The Bank is increasingly addressing issues related to fragile states. The following resources should serve as an inroad into those available, but are by no means a comprehensive list. Please email us to suggest additional resources.
LICUS RESEARCH ON FRAGILE STATES Related Bank Research & Background Papers: - The Forgotten States: Aid Volumes and Volatility in Difficult Partnership Countries (1992-2002), (Victoria Levin and David Dollar, 2005). (Victoria Levin and David Dollar, 2005).
This paper summarises the findings of data analysis on aid allocations to difficult partnerships. It provides information on aid flows and their level of volatility.
- Development Effectiveness in Fragile States: Spillovers and Turnarounds (Lisa Chauvet, Paul Collier, 2005) This paper attempts to quantify some neglected potential effects of aid, thereby improving overall guidance on aid effectiveness. It is thus in the tradition of the research on ‘poverty efficient’ uses of aid (Collier and Dollar, 2002).
- Making aid work in fragile states: Case studies of effective aid-financed programs (World Bank, 2004) A paper commission by The World Bank, which aims to highlight examples of successful aid-financed programs in fragile states, and to learn lessons that can inform the design of future aid interventions in countries in which the environment is different or more difficult than in more stable contexts. Cases studies include projects in Afghanistan, Cambodia, East Timor, and Northern Uganda.
- Transitional Results Matrix (UNDG-WB, 2005) The Transitional Results Matrix (TRM), also referred to as a Transitional Calendar or Results-Focused Transitional Framework (RFTF), is a planning, coordination, and management tool that national stakeholders and donors can use to better prioritize actions necessary to achieve a successful transition in fragile states.
Developing Poverty Reduction Strategies in LICUS (Agulhas, 2005)
This study is a rapid assessment of the experience so far of conducting Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs) in LICUS. The study's conclusion is that PRS principles and practices are directly applicable to LICUS and the PRS is the right tool for addressing the deep-seated problems with domestic institutions and policy processes found in LICUS, and for structuring the donor-government relationship into a more effective development partnership.
All background documents for Senior Level Forum on Development Effectiveness in Fragile States, London, January 13-14, 2005 available on official OECD-hosted SLF website. Top
ANALYTICAL TOOLS "Update on Analytical Tools for Resource Allocation: Country Business Planning Model and Country Norms" (Power Point)
Presentation to the Management Committee, November 2002 Country Policy and Institutional Assessment - 2001 results for IDA countries Top
CONFLICT "Aid, Policy, and Growth in Post-Conflict Societies," Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler (PDF)
This paper provides the first systematic empirical analysis of aid and policy reform in the post-conflict growth process. We first investigate whether the absorptive capacity for aid is systematically different in post-conflict countries. We find that during the first three post-conflict years absorptive capacity is no greater than normal, but that in the rest of the first decade it is approximately double its normal level. Thus, ideally, aid should phase in during the decade. We also find that growth is more sensitive to policy in post-conflict societies. Comparing the efficacy of different policies, we find that social policies are differentially important relative to macroeconomic policies. However, historically, this does not appear to have been how policy reform has been prioritized in post-conflict societies. "Breaking the Conflict Trap: Civil War and Development Policy," Paul Collier (HTML links to PDF)
This report finds that contrary to popular opinion, ethnic tensions and ancient political feuds are rarely the primary cause of civil wars. Instead, economic forces such as entrenched poverty and heavy dependence on natural resource exports are usually to blame. Three specific sets of actions are urged to prevent civil wars: more and better-targeted aid for countries at risk, increased transparency of the revenue derived from natural resources, and better timed post-conflict peacekeeping and aid. SEE CHAPTER 6: AN AGENDA FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTION. "LICUS and Post Conflict: Results for Development" (PDF) "The Role of the World Bank in Conflict and Development: An Evolving Agenda," Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit, 2003. (PDF)
EXCERPT: There is substantial overlap between countries classified as LICUS and conflict-affected countries. LICUS are significantly more prone to large-scale and violent conflict than other low-income countries. Hence policies and strategies that can mitigate the effects and reduce the risk of conflict are a greater priority in LICUS than elsewhere. Poor economic performance, manifested in low growth and pervasive poverty, is itself a strong risk factor. In general terms, all LICUS are conflict-prone, although not all conflict-affected countries are LICUS. Top
GOVERNANCE
"Helping Governments Keep Their Promises: Making Ministers and Governments More Reliable Through Improved Policy Management," Gord Evans and Nick Manning (PDF)
This paper seeks to examine some institutional causes of "executive policy unreliability" -- the term used to elaborate the phenomenon of government promise-breaking, and to set out what is known about technical interventions that can, in some but certainly not all, circumstances, assist. Top
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS "An Economy-Wide Framework for Monitoring the MDGs," Francois Bourguignon (PDF)
This paper is a contribution to the work examining how to accelerate progress toward the MDGs. It builds on the Baird/Shetty report, on the 2004 World DevelopmentReport, on the Global Monitoring Report 2004 and on other major contributions (suchas the UN Millennium Development Project). The paper presents an analyticalframework to monitor, at the country level, the cost of achieving the MDGs taking into account institutional, technical and financial constraints. It provides numerical examples from a typical, though imaginary, low-income country to illustrate the main points being made. This paper is part of the Bank’s broader efforts to develop analytical tools to cost the MDGs and to quantify the time path of reaching the MDGs -- i.e. to make gradual improvements in "absorptive capacity." Top
FINANCING "Supporting Sound Policies with Adequate and Appropriate Financing: Implementing the Monterrey Consensus at the Country Level" Mark Baird and Sudhir Shetty (PDF)
This paper responds to the Development Committee's request for the World Bank to report on progress in supporting policy reforms undertaken by developing countries with adequate and appropriate financing. Specifically, it looks at the prospects for accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the country level through a combination of better domestic policies and governance, higher aid levels, more effective aid modalities, and improved access to developed country markets. The International Conference on Financing for Development
Follow-up process official website Top
DEBT RELIEF "Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative: Possible options regarding the Sunset Clause," July 6, 2004 (PDF)
In response to the Boards ' requests, the report presents possible options to address the expiry of eligibility, owing to the Sunset Clause, which as stipulated in the 1996 Program of Action, it prevents the HIPC Initiative from becoming a permanent facility, minimize moral hazard, and encourage the early adoption of programs of reform. However, letting the sunset clause take effect at end-2004, would leave several HIPCs with debt in excess of HIPC thresholds after traditional relief. The report suggests that the process of putting in place an IMF, or IDA-supported program, has proved difficult for most of the HIPCs that have not reached their decision points. The Bank and IMF have extended support to conflict-affected countries-the Bank through the LICUS program, and the Post-Conflict Support Fund, and, the IMF through its Emergency Post-Conflict Assistance (EPCA) support fund. Debt Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) (website) Top
Related Links: Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction unit (website) How IDA resources are allocated Debt Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) (website) Top |
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