Is My Fair Trade Coffee Really Fair? Trends and Challenges in Fair Trade Certification
12/19/12
This paper is an introduction to fair-trade markets, trends, and challenges, and the issues brought on by attempts to get products to the mainstream.
Publications
Which Countries Will the MCC Board Likely Select as Eligible in FY2013?
12/17/12
This MCA Monitor predicts which countries the MCC board of directors will decide which of these countries will be eligible for assistance when they meet on December 19, 2012.
Which Countries Pass the FY2013 Selection Hard Hurdles? A Preview of Round 10 of the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Country Selection
12/4/12
This paper previews which countries the Millennium Challenge Corporation will select as eligible for FY2013 compact and threshold funding.
Europe Beyond Aid: Assessing Europe’s Commitment to Development - Working Paper 313
12/4/12
This paper provides the background to a series of more detailed studies of the policies of European countries as they relate to CGD's Commitment to Development Index.
Hoping to Win, Expected to Lose: Theory and Lessons on Microenterprise Development - Working Paper 312
11/29/12
How do entrepreneurs learn whether they have what it takes to manage larger businesses? It's likely through experimentation. In this paper, Dean Karlan, Ryan Knight, and Christopher Udry develop a model to help understand the impediments to experimentation and the benefits to giving it a try.
The Impact of Taxes and Social Spending on Inequality and Poverty in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru: A Synthesis of Results - Working Paper 311
11/26/12
Latin America is known for high levels of inequality, which governments can lessen somewhat through smart policy. In this paper, Nora Lustig and others analyze how and whether taxes, subsidies, and social spending reduce inequality across countries in the region and identify which policies are most beneficial.
Agricultural Decisions after Relaxing Credit and Risk Constraints - Working Paper 310
11/16/12
This paper details that results of an experiment in northern Ghana in which small-scale farmers were randomly given different kinds of potentially risk-reducing assistance.
Behavioral Design: A New Approach to Development Policy
11/14/12
In this paper, Saugato Datta and non-resident fellow Sendhil Mullainathan explore the implications of behavioral economics in policy areas as diverse as health, education, agricultural policy, and the design of cash-transfer programs.
The Governor’s Solution: How Alaska’s Oil Dividend Could Work in Iraq and Other Oil-Rich Countries
11/5/12
Reliance on natural resource revenues, particularly oil, is often associated with bad governance, corruption, and poverty. Worried about the effect of oil on Alaska, Governor Jay Hammond had a simple yet revolutionary idea: let citizens have a direct stake. Thirty years later, Hammond’s vision is still influencing oil policies throughout the world.
Mobilizing the Private Sector: Quantity-Performance Instruments for Public Climate Funds
10/31/12
The aim of this brief is to review the potential of Quantity-Performance (QP) instruments as a way to channel public funds to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective way.
Governance of New Global Partnerships: Challenges, Weaknesses, and Lessons
10/31/12
Keith A. Bezanson and Paul Isenman focus on the challenges inherent in the governance of new global partnerships and show how to avoid or redress their shortcomings.
Greenprint: A New Approach to Cooperation on Climate Change
10/31/12
“This important book sets a sensible and specific way forward. It should be read by all involved in economic development and international action on climate change.” —Lord Nicholas Stern, author of the Stern Review
The Buoyant Billions: How “Middle Class” Are the New Middle Classes in Developing Countries? (And Why Does It Matter?) - Working Paper 309
10/26/12
Middle-income countries are now home to most of the world’s extreme poor and to what Andy Sumner calls the “buoyant billions”—those living on between $2 and $10 a day. Sumner follows the trends and implications.
Migration and Disaster-Induced Displacement: European Policy, Practice, and Perspective - Working Paper 308
10/18/12
This study surveys the current state of law as it relates to persons displaced by natural disaster, with a specific focus on the 27 member states of the European Union plus Norway and Switzerland.
Economic Assistance in Conflict Zones: Lessons from Afghanistan
10/18/12
This paper explores the question of whether or not foreign aid has helped to build state strength and legitimacy in Afghanistan, and not just bolster state capacity to fight a war.
Commitment to Development Index 2012
10/15/12
The Commitment to Development Index ranks 27 of the world’s richest countries on their dedication to policies that benefit the 5.5 billion people living in poorer nations.
Building a Biometric National ID: Lessons for Developing Countries from India’s Universal ID Program
10/15/12
India’s Universal ID program seeks to provide a unique identity to all 1.2 billion residents. Its successes and potential failures will have far-reaching implications for other developing countries looking to create national identity systems.
India's New Not Poor, Not Middle Class—And Its Implications? (presentation)
10/15/12
In her presentation at the Centre for Policy Research in New Dehli on November 6, 2012, CGD President Nancy Birdsall outlines the likely rise of a new struggling middle class in India and the challenges and opportunities it presents.