Charles P. Oman – författare

Development thinking and development practice are in a state of flux - theory apparently offering little by way of solutions to the crisis of development. This book provides a fresh and critical survey of the different schools of development thought. A unique feature of this book is that both orthodox and heterodox schools of development thinking are covered in an up to date and non-technical manner. The book will be of use to students, development theorists and practitioners.

Development thinking and development practice are in a state of flux - theory apparently offering little by way of solutions to the crisis of development. This book provides a fresh and critical survey of the different schools of development thought. A unique feature of this book is that both orthodox and heterodox schools of development thinking are covered in an up to date and non-technical manner. The book will be of use to students, development theorists and practitioners.

Rapidly rising attention to the quality of governance in developing countries is driving explosive growth in the use of governance "e;indicators"e; by international investors, donors of official development assistance, development analysts and academics. This study helps them find their way through the jungle of existing governance indicators, and shows how they tend to be widely misused both in international comparisons and in tracking changes in individual countries. It also explains recent developments in the supply of governance indicators, arguing that while there will never be one perfect governance indicator, the production and use of more transparent governance indicators will better serve the needs of users and developing countries alike. "e;Highly informative and equally persuasive."e; -Adam Przeworski, Carroll and Milton Petrie Professor of Politics, New York University "e;Should be required reading by all who publish or use governance indicators, especially those who are making policy or offering policy advice."e; -John D. Sullivan, Executive Director, Center for International Private Enterprise "e;Given the proliferation of governance indicators, Arndt and Oman offer a welcome assessment of how existing studies are best interpreted and used by scholars, aid agencies, governments and businesses. This careful appraisal of present knowledge will be the basis for launching the next round of inquires."e; -Hilton L. Root, Former U.S. Treasury Department Official, Author of Capital and Collusion, Princeton University Press. "e;A seminal study. Extremely thorough. Should reach a very wide audience"e; -Franois Roubaud, Director of Research, Dveloppement Institutions et Analyses de Long terme (DIAL)

L'attention portee a la qualite de la gouvernance dans les pays en developpement croit rapidement et suscite une augmentation exponentielle de l'utilisation d' indicateurs de gouvernance par les investisseurs internationaux, les donneurs d'aide publique au developpement, les analystes du developpement et les universitaires. Cette etude permet aux utilisateurs comme aux producteurs d'indicateurs de gouvernance de mieux apprehender les atouts et les faiblesses des indicateurs les plus performants et les plus largement utilises. Elle les aide a s'orienter parmi les centaines de series de donnees existantes sur les indicateurs de gouvernance, et montre que ces indicateurs sont tres souvent mal employes aussi bien dans les comparaisons internationales que pour le suivi des variations de la qualite de la gouvernance dans tel ou tel pays. L'etude explique en outre l'evolution recente de l'offre d'indicateurs de gouvernance et affirme que, meme si l'on ne disposera jamais d'un indicateur unique parfait, la mise au point et l'utilisation d'indicateurs de gouvernance plus transparents permettront de mieux repondre aussi bien aux besoins des utilisateurs qu'a ceux des pays en developpement eux-memes.

Competition for foreign direct investment has been neglected as a subject of research. Yet many claim that such competition is having deleterious effects, such as lowering governments' standards of protection of the environment and workers' rights.This book looks at the evidence and assesses the impact of competition among governments to attract FDI. It finds little evidence directly to support fears of a "e;global race to the bottom"e; in labour and environmental standards. The widespread use of investment incentives, however, in OECD and developing countries alike, tends to be bad for government transparency and accountability. This is highly detrimental both to economic policy making and to the construction of democratic institutions in developing countries. The author proposes a shift away from incentive-based policies for attracting FDI towards a rules-based approach on both a national and international level.