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...

This World Bank site considers a new framework for reducing poverty worldwide. The three steps of this outline are highlighted. "Understanding the nature and locus of poverty" considers the demographics of the world's poor. The second step, "Choosing public actions that have the highest poverty impact," examines the factors necessary for choosing public actions that will merit the highest impact...

The US Agency for International Development's Development Experience Clearinghouse has recently made its Development Experience System (DEXS) available via the web. DEXS "is a family of bibliographic databases that contains records for about 100,000 Agency technical and program documents" from 1942 to the present. The database is split into two parts, 1942-86, and 1987-present. Information can be...

As part of the upcoming 2002 Johannesburg Summit, the United Nations report "Global Challenge, Global Opportunity: Trends in Sustainable Development" was issued on August 13, 2002. The report, in part, tells that "if current patterns of development continue, nearly half of the world's people will suffer from water shortages within the next 25 years, the use of fossil fuels, along with greenhouse...

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...

Policy debates continue to rage on regarding the most effective ways to bring developing countries and regions into full economic participation in the emerging global economy, and a number of organizations (such as the World Bank) have sounded off on the subject with working papers and policy briefs. Under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), this...

As a part of the World Bank, the stated vision of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is "that poor people have the opportunity to escape poverty and to improve their lives." To whit, the IFC works to promote open and competitive markets in developing countries, generate productive jobs and deliver basic services, among other things. First-time visitors will find that the layout of the...

IFC, a member of the World Bank group, provides loans and equity financing for private sector projects, and advisory services to governments in developing countries to promote economic development. This website offers information about the products and services that IFC provides; reports on IFC projects and activities; and puts out press releases. There is also a collection of discussion and...

The United Nations' work in development includes crafting meaningful guidelines for development work and support in over 180 nations. From this webpage, visitors can view development news updates, read a succinct list of primary development efforts, and also look over a handy toolbox, which includes the UN Data site and a research guide. Moving on, visitors can also learn which UN bodies and...

The World Bank group consists of IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development); IDA (International Development Agency); IFC (International Finance Corporation); MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency); and ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes). Visitors to the site will find information on the goals and activities of these agencies. Press...