voice of the recipients in the design of the Country Strategy Papers (CSPs).
Abstract: This paper explores the changing aid relationship between the European Union (EU) and Africa since the early 2000s, emphasising the existence of a paradox: on the one hand, the EU has been preoccupied with improving the quality of its aid; on the other hand, it has failed to fully take into account the voice of the recipients in the design of the Country Strategy Papers (CSPs). The failure to promote local ownership is due to the excessive preoccupation of the European Commission with showing that it is able to commit and spend money quickly and to the new emphasis on ensuring increased coordination and complementarity with the Member States, which results in a reduced space for negotiations with recipient countries. More controversial are the conclusions on the EU's contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.