Norway

2012 Results



Aid

Aid quality is just as important as aid quantity, so the CDI measures gross aid as a share of GDP adjusted for various quality factors: it subtracts debt service, penalizes “tied” aid that makes recipients spend aid only on donor goods and services, rewards aid to poor but relatively well-governed recipients, and penalizes overloading poor governments with many small projects.


Norway’s aid performance

  • Score: 13.0
  • Rank: 2

Strengths

  • High net aid volume as a share of the economy (1.1%; rank: 1)
  • No tied or partially tied aid (rank: 1)

Trade

International trade has been a force for economic development for centuries. The CDI measures trade barriers in rich countries against exports from developing countries.


Norway’s trade performance

  • Score: 1.1
  • Rank: 25

Strengths

  • Low barriers against textiles (3.6% of the value of imports; rank: 1)
  • Low barriers against apparel (1.8% of the value of imports; rank: 1)

Weaknesses

  • High tariffs on agricultural products (86.3% of the value of imports; rank: 25)
  • High agricultural subsidies (equivalent to a tariff of 13.2% of the value of imports; rank: 21)
  • Low level of manufactures imports from poorer countries (7.6% of GDP per capita; rank: 24)

Investment

Rich-country investment in poorer countries can transfer technologies, upgrade management and create jobs. The CDI includes a checklist of policies that support healthy investment in developing countries.


Norway’s investment performance

  • Score: 6.1
  • Rank: 6

Strengths

  • Employs foreign tax credits to prevent double taxation of corporate profits earned abroad
  • Displays leadership in encouraging least developed countries to join the EITI and is one of the contributors to the World Bank Special Trust Fund to assist in its implementation
  • No restrictions on pension fund investment in emerging markets and official support for outflows of portfolio investment

Weaknesses

  • Loopholes in domestic legislation permit bribe payers to circumvent the OECD Convention on Bribery
  • Political risk insurance also given to inefficient, import-substituting projects

Migration

The movement of people from poor to rich countries provides unskilled immigrants with jobs, income and knowledge. This increases the flow of money sent home by migrants abroad and the transfer of skills when the migrants return home.


Norway’s migration performance

  • Score: 9.9
  • Rank: 2

Strengths

  • Large number of immigrants from developing countries entering Norway (rank by share of population: 2)
  • Bears large share of the burden of refugees during humanitarian crises (rank: 2)
  • Large increase during the 1990s in the number of unskilled immigrants from developing countries living in Norway (rank by share of population: 8)
  • Free tuition for foreign students and for nationals

Environment

Rich countries use a disproportionate amount of scarce resources, and poor countries are most vulnerable to global warming and ecological deterioration, so the CDI measures the impact of policies on the global climate, fisheries and biodiversity.


Norway’s environment performance

  • Score: 3.2
  • Rank: 26

Strengths

  • GDP growth exceeded growth in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the past decade (average annual GHG growth rate/GDP, -5.9; rank: 1
  • Low greenhouse gas emissions rate per capita (4.5 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent; rank: 2)

Weaknesses

  • High fossil fuel production rate per capita (109.9 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent; rank 27)
  • High fishing subsidies ($10.80 per person; rank: 27)
  • High consumption of ozone-depleting chemicals per capita (rank: 22)
  • Low gas taxes ($0.85 per liter; rank: 19)

Security

Since security is a prerequisite for development, the CDI rewards contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping operations and forcible humanitarian interventions, rewards military protection of global sea lanes, and penalizes arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments.


Norway’s security performance

  • Score: 7.6
  • Rank: 2

Strengths

  • Significant financial and personnel contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions over last decade (rank by share of GDP: 1)
  • Participates in major international security treaties and regimes

Weaknesses

  • Relatively small contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Operations budget (rank by share of GDP: 21)
  • Provides little protection of global sea lanes that are important to international trade (rank by share of GDP: 17)

Technology

Rich countries contribute to development through the creation and dissemination of new technologies. The CDI captures this by measuring government support for R&D and penalizing strong intellectual property rights regimes that limit the dissemination of new technologies to poor countries.


Norway’s technology performance

  • Score: 5.7
  • Rank: 9

Strengths

  • High tax subsidy rate to businesses for R&D (rank: 6)
  • Provides patent exceptions for research purposes

Weaknesses

  • Large share of government R&D expenditure on defense (rank by share of GDP: 21)
  • Does not revoke unused patents