Suchergebnisse

For decades, earnings from farming in many developing countries have been depressed by a pro-urban bias in own-country policies, as well as by governments of richer countries favoring their farmers with import barriers and subsidies. Both sets of policies reduce national and global economic welfare and inhibit agricultural trade and economic growth. They almost certainly add to inequality and poverty in developing countries, since three-quarters of the world's billion poorest people depend on farming for their livelihood. During the past two decades, however, numerous developing country governments have reduced their sectoral and trade policy distortions, while some high-income countries also have begun reducing market-distorting aspects of their farm policies. The author surveys the changing extent of policy distortions to prices faced by developing-country farmers over the past half century, and provides a summary of new empirical estimates from a global economy-wide model that yield estimates of how much could be gained by removing the interventions remaining as of 2004. The author concludes by pointing to the scope and prospects for further pro-poor policy reform in both developing and high-income countries.

Inwieweit sich die seit Beginn der 80er Jahre in einer Reihe afrikanischer Länder durchgeführten marktwirtschaftlichen Reformen politisch durchsetzen lassen und wirtschaftlich erfolgreich sind, hängt von vielen Faktoren ab: dem politischen Widerstand der gesellschaftlichen Opfer dieser Programme, der Preisentwicklung auf den Weltrohstoffmärkten, dem Umfang und der Qualität der Entwicklungshilfe, u.a.m. (DÜI-Spe)

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT POLICY ENCOMPASSES A BROAD ARRAY OF FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO FOSTER IMPROVED WORKFORCE UTILIZATION, MAINTENANCE, AND DEVELOPMENT. FEDERALISM IN US WORKFORCE POLICY IS EXAMINED IN TERMS OF THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT ENACTED IN 1998 AUTHORIZING TWO OF THE MORE IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF NATIONAL WORKFORCE POLICY: JOB TRAINING AND WORK-RELATED EDUCATION. COERCIVE FEDERALISM IN WORKFORCE POLICY BEGAN IN THE LATE 1970S AND IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST INTO THE FUTURE, EVEN AS STATES SERVE AS "LABORATORIES OF DEMOCRACY." THE COMPREHENSIVENESS OF NATIONAL WORKFORCE POLICY, INCLUDING BROAD CONCERNS OVER EFFICIENCY, HAS YET TO ADDRESSED FULLY.

Fiscal policy is the important instrument of Economic Development. A comprehensive tax policy to ensure speedy economic development must promote savings, encourage investments, provide a healthy economic climate and stable economic framework assures equitable distributing of gains of employment and reduces concentration of economic power. Appropriate measures have been taken by the Government of India to design its tax policy on the above lines. Tax concessions, relief and incentives have been provided to encourage saving and investment, fiscal incentives are being given for export promotion, excise duties are being rationalized, non-development expenditure is being kept in check. All these measures were yields some sources. But still there are many drawbacks with the tax system which are being carefully looked into.

Reforms of fertilizer subsidies and electricity supply to agriculture face different political challenges. As Chapter 7 shows, there are only a couple of methods, primarily technical, for addressing fertilizer reform that are unlikely to face political resistance. In electricity supply, a range of reform options may be adopted without significant political resistance, as outlined in Chapter 11. In both cases, several strategies may be used to overcome the political challenges of policy options that are likely to meet political resistance. The first section of this chapter discusses strategies that have been attempted and analyzed in the literature on the politics of economic reforms in India. The second section discusses strategies that could move beyond current reform efforts. The third section deals with the role of research-based knowledge, which is equally important for both types of political strategies. ; PR ; IFPRI1 ; EPTD

Sound economic and social policies are important if countries wish to prosper and achieve sustainable development. It is far from guaranteed, however, that policymakers select and implement good policies, which provides a rationale for external policy support. Indeed, many organizations are engaged in supporting policy reform processes in recipient countries. This study investigates the limits and opportunities of supporting policy reform by focusing on four dimensions of support: conditional financing, policy dialogue, technical evidence and political institutions. Four findings follow from a review of the literature. First, without commitment on the recipient side, conditional financing is unlikely to induce policy reform. Second, when external actors acquire a seat at the policy dialogue table, it is important to detect (and influence) the beliefs policymakers hold. Third, outside parties should bring sound evidence to the table about the costs, benefits, and effectiveness of their policy proposals. Finally, supporting changes in political institutions without considering general equilibrium effects can be counterproductive. The study concludes with a discussion and some avenues for future research in this field.

The United Nations Special Session on the Critical Ecnomic Situation in Africa concluded in June 1986 with the Adoption of a Programme of Action which included an explicit recognition of African policy failures and the need for reform:The endogenous aggravating factors include deficiencies in institutional and physical infrastructures, economic strategies and policies that have fallen short, in some cases, of achieving their objectives, disparities in urban and rural development and income distribution, insufficient managerial/administrative capacities, inadequate human resource development and lack of financial resources...Urgent, far reaching and imaginative economic policies are required to avert further deterioration in the economic conditions in Africa...