Investment in most heavily indebted countries has been weak since 1982. Several papers (Krugman, 1988; Corden, 1988; Sachs, 1989) have subsequently established the debt overhang proposition: the existence of a heavy debt burden reduces the incentive to invest.1 This proposition has given an important...

The increased importance of rating agencies for emerging-market finance has brought their work to the attention of a wider group of observers - and under criticism. This paper evaluates whether the importance of ratings for developing-country finance has changed since the Asian Crisis and...

With its “Compact with Africa”, the German G20 Presidency intends to encourage private institutional and corporate investment, together with the African partners. The objective is to boost growth and jobs, promote inclusion and give people economic perspectives at home so that they do not...

The UN Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa in July 2015 will pave the way for the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. The Briefing Paper series “Financing Global Development” analyses key financial and non-financial means of implementation for the new...

In this paper we examine whether absorptive capacity can constitute sufficient justification for rejecting the proposal of a large aid increase to support the ‘big push’. We argue that the probability of a poverty trap exists for many countries, in particular the least developed countries...

French presidential elections 2022 have significantly strengthened anti-EU populists. Traditional mainstream centrists are not among the big three election winners, while far-right Marine Le Pen deftly addressed the plight of the disengaged. The country's rural-urban divide masks significant...

Die Bedeutung der Industrieländer - auch der USA - für die Weltwirtschaft nimmt schon seit langem ab. Vor allem Chinas Anteil hat demgegenüber deutlich zugenommen. Dennoch erfüllt der US-Dollar bislang weitgehend die Kriterien für eine Leitwährung, auch wenn diese angesichts der...