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Blog post
Is GDP an adequate measure of development?
An increasing GDP is often seen as a measure of welfare and economic success. However, it fails to account for the multi-dimensional nature of development or the inherent short-comings of capitalism, which tends to concentrate income and, thus, power. In this blog post, André Castro and Manish Prasad, make a case for using alternate measures of development such as the...
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Blog post
From roads to regulation: Realistic transport reform in Greater Kampala
Across developing cities, transportation is struggling to keep up with rapid population growth. Transport systems that are supposed to connect individuals to jobs, services, and markets have limited reach and low capacity. Land allocated to roads in sub-Saharan African cities, for example, is around a third of that in cities in other parts of the world (Collier and Venables...
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Blog post
Who are William Nordhaus and Paul Romer? And why did they win the Nobel prize in economics?
The latest on the Nobel prize in economics. The basics: Who are they? William Nordhaus of Yale University is a pioneer in the economics of climate change. He won for his work on integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic models. Paul Romer of NYU Stern won for his work on the endogenous growth model and his emphasis on the integration of technological...
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Blog post
World’s first development impact bond
About three years ago, an experiment in the financing and delivery of a programme aimed at increasing girls’ school enrollment and achievement began in Rajasthan, India. In this rural area, where agriculture is the main form of subsistence, one in 10 girls aged 11-14 are kept out of school, for reasons such as contributing to the family income or caring for siblings. A...
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Blog post
Revisiting the balance of payments and the fiscal deficit
Countries left-and-right are battling fiscal crises. Have we been too stringent, or not enough? This last blog in a series thinks about how fiscal policy might look different in unorthodox times. A prudent fiscal stance and a healthy balance of payments have been standard prescriptions for emerging economies. Manageable debts and a slim deficit keep macroeconomic crises...
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IGC Quick Click: On trade wars and the aftermath of the financial crisis
With so many interesting and important economic events happening in the world, we, at the IGC, thought we would have a go at summarising the debate on key interesting (yes, they exist) and topical economic issues. We aim to put together links to enlightening blogs and papers from a diversity of sources that will explain the various aspects of a topic/event or the different...
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Blog post
Incentivising school attendance in Mozambique: Reports or cash transfers?
An enormous effort has been made by governments the world over to incentivise parents to ensure that their children attend school regularly. In developing countries, in particular, arguably the most significant innovation in social policy in the past few decades has been the introduction of conditional cash transfers made to parents to incentivise a number of prescribed...
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Blog post
Rethinking traditional structural transformation
How much will the old patterns of economic growth explain the experience of tomorrow’s growing economies? While the evolution of an economy into different sectors is a natural process of development, the fourth blog in this series examines how the composition of growth could look very different in the future. The shift of labour from the countryside into higher...
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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...
Blog post
Mining taxation policy in Zambia: The tyranny of indecision
Instability, massive increases and novel taxes not seen anywhere in the world’. That is the way the outgoing Zambia Chamber of Mines President, Nathan Chishimba, described the new tax measures targeted at the mining sector in the 2019 budget. The Zambian government has charged that these new measures will ensure that the sector is paying its fair share of taxes, but the...