Globalisation forces all countries to become more competitive by shifting capital and labour to new economic sectors. However, while it is widely accepted today that proactive industrial policies are needed for such structural change, there is disagreement to what extent low and middle-income...

Many low- and middle-income countries suffer from a lack of medium-sized companies, which tend to be the main creators of higher-income employment as well as the motors of innovation and economic diversification. The chief reason is that few micro and small enterprises are able to upgrade, that...

On 26 September, the United Nations will adopt the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, which includes 17 ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs). These Goals will replace the Millennium Development Goals and are meant to make international development transformative and...

After independence, energy and food subsidies became a cornerstone of the social contracts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. Governments spent heavily to reduce poverty and strengthen their own legitimacy. However, as government rents faded, subsidy spending became...