In The Media
Branko Milanovic
Source: Getty
Paper
Why Did the Poorest Countries Fail to Catch Up?
Despite the promises made by globalization, in the last twenty years the world's poorest countries have fallen further behind the rich. In a new Carnegie Paper, Branko Milanovic debunks current development theories that explain why poorer countries have not reaped the rewards of global economic integration.
Published on Oct 5, 2005
Source: Carnegie Endowment
Summary
Despite the promises made by globalization, in the last twenty years the world’s poorest countries have fallen further behind the rich. In a new Carnegie Paper, Branko Milanovic debunks current development theories that explain why poorer countries have not reaped the rewards of global economic integration. Using statistical analysis, Milanovic finds that the higher likelihood of poor countries to be involved in wars and civil conflicts is the most important determinant for their lack of growth while, surprisingly, the effects of domestic reforms or international lending were minimal.
Why Did the Poorest Countries Fail to Catch Up? reaches surprising and valuable conclusions about the effects of globalization on those who feel it most.
Click on the link above for the full text of this Carnegie Paper.
About the Author
Branko Milanovic is a senior associate in the Trade, Equity and Development Project at the Carnegie Endowment. He is also a lead economist in the World Bank’s research department, where he works on the topics of income inequality and globalization.
This is a web-only publication.
About the Author
Branko Milanovic
Former Adjunct Scholar
Milanovic is a lead economist in the World Bank's research department,where he has been working on the topics of income inequality and globalization. Previously, he was a World Bank country economist for Poland and a research fellow at the Institute of Economic Sciences in Belgrade.
- Global Crisis: How Far to Go? Part I
- Political Alternation, Regardless of Ideology, Diminishes Influence Buying: Lessons from Transitions in Former Communist StatesOther
Karla Hoff, Shale Horowitz, Branko Milanovic
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- Taking the Pulse: Does the EU Have a France Problem?Commentary
With its public finances in shambles, the far right polling at 35 percent ahead of the 2027 presidential election, and a growing protest movement, is France’s crisis a threat to the EU’s geopolitical awakening?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- How the EU’s Single Market Could Unlock EnlargementCommentary
Much has been said of the changes Brussels is trying to make to the EU enlargement process. Here’s why gradual integration might—or might not—be the answer.
Dimitar Bechev
- Taking the Pulse: Can the EU Stare Down China on Trade?Commentary
The European Commissioner for Trade is headed to China. But after President Xi’s bridge-building visit to Washington, can a more isolated EU overcome Beijing’s stranglehold on critical raw materials? Who will blink first?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- How Le Pen Benefits from the Stalemate in UkraineCommentary
The domestic impacts of how long it is taking to end the war in Ukraine have pushed the French electorate to the political extremes and compromised the country’s diplomatic capacity.
Rym Momtaz
- A Black Sea Truce Is About Global Food Security, TooCommentary
A summer of escalation in the Black Sea has hurt Ukraine economically and is exacerbating world food security. A truce is needed—as is a broader reframing of Europe’s Ukraine strategy.
Thomas de Waal
