Browse by: "2014"

The ability of citizens to demand accountability and more open government is fundamental to good governance. There is growing recognition of the need for new approaches to the ways in which donors support accountability, but no broad agreement on what changed practice looks like. This publication aims to provide more clarity on the emerging practice. Based on four country studies Mali, Mozambique, Peru and Uganda, a survey of donor innovations and cutting-edge analysis in this field, and the findings of a series of special high-level international dialogues on how to best support accountability support to parliaments, political parties, elections and the media. The publication takes the view that a wholesale shift in behaviour is required by parts of the development assistance community - moving outside conventional comfort zones and changing reflexes towards new approaches to risk taking, analysis and programming around systems of accountability and ‘do no harm’ efforts in political engagement.

This piece is aimed at a range of development practitioners, as well as a wider audience, including civil society actors and citizens around the world who interact with donors working on accountability support.

The African Economic Outlook 2014 analyses the continent’s growing role in the world economy and predicts two-year macroeconomic prospects. It details the performance of African economies in crucial areas: growth, financing, trade policies and regional integration, human development, and governance.

Country notes now cover all 54 African countries. They summarise recent economic growth, forecast gross domestic product for 2014 and 2015, and highlight the main policy issues facing each country. A statistical annex compares country-specific economic, social and political variables.

The Sahara-Sahel has seen recurrent episodes of instability. However, the recent Libyan and Malian crises have intensified the level of violence. These episodes have restructured the geopolitical and geographical dynamics of the region. Cross-border or regional, these contemporary crises require new institutional responses. How can countries sharing this space -  Algeria, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Chad and Tunisia and all related states such as Nigeria - stabilize and develop?

Historically, the Sahara plays an intermediary role between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Commercial and human exchanges are intense and based on social networks that now include trafficking. Understanding their structure, geographical and organizational mobility of criminal groups and migratory movements represents a strategic challenge. This book hopes to address this challenge and stimulate strategies for the Sahel of the European Union, the United Nations, the African Union or ECOWAS (Economic Community of the States of West Africa) in order to foster lasting peace.

The Atlas is based on an analysis of mapped regional security issues and development objectives to open the necessary dialogue between regional and international organizations, governments, researchers and local stakeholders tracks.

This edition of Better Policies for Development focuses on illicit financial flows and their detrimental effects on development and growth. Every year, huge sums of money are transferred out of developing countries illegally. The numbers are disputed, but illicit financial flows are often cited as outstripping official development aid and inward investment. These flows strip resources from developing countries that could be used to finance much-needed public services, such as health care and education.

This report defines policy coherence for development as a global tool for creating enabling environments for development in a post-2015 context. It shows that coherent policies in OECD countries in areas such as tax evasion, anti-bribery and money laundering can contribute to reducing illicit financial flows from developing countries. It also provides an update on OECD efforts to develop a monitoring matrix for policy coherence for development, based upon existing OECD indicators of ‘policy effort’. The report also includes contributions from member states. Most illustrate national processes to deal with policy coherence for development beyond 2015.

The Development Co-operation Report (DCR) is a yearly report by the Chair of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) that addresses important challenges for the international development community and provides practical guidance and recommendations on how to tackle them. Moreover, it reports the profiles and performance of DAC development co-operation providers and presents DAC statistics on official development assistance (ODA) and private resource flows.

The Development Co-operation Report 2014: Mobilising resources for sustainable development is the second in a trilogy (2013-15) focusing on “Global Development Co-operation Post-2015: Managing Interdependence”. The report provides an overview of the sources of finance available to developing countries and proposes recommendations on how to mobilise further resources. It also explores how to mobilise resources to finance the provision of global public goods: for example, to combat climate change, promote peace and security, and create a fair and equal trading system.

Corruption has a devastating impact on developing and transition countries, with estimates of $20 billion to $40 billion per year stolen by public officials, a figure equivalent to 20 to 40 percent of official development assistance flows. The return of the proceeds of corruption— asset recovery—can have a significant development impact. Returns can be used directly for development purposes, such as improvements in the health and education sectors and reintegration of displaced persons, with additional benefits of improved international co-operation and enhanced capacity of law enforcement and financial management officials. Development agencies and those committed to development effectiveness have a role in the asset recovery process. They have made international commitments to fight corruption and recover the proceeds of corruption in the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness: Accra Agenda for Actions, held in Accra, Ghana, in 2008, and in the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness: Partnership for Effective Development, held in Busan, Republic of Korea, in 2011. Despite these efforts, there has been difficulty in translating these commitments into concrete action. This StAR-OECD publication reports on how OECD countries are performing on asset recovery.

Drawing on data collected between 2006 and 2012, the report provides recommendations and good practices, and suggests specific actions for development agencies. Few and Far is primarily intended to support the anti-corruption and asset recovery efforts of developed and developing jurisdictions, with a particular focus on actions for development agencies. In addition, civil society organisations engaged in governance and development issues may wish to use these findings and recommendations in their reports and advocacy efforts.

Gender equality and the environment are treated as cross-cutting issues in all DAC peer reviews in recognition of their importance in development co-operation. This report highlights some of the common themes and important lessons on mainstreaming gender equality and the environment based on DAC members’ practices as documented in peer reviews, a number of donor evaluations as well as wider work across the OECD.

In 2011 the international development community committed to make development co-operation more effective to deliver better results for the world’s poor. At the mid-point between commitments endorsed in the High-Level Forum in Busan, Korea in 2011 and the 2015 target date of the Millennium Development Goals,  this report takes stock of how far we have come and where urgent challenges lie.

This report - a first snapshot of the state-of-play since Busan - reveals both successes and shortfalls. It draws on the ten indicators of the Global Partnership monitoring framework. Despite global economic turbulence, changing political landscapes and domestic budgetary pressure, commitment to effective development co-operation principles remains strong. Longstanding efforts to change the way that development co-operation is delivered are paying off. Past achievements on important aid effectiveness commitments that date back to 2005 have been sustained. Nevertheless, much more needs to be done to translate political commitments into concrete action. This report highlights where targeted efforts are needed to make further progress and to reach existing targets for more effective development co-operation by 2015.

Uruguay has made remarkable progress over the past decade. Stable macroeconomic policies and a favourable external environment have permitted brisk growth and the financing of social policies. Substantial improvements in several dimensions of human well-being have occurred during this period, alongside considerable reductions in external risks. The conditions ahead, however, may present challenges to maintaining performance. Overcoming these challenges will require finding the appropriate balance between long run objectives and macroeconomic and fiscal stability.

One of the main obstacles to economic growth is the insufficient and inadequate provision of human capital and skills. A number of challenges remain for education, which, together with fiscal policy, are key means of reducing inequalities and sustaining economic growth. In addition, Uruguay needs to address labour shortages to avoid constraints on future growth, especially as exports become more skills-intensive. It is important to orient social policies and expenditures towards the most vulnerable groups.

This Peer Review assesses the performance of Japanese development co-operation. Peer reviews of OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members are based on the two objectives of accountability and learning. The reviews are the only international process to examine regularly key bilateral development co-operation systems and offer constructive commentary for their reform.