Inside the Index

Published annually since 2003, the Commitment to Development Index reminds the world that reducing poverty in developing countries is about far more than giving money. The CDI assigns points in seven policy areas: aid (both quantity as a share of income and quality), trade, investment, migration, environment, security, and technology. Within each component, a country receives points for policies and actions that support poor nations in their efforts to build prosperity, good government, and security. The seven components are averaged for a final score. The scoring adjusts for size in order to discern how much countries are living up to their potential to help.














To request paper copies of these materials for conferences, seminars, or classroom use contact John Osterman.

Background Papers

Aid component
David Roodman

This paper elaborates on the subcomponent on private charity. The aid component was influenced by an earlier paper by William Easterly, currently at New York University.

Trade component
David Roodman

The trade component is influenced by an earlier paper by William Cline, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development

Investment component
Theodore Moran, Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Global Development

Migration component
Kimberly Hamilton and Elizabeth Grieco, Migration Policy Institute

A 2006 paper by B. Lindsay Lowell and Victoria Carro of Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of International Migration proposes additional migration indicators.

Environment component
Amy Cassara and Daniel Prager, World Resources Institute

A 2007 paper by David Roodman adds the BRICs to the environment component to see how these countries stack up.

Security component
Michael O'Hanlon and Adriana Lins de Albuquerque, Brookings Institution

Technology component
Keith E. Maskus, Professor of Economics, University of Colorado at Boulder

The technology component was influenced by an earlier paper by Alicia Bannon and David Roodman.

Previous-year Technical Papers and Spreadsheets

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