Browse by: "PRE-2011"

The evaluation of official development programmes has grown tremendously over the past two decades; the public and taxpayers increasingly demand credible assessments of whether aid “works” to improve the lives of the world’s poorest. Global efforts to hold donors and partners accountable for the outcomes of development co-operation have also contributed to the growing interest in evaluation. 

In this context, this study describes the role and management of evaluation in development agencies and multilateral banks, based on questionnaires, findings from peer reviews by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), interviews and a literature review. The study includes information about the specific institutional settings, resources, policies and practices of each of the DAC Evaluation Network’s 32 members. The study identifies major trends and current challenges in development evaluation, covering: human and financial resources, institutional set-ups and policies, independence of the evaluation function, reporting and use of evaluation findings, management response systems, donor co-ordination, joint evaluation, and the involvement of partner countries in evaluation work.

This study is part of the DAC Network on Development Evaluation’s ongoing efforts to increase the effectiveness of development co-operation policies and programmes by promoting high-quality, independent evaluation.

This year’s Latin American Economic Outlook focuses on those in the middle of the income distribution in Latin America. If these middle sectors have stable employment and reasonably robust incomes, then, arguably, they provide a solid foundation for economic progress. Moreover, following the political role often attributed to the middle classes by historians and sociologists, they might also support moderate but progressive political platforms in Latin America’s democracies. In fact, this report shows that, contrary to expectations, in Latin America this group is still economically vulnerable, few have university degrees and many work in informal employment. This is a “middle class” quite different from the group that became the engine of development in many OECD countries. In Latin America, what are the economic characteristics of these vulnerable middle sectors? How do they perceive inequality, public policies and democracy? How can public policies protect the livelihoods of these middle-sector households? These questions guide the Outlook to discuss why and how upward mobility should and can be promoted, and how safety nets can be put in place to protect the most vulnerable segments of people within those middle-income groups, as well as the poorest and most disadvantaged households in the economy at large. The report tackles policies such as social protection and education that promote upward mobility, and underscores the importance of fiscal policy as a tool to finance the required reforms and programmes that can engage the Latin American middle sectors in a renewed social contract.

“Latin America is undergoing a rapid transformation and the middle classes are one of the most powerful motors of this change. This edition of the Latin American Economic Outlook analyses the process of expansion of the region’s middle sectors through innovative statistical methods and from a refreshing perspective. The middle classes are dynamic but also vulnerable; they are not poor but they are nevertheless far from enjoying a comfortable and secure economic situation. Their future depends on their own actions, and on the economic and social policies that the region’s governments will adopt over the next decade.”
Eduardo Lora, Chief Economist, Inter-American Development Bank.

“This new report from the OECD Development Centre touches upon a theme that is not often studied but which is of vital importance for the development of our countries: middle-income groups in Latin American societies. The report’s recommendations should be used as a basis for economic policy in the region, with the objective of promoting policy actions in favour of a sector that in advanced economies has been a pillar of development and democratic harmony – in contrast to what has happened in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Juan Temístocles Montás, Minister of Economy and Planning, Dominican Republic.

“This excellent report leads us to conclude that only with a stronger focus on rights, democracy and redistributive policies can we break the transmission of inequality and poverty from generation to generation, and advance towards the consolidation of a real middle class, a driver of development.”
Soraya Rodriguez Ramos, Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Spain.

La edición de Perspectivas Económicas de América Latina de este año arranca con la perspectiva macroeconómica de la actual recuperación económica tras la crisis mundial. Seguidamente, la presente publicación se centra en la fortuna de quienes se encuentran en la parte central de la distribución de la renta de las economías latinoamericanas. Si esos estratos medios cuentan con empleo estable e ingresos relativamente robustos, entonces, constituyen una sólida base de progreso económico. Además, podría decirse que respaldan asimismo plataformas políticas moderadas pero progresistas en las democracias latinoamericanas –el papel político a menudo atribuido a las clases medias tanto por historiadores como por sociólogos–.

Esta edición de Perspectivas analiza las características económicas de los estratos medios latinoamericanos, tales como sus categorías de ingresos o el tipo de empleos que ocupan, así como también sus actitudes y valores en relación con la desigualdad, la política económica y, de forma más general, el sistema democrático. Los resultados muestran que, en América Latina, estos estratos son a menudo económicamente vulnerables y están sometidos al riesgo de descender en la escala económica. En consecuencia, se abordan cuidadosamente las políticas públicas que podrían proteger los medios de subsistencia de los hogares de los estratos medios y las medidas posibles, por ejemplo en materia de protección social y educación pública, que promueven la movilidad ascendente de forma general. Por último, se subraya la importancia de la política fiscal como medio de financiar las reformas y los programas necesarios, y de hacer participar a los estratos medios latinoamericanos en la renovación del contrato social.

The contracting out of government functions and services to external providers is an established practice in many developed and developing countries. On the one hand, it can offer essential support to states that have to deliver basic services urgently; on the other, it risks bypassing governments and undermining their long-term recovery. The OECD’s Partnership for Democratic Governance was formed in 2007 to gather evidence on this issue.

This handbook does not take a view for or against contracting out; nor is it a technical manual. The handbook is for field practitioners and government policy makers in countries that are either emerging from conflict or are otherwise considered to be fragile. Its aim is to help them make more informed choices about the types of contracting that are best suited to their country. It is a tool to assess whether contracting out might be a possible way forward – either temporarily or over a longer period of time – for delivering a core service (such as basic education, healthcare, water and sanitation) or a government function (such as managing public finances and human resources). The handbook illustrates these points with the aid of case studies ranging from Afghanistan to Haiti and Liberia.

The global financial crisis has offered an important opportunity for Southeast Asian countries to rethink past growth strategies and project new development visions. This inaugural edition of the Southeast Asian Economic Outlook looks at current efforts to rebalance growth for the region and at what form growth will take in the future.

The analyses and discussions presented in this volume highlight the need to implement five-year development plans with a view to rebalancing growth and instituting a credible fiscal policy framework conducive to greater fiscal discipline. In particular, well-designed fiscal rules, independent fiscal agencies and a medium-term budgetary framework are crucial elements. Although such institutions are becoming increasingly important across OECD countries, there is room for improving the institutional settings in Southeast Asia.

The 2010 Outlook also addresses the fact that the future development of Southeast Asian countries is likely to be uneven across sectors and economies, unless necessary measures are taken. Sectors of new growth in the region will need to be supported by going beyond the current narrow range of electronic products and developing more niche and speciality products that are priorities of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Another area of policy action proposed is to develop more integrated transport networks. Given the huge investment needs for infrastructure development, new financing methods, such as infrastructure revenue bonds, should be further explored to promote public-private partnerships in the region.

La Valutazione reciproca dell’efficacia dello sviluppo in Africa: promesse e risultati, elaborata dall’UNECA/OCSE nel 2009 intende fornire delle risposte chiare e precise ai principali impegni assunti dai paesi africani e dai loro partner allo sviluppo, analizzare gli impegni portati a termine e i risultati ottenuti fino ad oggi e determinare le priorità delle politiche future.  

L’Examen mutuel de l’efficacité du développement en Afrique 2009 : Promesses et résultats,réalisé par la CEA-ONU et l’OCDE, apporte des réponses claires et précises aux quatre questions suivantes :