This paper looks at the economic policies and institutions needed to generate and sustain economic growth and development. It argues that policy and institutional reforms are needed in three broad areas. First, the need for a fiscal policy and overall macroeconomic framework that ensures...

Broad comparisons show that growth is linked to imports, but country coomparisons over short periods show the link to be more flexible than fixed. In these stringent times, the big question for African countries is whether they can reduce their historically high import dependence? Or put...

During the 1980's, many developing countries received financial and policy support for trade policy reform. There has been major reform in exchange rate policy, in the reduction of export restrictions, and in removing impediments to the imports of inputs needed by exporters. Import regimes in...

Reaping the full benefit of adjustment packages depends on a government's commitment to reform as well as a variety of complementary factors, many of which have not been duly considered because of the lack of time, resources, and skills. It is becoming increasingly clear that if these packages...

The authors use a Gini index to measure inequality in educational attainment. They present two methods (direct and indirect) for calculating an education Gini index, and generate a quinquennial data set on education Gini indexes for the over-15-population in 85 countries (1960-90). Preliminary...

No country has achieved sustained economic development without substantially investing in human capital. Previous studies have shown the handsome returns to various forms of basic education, research, training, learning-by-doing, and capacity-building. But education by itself does not guarantee...

Administrative exchange allocation has been common in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Steps to dismantle or modify these control mechanisms have been carried out through traditional schemes. The authors draw lessons from sub-Saharan Africa's historical experience useful...

The authors argue that government policies in agriculture have been costly and misdirected worldwide. For them, this inefficiency need not continue. The Urugauy Round is an ideal opportunity for developed and developing nations to strike a bargain. They suggest 1) making agricultural trade...

Lessons from six case studies illustrate the complex relationships between international trade, vulnerable ecologies and the poor. The studies, taken from Africa, Asia and Latin America and conducted by local researchers, are set in places where the poor live in close proximity to ecologies that...

Developing countries experienced a revolution in trade policy in the 1980s and 1990s, but it is unclear how much real openness increased. After all, they had started with multiple, often redundant, trade restrictions. And it is unclear how changes in openness should be measured. The most...