La Financiación oficial al desarrollo : el Grupo del Banco Mundial

El artículo analiza el funcionamiento y las características del Banco Internacional para la Reconstrucción y el Desarrollo como intermediario financiero para los países en vías de desarrollo, y su estrategia a través de una serie de instituciones que giran en su entorno como la Asociación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AIF), la Corporación Financiera Internacional (CF1), el Organismo Multilateral para la Garantía de Inversiones (0MG1), el Centro Internacional para la Resolución de Disputas de Inversiones (CIADI) y el Fondo Global para el Medio Ambiente. También se recoge un análisis histórico en el que se describen las operaciones que cada una de estas instituciones realiza. Finalmente, se añaden unas conclusiones sobre las funciones que cumple y su futuro de cara al desarrollo. ________________________________ ________________________________________This article analyses the role of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as a financial intermediary to developing countries, and its strategy through the affiliated institutions like the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The article then follows a historical approach and describes the operations. Finally, some conclusions are drawn about the functions which the World Bank at present fulfils in the field of global development

Las mejoras en la efectividad del los organismos internacionales con evaluaciones independientes y de excelencia : los casos del Fondo Monetario Internacional y el Banco Mundial

Este artículo analiza las evaluaciones independientes de las instituciones internacionales que completan las que se realizan internamente. Éstas permiten sacar conclusiones de las experiencias en sus políticas e incorporan mejoras de cara a sus futuras actuaciones. El Departamento de Evaluación de Operaciones (DEO) y el Organismo de Evaluación Independiente (OEI) son dos ejemplos. El DEO es una unidad dentro del Banco Mundial que pretende aprender de la experiencia y sirve de base para evaluar los resultados y las responsabilidades de la política del Banco. El OEI, fundado en 2001 y totalmente independiente del FMI, intenta desarrollar los mismos objetivos. Se trata de herramientas decisivas para la toma de decisiones, que además promueven el análisis público de los programas en ambas instituciones. ____________________________________________This article analyzes Independent External Evaluations of International Institutions which complement internal evaluations. They improve the Institution’s ability to draw conclusions from the results of its policies, and integrate improvements towards future actions. The Operations Evaluation Department (OED) and the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) are two examples. The OED is an independent unit within the World Bank, its goals are to learn from experience, to provide an objective basis for assessing the results of the Bank’s work, and to provide accountability in the achievement of its objectives. The IEO, established in 2001 and fully independent from the Management of the IMF, tries to achieve the same goals. They are vital decision-making tools, but they also promote public analysis of the programs of both institutions

Measurement of disparities between indicators associated with the welfare in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) of Asia

Medir los factores que inciden en el bienestar social de los países es una tarea compleja, especialmente cuando se trata de países pocos desarrollados. A pesar de todo, se han producido avances relevantes, aunque sigue siendo un camino por el que hay que seguir buscando procedimientos que lo enriquezcan. En este artículo, se propone una medición de las disparidades entre indicadores de bienestar social aplicados a un grupo de países muy afectados por la pobreza, los países menos adelantados (PMA), que según la terminología de la Conferencia de Naciones Unidas para el Comercio y el Desarrollo (UNCTAD) son los más pobres entre los pobres. En nuestro análisis nos referiremos a los del continente asiático. La novedad de este trabajo es que el índice propuesto se ha construido atendiendo a un número de variables más amplia que los índices de bienestar más utilizados y a los criterios definidos en los Objetivos de desarrollo de la Declaración del Milenio, entre los que existe un consenso general que son los que determinan los niveles de subdesarrollo de los países. Como técnica aplicada a los datos proporcionados por Naciones Unidas y recogidos en el Informe Anual de los PMA, se ha empleado el método de distancia P2 para el año 2007, el último para el que disponíamos de datos definitivos. Este índice integra variables socioeconómicas, que permiten una ordenación territorial de los PMA de Asia, en función de esos indicadores parciales.___________________________________________Measuring factors that affect countries’ social welfare is a complex task, especially in the case of the Least Developed Countries. Despite this difficulty, important advances have been made, though many more remain to be made in the search for procedures that will enrich these analyses. In this article we present a new proposal for the measurement of disparities between indicators of social welfare, applied to a group of countries especially affected by poverty: the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which in the terminology of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) are the poorest of the poor. In our analysis we will refer to the Asian continent. Our index is novel in that it has been constructed taking into account a larger number of variables than the welfare indices most usually used, and the criteria defined in the Goals of the Millennium Declaration, which are generally considered to determine countries’ levels of underdevelopment . As technique applied to the data, provided by the UN and listed in the Annual Report of the LDCs for 2007, the latest year for which definitive data were available, we have used the P2 distance method. This index integrates socio-economic variables that permit a ranking of the LDCs of Asia, in terms of those partial indicators

The Impact of Foreign Trade in the Graduation Process of Asian Least‑Developed Countries (LDCs)

The importance of development studies comes from the need to assess and solve economic problems. Graduation from LDC status represents an important milestone in their development path. This research tries to deepen on the relationship between the fulfillment of the “graduation criteria” established by the United Nations and the evolution of the foreign trade indices of a group of Asian LDCs about to graduate (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Timor-Leste, Nepal, and Myanmar), checking how trade, one of its engines for economic development, has involved during the last years and, specifically, on their way to graduation. First, the characteristics of the LDCs and the criteria to exclude them from the list are analyzed. Second, a set of indices are presented to find out the trade flows throughout the period observed. Finally, conclusions and future lines of research are proposed. The results show that all the countries studied have succeeded in expanding their share in world trade. The high participation of Bangladesh is justified by the size of its economy and its weight within the textile trade. Regarding diversification, all of countries present a highly concentrated pattern of exports and their exchanges are carried out with few countries. This lack of trade diversification places them in a vulnerable position. The relative trade balance index indicates that all of them are competitive with their trading partners in the products analyzed and the six have comparative advantage. To conclude, the analysis confirms that the trade structure of the LDCs considered has improved, but with differences due to their characteristics.Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Granada/CBUA

Enhancing effectiveness of international organizations through excellence and independent evaluation: the cases of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank

Este artículo analiza las evaluaciones independientes de las instituciones internacionales que completan las que se realizan internamente. Éstas permiten sacar conclusiones de las experiencias en sus políticas e incorporan mejoras de cara a sus futuras actuaciones. El Departamento de Evaluación de Operaciones (DEO) y el Organismo de Evaluación Independiente (OEI) son dos ejemplos. El DEO es una unidad dentro del Banco Mundial que pretende aprender de la experiencia y sirve de base para evaluar los resultados y las responsabilidades de la política del Banco. El OEI, fundado en 2001 y totalmente independiente del FMI, intenta desarrollar los mismos objetivos. Se trata de herramientas decisivas para la toma de decisiones, que además promueven el análisis público de los programas en ambas instituciones.This article analyzes Independent External Evaluations of International Institutions which complement internal evaluations. They improve the Institution’s ability to draw conclusions from the results of its policies, and integrate improvements towards future actions. The Operations Evaluation Department (OED) and the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) are two examples. The OED is an independent unit within the World Bank, its goals are to learn from experience, to provide an objective basis for assessing the results of the Bank’s work, and to provide accountability in the achievement of its objectives. The IEO, established in 2001 and fully independent from the Management of the IMF, tries to achieve the same goals. They are vital decision-making tools, but they also promote public analysis of the programs of both institutions

Assessing the Performance of Least Developed Countries in terms of Millennium Development Goals

De acuerdo a la política de publicación de la revista, facilitamos la versión aceptada del artículo (Accepted Version, pathway b]This article presents a proposal for assessing the progress of least developed countries towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals over the period 2000–2015. Composite indices are built to perform spatial and temporal benchmarking. For that, we rely on P2 Distance method. The results are contrasted with other indices developed under a multi-criteria approach with a double reference point. The main findings are that all the countries have improved their situation and country disparities have been reduced. Cambodia and Ethiopia have registered the best trends and South Sudan and Timor-Leste show the worst performance. Considering the position in the ranking of 2015, Rwanda, and Bhutan performed the best, and Somalia, and Chad ranked in the last position. Having now reached the end of the Millennium Development Goals period, the gap with respect to the world average indicates that much work remains to be done in the 2030 Agenda

RETOS Y SOLUCIONES ALTERNATIVAS DE LA UNCTAD FRENTE AL SUBDESARROLLO (1964-2014).

En 2014 se cumplen 50 años de existencia de la Conferencia de Naciones Unidas para el Comercio y el Desarrollo (UNCTAD), un buen momento para hacer balance de sus logros y las dificultades.  Se trata del foro de diálogo más importante para debatir las cuestiones de desarrollo en las áreas de comercio, finanzas, inversiones y tecnología con una vida suficientemente larga como para valorar sus actuaciones. El poco eco y escaso interés de los especialistas en el seguimiento de sus actividades, nos anima a plantear este trabajo en el que se trata de poner de relieve las fortalezas y debilidades de esta institución así como sus nuevos enfoques de cara a los retos actuales de la economía mundial

Factors Determining Differences in the Poverty Degree among Countries

The persistency of poverty around the world is one of the most serious problems that humanity has to face, so in order to arise awareness, it is essential that the measurement of such problem is improved. These improvements also give the incentive to carry out motivating actions, design good policies, gauging progress, and enable holding political leaders accountable for meeting targets. To help make this possible, we provide an examination of how poverty is currently measured, bringing together evidence on the nature and extent of poverty in 91 countries around the world. This article presents research using the Rasch model, an inductive method which uses a synthetic-analytical process. This method enables us to provide a comparison of poverty among countries and identifies the main factors that contribute to it

An inclusive analysis of determinants of international migration. The case of European rich and poor countries

This work aims to integrate defragmented migration perspectives in order to better understand and explain reasons of contemporaneous migration. Accordingly, international migration flows are explained with various socio-economic determinants which address different sources of migration, reinforced by the best-known theories and conceptual frameworks. A panel data analysis is performed at the level of rich and poor countries of the European Union to measure migration flows from the year 2000 until 2013. The results provide evidence indicating that there are some structural similarities and discrepancies between European rich and poor countries. These similarities (or discrepancies) make them responding similarly to certain economic conditions and changes. Thus, the association of earnings, inequalities (measured by the Gini Index) and poverty line could be positive or negative depending on wealth level of countries. Moreover, unemployment is a supply-push factor, but its importance is much higher in rich countries, diminishing in poorer countries. Economic freedom has a very strong positive effect on migration for all countries, but its relevance turned out to be the highest in the group of the poorest countries. Also, the association between Foreign Direct Investment and migration is negative, but it is more significant in the case of poorer countries

Effect of Physiotherapeutic Interventions on Biomarkers of Neuropathic Pain: A Systematic Review of Preclinical Literature.

The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the effects of physiotherapeutic interventions on biomarkers of neuropathic pain in preclinical models of peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP). The search was performed in Pubmed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane, Cinhal, Psycinfo, Scopus, Medline, and Science Direct. Studies evaluating any type of physiotherapy intervention for PNP (systemic or traumatic) were included. Eighty-one articles were included in this review. The most common PNP model was chronic constriction injury, and the most frequently studied biomarkers were related to neuro-immune processes. Exercise therapy and Electro-acupuncture were the 2 most frequently studied physiotherapy interventions while acupuncture and joint mobilization were less frequently examined. Most physiotherapeutic interventions modulated the expression of biomarkers related to neuropathic pain. Whereas the results seem promising; they have to be considered with caution due to the high risk of bias of included studies and high heterogeneity of the type and anatomical localization of biomarkers reported. The review protocol is registered on PROSPERO (CRD42019142878). Perspective This article presents the current evidence about physiotherapeutic interventions on biomarkers of neuropathic pain in preclinical models of peripheral neuropathic pain. Existing findings are reviewed, and relevant data are provided on the effectiveness of each physiotherapeutic modality, as well as its certainty of evidence and clinical applicability.post-print761 K