We question conventional views on investment climates with a study of mobile telecommunications in three insecure states that score very badly in the World Governance Index: Afghanistan, DRC and Somalia. Data is limited but suggests insecurity and 'bad governance' may not be the barriers to investment that are normally supposed. Indeed, it is possible – at least for this type of digital technology – that they may encourage investment.

Private capital flows have the potential to bring important investment benefits to developing countries. In reality, however, capital flows are concentrated towards a few countries, and are highly volatile. The first part of this paper discusses the latest developments in international capital flows and financial market regulation. The second section considers the impacts of capital instability and lack of regulation on poverty reduction

While capital inflows can provide emerging market economies with invaluable benefits in pursuing economic development and growth, they can also pose serious policy challenges for macroeconomic management and financial sector supervision, as has been experienced by emerging Asian economies in recent years. This Asian Development Bank Institute policy brief describes the patterns of capital flows in and their impact on emerging Asian economies and discusses possible policy measures to manage surge more...

'This independent evaluation of the DB indica-
tors assesses the methods and processes
underlying the construction of the indicators;
the relevance of the indicators to desired
intermediate outcomes; and their use by World
Bank Group staff, policy makers, and other
stakeholders. It finds that the indicators have
been highly effective in drawing attention to the burdens of business regulation, but cannot by themselves capture other key dimensions of a country’s business climate, the bene more...

In 2005 the World Bank launched a review of its conditionality policy. This was in response to growing international criticism, from developed and developing countries alike, that the World Bank was still attaching too many intrusive and, at times, harmful economic policy conditions to its development finance to poor countries. Two years on from this important step, the World Bank is keen to represent the problem of conditionality as one that has been dealt with, and that is no longer a major p more...

CALL FOR PAPERS: The third conference of the UNU-WIDER project on ‘Southern Engines of Global Growth’ will focus upon empirical and conceptual studies exploring the roles of capital flows in its various forms—portfolio investment, foreign direct investment, and banking activities—in these four countries. The conference will also explore the contributions of capital flows to the growth of the CIBS and other nations. Intra- and inter-regional issues relating to capital flows are also welco more...

International investment agreements are becoming more precise and more transparent in an effort to avoid disputes, says a new UNCTAD report, which attributes the trend to the growing number of investor-State arbitration cases (January 2008).

The EBRD’s multi-donor Western Balkans Fund was established a year ago to bring additional investment to the region and to support economic growth and stability.

UNCTAD report on the experience with the investor–State dispute settlement (2008).

OECD report addressing recent FDI trends and an apparent growth in discriminatory practices toward cross-border investment in recent years motivated by concerns about national security and related essential concerns.