This paper presents a quantitative investigation of trends before and after the establishment of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to determine which trajectories changed where, and to what scale of human consequence. We perform three empirical assessments: a count of countries that...

Those involved in the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) campaign routinely state Africa will miss all the MDGs. This paper argues that a series of arbitrary choices made in defining success or failure as achieving numerical targets for the Millennium Development Goals made attainment of the MDGs...

This paper uses cross-country panel data to estimate the agronomic inputs that lead to cereal yield improvements and the consequences for developing countries' processes of structural change. The results suggest a clear role for fertilizer, modern seeds and water in boosting yields. It then...

This working paper provides a brief introduction to asset-based approaches to poverty reduction in a globalized context. The aim is to show the added value of asset-based approaches, in terms of both better understanding poverty and developing more appropriate long-term poverty reduction...

To what extent have developing countries’ patterns in reducing under-5 mortality rates (U5MR) changed since the advent of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? This paper investigates that question across multiple time horizons, with attention to the fact that countries’ progress had...

Under reasonable assumptions, China could achieve parity in living standard with Western Europe by 2100, and India by 2150. Climate change, however, may be a key obstacle preventing such a convergence. The business-as-usual (BAU) growth path of the world economy might increase concentrations of...

To what extent has eight years of participation in the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20) strengthened the influence of developing countries in global governance? This paper tries to answer this question by assessing the degree to which the G20's annual...

This scoping study has two principle objectives. It provides a summary of current poverty reduction strategies of US and UK-based international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) with a special emphasis on the underlying frameworks that form the basis of their development interventions....

We review the large literature on various economic policies that could help developing economies effectively manage the process of financial globalization. Our central findings indicate that policies promoting financial sector development, institutional quality and trade openness appear to help...

Worldwide, there has been a recent increase in expressions of cynicism. We are reminded that all power is hard power, and that being loved or respected is no substitute for being feared. The great power game of nations always continues, we are forewarned, even when a higher goal or rhetoric is...