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Blog post
Adjusting the export-for-growth model
Trade brings numerous benefits, chief among them competition, yet today’s outlook for trade remains uncertain. Is it time to re-think the primacy of exporting for growth? This third blog in a series explores the issue. A successful development model in the last few decades has been for developing countries with low labour costs to jump on the lowest rung of the value...
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Blog post
The new international geography of deindustrialisation
The problem with Donald Trump’s trade narrative is that it ignores the simple fact that deindustrialisation in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa has been more severe than it has been in the US and Europe. Trump seems intent on starting a global trade war. His recent imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminium is consistent with his rambling inaugural address about...
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Blog post
Are we living in unorthodox times?
How different is today’s environment for developing countries compared to a few decades ago? The second blog in this series examines four trends that will shape how countries grow and develop in the future. The most admired development strategies of the last few decades were deployed at a time of historically unprecedented global integration. Driven by both increasingly...
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Blog post
Non-price energy conservation and household energy consumption: Experimental evidence from Bangladesh
Research in Bangladesh shows that non-price energy conservation programmes can help support achieving energy efficiency especially regarding residential electricity usage. Household electricity consumption accounts for 40% of global energy related CO2 emissions and this is expected to grow globally by 58% by 2030 if no measures are introduced (Rasul & Hollywood 2012). ...
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Op-ed: Unorthodox policies for unorthodox times
From protectionism to automation to climate change, today’s global context is changing. What does this mean for the development strategies countries choose to pursue? This blog, the first in a series of five, looks at how today’s context should influence our thinking. New political forces, embracing economic ideologies that had been dormant for decades, are on the...
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Blog post
Data, incentives, and relationship building for improved tax enforcement
Tax authorities in developing countries often lack the information and enforcement capacity necessary to collect adequate tax revenue. Both innovative and practical research, performed in collaboration with tax authorities, can address these constraints. The International Growth Centre (IGC) works closely with its partner governments to promote effective tax policies and...
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Blog post
Fighting poverty with big data: A conversation with Joshua Blumenstock
Joshua Blumenstock is an Assistant Professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information, where he directs the Data-Intensive Development Lab, and a member of the Blum Center’s Development Engineering faculty. His research lies at the intersection of machine learning and development economics, and focuses on using novel data and methods to better understand the causes and...
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Blog post
Motivating teachers in rural Zambia using a monetary incentive
As is the case in many developing countries, the achievement gap between rural and urban areas in Zambia remains substantial. For example, the share of students scoring well on the primary school leaving examinations (the Grade 7 examinations) in rural areas is about half what it is in urban areas, according to data from the Examinations Council of Zambia (ECZ). The reasons...
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Blog post
Overcoming the middle-income trap: Policy priorities for Latin America
Boosting innovation, infrastructure and education policies, while improving institutions and finances can help the region reach the high-income range. During more than half a century, most Latin American countries have been unable to significantly reduce the income gap with advanced economies and breakout from the middle-income range. Since the 1970s, this gap has been...
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Blog post
Evidence-based tax policy: A policymaker’s perspective
Collaborative research can play an important role in addressing the challenges that tax authorities in Africa face. IGC’s regional tax conference in Lusaka brought together tax authorities from several African countries to share their experiences and insights on using evidence in tax policy design and enforcement. Tax collection agencies across the world are facing...
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AfCFTA: Africa is moving too slowly towards economic integration
Africa’s quest for a single market dates back to the establishment of the Organisation of African Union (OAU) in 1963. The OAU, which brought together Africa’s newly independent nations, had at its heart intra-Africa economic integration. In fact, it aimed to emulate Europe by creating an African Economic Community, encompassing a single market and a customs union. In...