Here I explore the process leading to the formation of the state in two steps. In the first part of this research note, I examine the transition from stateless to state societies, that is, I characterize the conditions under which the state arises. In the second part, I analyze the consolidation...

After decades of billion dollar scandals around long-serving dictators removing vast fortunes from their impoverished nations, the broader phenomenon of which this is part has acquired a label: Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs). The term encompasses the international transfer of moneys generated by...

Accountability is one of the cornerstones of good governance. Establishing accountable institutions is a top priority on the international development agenda. Yet, scholars and democracy practitioners know little about how accountability mechanisms develop and thus can be supported by...

At the UN General Assembly of September 2015, countries around the world committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By 2030, counties committed to attain poverty and hunger eradication, healthy lives, quality education, gender equality and sustainable development. Countries also...

The impact of opening to trade on economic institutions is likely to be multifaceted and depend crucially on country-specific circumstances. In the past decade an active body of research has studied this relationship. This framework makes is especially clear why international trade opening has...

Mexico's pursue and implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a pro-growth policy strategy that deepened Mexico's economic liberalization process at a time of crisis and macroeconomic stabilization. In that context, NAFTA constituted a commitment device to investment...

The study focused on a cross-section of countries observed in the mid-1990s, so the conclusions from that effort are beginning to be a bit dated. In addition, signi cant revisions of the data underlying the 2005 paper have been published. Last but not least, in the intervening years become aware...

The World development report (WDR) 2017 is centrally interested in the conditions under which three headline development outcomes (growth, equity, security) can be achieved by improving the effectiveness and legitimacy of governance institutions. This background paper explores all three...

In many countries, the resistances that obstruct the setting-up of development-enhancing forms of governance are problematic. In many cases, these resistances are linked to firmly anchored beliefs that have to do with to the proper ways of acting in society. For many years, much was expected...

This study examines whether jobs created as a result of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows can be considered to be good jobs both from the worker's and the country's perspective. For the worker, such jobs are likely to pay higher wages than jobs in indigenous firms in developing countries,...