Publisher's Synopsis
Whose ownership? is the question. If only the answer were as easy to formulate. Donors and developing-country governments alike are struggling to put the principle of ownership into practice without much success. This despite agreement that countries must own their development policies if their financial inflows are to reduce poverty or stimulate growth. The authors of Financing Development 2008, designed to accompany discussions in the OECD Global Forum on Development, take a variety of approaches to the ownership question. They ask what developing-country ownership really means. From an effectiveness perspective, who should own development policies and who actually owns them? The authors find that the very complexity of the international system of development finance prevents countries from assuming leadership of their relationships with donors. Looking beyond governments, they also ask how aid effectiveness principles might apply to the activities of other actors, such as non-governmental organisations. Finally, the authors shed light on the relationship between ownership, investment and the private sector. The resulting messages and recommendations are of great value to those seeking to make development finance more effective, particularly policy makers monitoring and trying to facilitate the implementation of the 2002 Monterrey Consensus and 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
