MDG Progress Index 2011: The Good (Country Progress), the Bad (Slippage), and the Ugly (Fickle Data)
9/9/11
Ben Leo and Ross Thuotte check on the progress countries are making toward the Millennium Development Goals.
Publications
Multilateral Development Banks: Concrete Benefits to the U.S. Economy and American Jobs
7/28/11
Ben Leo testified before the House Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade on July 27, 2011 about the importance of multilateral development banks to the United States and the greater world.
New SME Financial Access Initiatives: Private Foundations’ Path to Donor Partnerships - Working Paper 254
6/3/11
This paper provides a review of the rationale for and against SME initiatives and an overview of existing targeted USG and IFI programs. The authors offer several new incremental options for private foundations to establish focused partnerships with donor agencies in their efforts to assist SMEs in order to meet their organization goals.
Find Me the Money: Financing Climate and Other Global Public Goods - Working Paper 248
4/6/11
In this working paper, the authors examine four categories of existing resource-mobilization options and recommend which might best be used to finance global public goods.
IDA at 65: Heading Toward Retirement or a Fragile Lease on Life? - Working Paper 246
3/10/11
By 2025, the number of IDA client countries will likely shrink substantially and primarily be smaller in size and overwhelmingly African. This working paper predicts how these changes will impact IDA's operational and financial models and recommends the World Bank begin addressing the implications of these developments sooner rather than later.
Sudan Debt Dynamics: Status Quo, Southern Secession, Debt Division, and Oil—A Financial Framework for the Future - Working Paper 233
12/6/10
In this paper CGD fellow Ben Leo contributes to ongoing discussions about the role of Sudan‘s $35 billion in external debt obligations – both for a unified Sudan and a possible Southern secession.
The Legacy of the Jubilee Debt Relief Movement: Agreements, Lessons, and Remaining Challenges
10/27/10
This short essay, prepared for the CGD event, “Whatever Happened to the Jubilee? A 10th Anniversary Assessment of the Debt Relief Movement,” provides a brief contextual overview of several recent debt agreements as well as the remaining challenges ahead.
Can Donors Be Flexible within Restrictive Budget Systems? Options for Innovative Financing Mechanisms - Working Paper 226
10/11/10
This paper focuses on how budgetary scorekeeping systems affect governments’ ability or willingness to support innovative development finance initiatives and explores several options to overcome the restrictions the systems often impose.
Who Are the MDG Trailblazers? A New MDG Progress Index - Working Paper 222
8/23/10
In this working paper, the authors introduce an MDG Progress Index to assess how on or off track countries are toward MDG targets.
Where Are the BITs? How U.S. Bilateral Investment Treaties with Africa Can Promote Development
8/4/10
This paper focuses on the role that bilateral investment treaties (BITs) can play in promoting development in sub-Saharan Africa.
Leading Issues in Global Development Finance, Georgetown University (Syllabus)
8/4/10
This module will examine the leading issues related to capital flows between the developed and developing worlds. It will cover the various types of official and private finance as well as the institutions and policies designed to manage and promote these flows. The first half considers development assistance from both the recipient and donor perspectives, as well as the changing roles of the IMF and the multilateral development banks. In the second half, the course explores the key issues in debt, private investment, and the financial sector. The course will stress policy-relevant issues and the presentation of analysis and information in a format used in real policymaking settings.
Inside the World Bank's Black Box Allocation System: How Well Does IDA Allocate Resources to the Neediest and Most Vulnerable Countries? - Working Paper 216
6/24/10
As the International Development Association (IDA) pushes for more funding for the neediest and most vulnerable countries, visiting fellow Ben Leo examines whether IDA’s existing performance-based allocation system (PBA) gives the developing world its fair share of funds. He says the system already has several built-in biases toward the neediest, but some donors feel it is not enough.
Proposal for an IDA Blended Financing Facility (Policy Memo)
6/8/10
Against the backdrop of the fast approaching Millennium Development Goals deadline, World Bank shareholders have an opportunity to dramatically increase resources available for the poorest, most vulnerable countries. By better leveraging the IBRD’s balance sheet for creditworthy blend and hardened term countries, IDA could have provided up to an additional $7.5 billion for IDA-only countries during the IDA-15 period.
Leveraging World Bank Resources for the Poorest: IDA Blended Financing Facility Proposal - Working Paper 214
6/8/10
CGD research fellow Ben Leo estimates that the World Bank could provide an extra $7.5 billion to the poorest countries over the next three years by adjusting the balance sheets of IDA and IBRD, its main lending arms.
Financing Food Assistance: Options for the World Food Programme to Save Lives and Dollars - Working Paper 209
4/14/10
The World Food Programme has world-class logistics, but its ability to manage financial risk is extremely limited. The WFP should consider implementing a targeted hedging pilot strategy for increased predictability. Greater commitments of untied cash from donors and support for the proposed Food Security Trust Fund at the World Bank would help.
A Doing Business Facility: A Proposal for Enhancing Business Climate Reform Assistance
3/30/10
Africa remains extremely difficult for entrepreneurs. Donors are increasingly targeting assistance to address the investment-climate constraints that hinder private-sector growth. This report lays out the case for promoting investment climate reforms more strategically, various options for implementing a system to do so, and possible institutional homes for the proposed facility.
Will World Bank and IMF Lending Lead to HIPC IV? Debt Deja-Vu All Over Again - Working Paper 193
11/23/09
Benjamin Leo, formerly of the U.S. Treasury and National Security Council and a key behind-the-scenes player in the inception and implementation of Multilateral Debt Relief Initiatives, examines the potential risk of renewed debt re-accumulation by countries that have only recently completed the HIPC/MDRI process that was to prevent a repeat of excessive debt accumulation.
Moving Mugabe's Mountain: Zimbabwe's Path to Arrears Clearance and Debt Relief - Working Paper 190
11/13/09
Zimbabwe faces a daunting array of obstacles to full economic recovery, including a crippling external debt burden. Todd Moss and Benjamin Leo urge that the current government must address the legacy of debt arrears and manage external debt in order to generate opportunities for reconstruction and growth.