Perspectives in Health - The magazine of the Pan American Health Organization

   Volume 9, Number 2, 2004

The Center for Global Development's Commitment to Development Index (CDI) scores 21 of the world's richest countries in seven policy areas pertaining to Millennium Development Goal 8: aid, trade, investment, migration, security, environment, and technology. The index focuses on countries' policy efforts, taking into account each country's size. For example, in measuring the quantity of aid, Canada would not be expected to give as much aid—in absolute terms—as the far larger United States. But both countries could be expected to give similar shares of their gross domestic product. Each country's overall score on the index is the average of its seven component scores.

The CDI includes indicators in policy areas that are important for achieving Goal 8. It measures the quantity and quality of foreign aid and rewards countries for openness to migration and trade. It also highlights a number of ways that rich countries can make their investment policies development friendly. For example, do countries offer political risk insurance to encourage investment in other countries whose environments would otherwise be too insecure? Have their governments signed on to antibribery conventions?

On the environment, the CDI looks at depletion of shared resources and at support for multilateral efforts to protect the environment, for example, through contributions to the Montreal Protocol fund, which helps developing countries phase out ozone-depleting chemicals. In the area of security, it looks at rich countries' contributions to U.N. peacekeeping operations and to humanitarian military interventions with an international mandate. It also rewards countries for developing new technologies, counting government support for research and development through tax incentives or direct spending.

Rankings according to the Commitment to Development Index provide a number of insights and some surprises. On foreign aid—in terms of both quantity and quality—Scandinavian countries top the rankings, while the United States, Greece and New Zealand pull up the rear. On trade, however, the United States scores on top, thanks to lower tariffs and subsidies than those in Canada, the European Union, and Japan. Nearly all countries score below average in at least one area, and most are below average in at least three.

For more information on the Center for Global Development's Commitment to Development Index, visit: www.cgdev.org/rankingtherich.

TRADING FAIR The United States ranks as a relatively good trading partner for developing countries, with lower tariffs and subsidies than Canada, the European Union, or Japan. Norway, with import tariffs averaging 32 percent on goods, ranks last. Its score on this measure—minus 2.7—is not even shown.	AID AS EFFORT Denmark tops the CDI aid ranking, with high quantity for its size—0.96 percent of GDP in 2002—and high quality to boot. Despite much higher absolute amounts, U.S. aid ranks at the bottom of the list, along with Greece and New Zealand.	INVESTMENT THAT HELPS Germany and the Netherlands tie for first on the CDI investment measure, thanks to policies that are pro-development. These include not placing restrictions on pension fund investment in emerging markets, helping businesses identify investment opportunities, and helping developing countries establish investment-promotion agencies. Spain, despite its strong colonial and language ties to the Americas, scores low on this measure.
OPEN DOORS Canada and the United States have the most open migration policies, while European countries and Japan are significantly more restrictive. R&D FOR ALL Austria and Canada are top funders of new technologies. The U.S. would rank equally high, except that much of its support is for defense-related R&D, which the index discounts by half.	GOING FOR GREEN Switzerland tops the list of countries with development-friendly environmental policies because of its low per-capita greenhouse emissions. Austria and Germany also do well because of their low emissions and strong support for international environmental efforts.	GLOBAL CITIZENS Norway and the U.K. give the most support for their size to peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions, including operations in Bosnia, Kosovo and Sierra Leone. Canada and the U.S. fall in the middle—at 13th and 11th place, respectively.