Are the Cheetahs Tracking the Tigers? Probing High Growth Rates in Africa

African economies are growing. Between 2000 and 2007, GDP growth for the whole region averaged 4.4 per cent. Five countries managed to grow by more than 7 per cent. This magical number is often used as a benchmark for achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In another 14 countries, growth rates were at 5?6 per cent, even despite negative per capita growth for 12 of the 47 sub-Saharan countries. For instance, growth shrank by 5.6 per cent in Zimbabwe, by 2.2 in Cote d?Ivoire, by 3.3 per cent in Eritrea, and by 1.4 per cent in the Central African Republic.Are the Cheetahs Tracking the Tigers? Probing High Growth Rates in Africa

The Macroeconomics of Scaling-Up Aid: What We Know in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia

Last week at the United Nations, the MDG Africa Steering Group discussed the Gleneagles Scenario. The participants reiterated the need for scaled-up aid in order to support the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). At the same time, a report issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessed the macroeconomic implications of scaling-up aid in Benin, Niger and Togo. The report acknowledged that higher levels of aid will put moderate to sizable pressures on inflation and real exchange rates (IMF, 2008). (...)The Macroeconomics of Scaling-Up Aid: What We Know in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia

The Global Economic Crisis Hampers Human Development. How?

For developing economies the current crisis means reduced demand for their exports, a decline in capital inflows and lower income from tourism. This One Pager discusses the transmission of the crisis from changes in aggregate variables to its impact on progress towards human development. The focus is on African economies.The Global Economic Crisis Hampers Human Development. How?

Equitable Access to Basic Services: Who will Guarantee it?

Current practice in utility provision involves the following. Governments retain ownership and pay for capital investments, while privatising the operations and management of the companies. Does this modality guarantee equitable access to water and electricity services? (...)Equitable Access to Basic Services: Who will Guarantee it?

Should Khat Be Banned? The Development Impact

.Khat, Controversy, Answer, Global trade, Ethiopia

Equitable Access to Financial Services: Is Microfinancing Sufficient?

Access to the financial sector has numerous benefits. Savers and investors are matched, transactions costs are lowered and liquidity is created. But less than half of the households in developing countries have access to financial services, compared to over 70 per cent in the developed world. By 2006, even in relatively successful countries such as Ghana and Tanzania, only about 6 per cent of the population had access to banking services. In Benin, there were only 35 bank branches serving a population of 7 million. Will microlending increase access to financial services? (...)Equitable Access to Financial Services: Is Microfinancing Sufficient?

Scaling-up HIV/AIDS Financing and the Role of Macroeconomic Policies in Kenya

.Scaling-up, HIV, AIDS, Financing, Macroeconomic, Policies, Kenya

Is the Washington Consensus Dead?

The recent G20 meeting in London elevated the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to a new level. Its lending capacity was tripled to US$750 billion. In the aftermath of World War II, the IMF was established to deal with declining commodity prices and deteriorating international trade. During the oil price shocks of the 1970s the IMF became lender of last resort, mainly to countries with balance of payments problems. The debt crisis of the early 1980s in Latin America gave the Fund further impetus. By the mid 1980s the IMF and the World Bank had become policy architects in low-income countries. The 1998 Asian financial crisis brought the IMF to the forefront of crisis management. In 2009, we are again at another milestone?the Fund is back with even greater influence. (...)Is the Washington Consensus Dead?

The Indonesian Response to the Financial and Economic Crisis: Is the Developmental State Back?

The current economic slowdown is jeopardising efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Poverty is worsening and jobs have been lost. The Asian Development Bank estimates that by 2010, about 100 million people in Asia will fall into poverty. (...)The Indonesian Response to the Financial and Economic Crisis: Is the Developmental State Back?

The Rich Expand, the Poor Contract. The Paradox of Macroeconomic Policy in Ethiopia

Rich countries have earmarked about $7 trillion to reverse the current global economic slump. The United States allotted$700 million to rescue ailing banks. About $180 billion was used to rescue just one insurer (AIG). A$787 billion stimulus package is also in place. The United Kingdom set aside $692 billion. The Chinese announced a$586 billion fiscal stimulus. Monetary policy has also become expansionary. The US and the UK cut interest rates to zero per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. Can low-income countries embark on such expansionary fiscal and monetary policies? Unfortunately not, as the case of Ethiopia demonstratesThe Rich Expand, the Poor Contract. The Paradox of Macroeconomic Policy in Ethiopia