The current commodity price boom in combination with high price volatility is historically unprecedented even in the volatile price history of commodities. Commodity price dynamics have crucial macroeconomic and development implications, in particular for commoditydependent low-income countries....

Many low-income countries (LICs) are integrated into apparel global value chains (GVCs) through foreign direct investment (FDI). This is also the case in Lesotho that has developed to the largest Sub-Sahara African (SSA) apparel exporter to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the apparel sector in several Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries has experienced significant growth in the context of preferential market access. But expectations of FDI leading to spillovers to the local economy and the development of locally-embedded apparel...

Given the far-reaching implications of commodity prices for developing countries an understanding of the factors behind recent commodity price developments is crucial. ÖFSE research shows that besides structural changes in fundamental supply and demand conditions, the increasing presence of...

Commodity prices that are increasingly determined on global commodity derivative markets are important for economic and social development. The historically unprecedented commodity price boom - combined with high volatility - since the early-2000s has led to a debate about the functioning of...

Private sector development (PSD) has taken on an increasingly prominent role in both the debates as well as budgets of international development cooperation in recent years. While the promotion of private sector activities in developing countries has for a long time been part of development...

Private sector development (PSD) has taken on an increasingly prominent role in international development cooperation. This note argues that the private sector has to play an important role in sustainable economic and inclusive development but points out three concerns for effective PSD...

Many least developed countries (LDCs) face commodity dependence on the export and import side. This paper develops a structuralist computable general equilibrium model for commodity-dependent LDCs and simulates global commodity price shocks for Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Mozambique. Results show...

Cotton is one of the most important cash crops in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and has had an important role in job creation, poverty reduction and foreign exchange generation. SSA cotton exporters face particularly three interconnected challenges - how to increase yields and quality in the context...

Price instability is a major concern for commodity producers in developing countries. Commodity derivative markets have become the central pricing mechanism for international commodity trade. This is problematic given the high volatility and increased short-termism of these markets in the...