This report focuses on how to make democracy work for pro-poor development and on development policies that in themselves uphold and promote democratic values. It argues that development and democracy are not only goals in their own right, but must also be mutually reinforcing. It says that governments, the private sector, civil society and the international community all have a vital role to play in delivering development and democracy, and calls for responsibility, partnership and concrete actions.The report contains recommendations for action at both national and international levels. It is of interest to policy-makers, multilateral and bilateral agencies, the private sector, civil society organisations and all those committed to development, democracy and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Foreword -- Executive Summary -- Introduction -- A New Approach to Development and Democracy -- Poverty in the Commonwealth -- National Measures to Support Development and Democracy -- International Measures to Promote Development and Democracy -- Conclusion -- References and Appendices

"A classic."—New York Times "Seminal, epochal, path-breaking . . . a Democracy in America for our times."—The Nation From the bestselling author of Bowling Alone, a landmark account of the secret of successful democracies Why do some democratic governments succeed and others fail? In a book that has received attention from policymakers and civic activists in America and around the world, acclaimed political scientist and bestselling author Robert Putnam and his collaborators offer empirical evidence for the importance of "civic community" in developing successful institutions. Their focus is on a unique experiment begun in 1970, when Italy created new governments for each of its regions. After spending two decades analyzing the efficacy of these governments in such fields as agriculture, housing, and healthcare, they reveal patterns of associationism, trust, and cooperation that facilitate good governance and economic prosperity. The result is a landmark book filled with crucial insights about how to make democracy work.

Governments fail to provide the public goods needed for development when its leaders knowingly and deliberately ignore sound technical advice or are unable to follow it, despite the best of intentions, because of political constraints. This report focuses on two forces—citizen engagement and transparency—that hold the key to solving government failures by shaping how political markets function. Citizens are not only queueing at voting booths, but are also taking to the streets and using diverse media to pressure, sanction and select the leaders who wield power within government, including by entering as contenders for leadership. This political engagement can function in highly nuanced ways within the same formal institutional context and across the political spectrum, from autocracies to democracies. Unhealthy political engagement, when leaders are selected and sanctioned on the basis of their provision of private benefits rather than public goods, gives rise to government failures. The solutions to these failures lie in fostering healthy political engagement within any institutional context, and not in circumventing or suppressing it. Transparency, which is citizen access to publicly available information about the actions of those in government, and the consequences of these actions, can play a crucial role by nourishing political engagement.

A companion volume to Making Democracy Work for Pro-poor Development, this paper was written as a background note for the Commonwealth Expert Group on Democracy and Development, and was key in clarifying some of the major themes to be deliberated by the Group, chaired by the current Prime Minister of India, Hon. Manmohan Singh. It is in four parts. The first part reviews the extent of poverty and outlines some of the particular challenges confronting democracies in the current historical situation. The second part discusses the links between conflict, poverty and development on the one hand and democracy and good governance on the other, and possible ways by which support may be provided to democracies in combating poverty. The third part discusses possible strategies for winning global support, and the role of the Commonwealth in mobilising such support. The fourth part provides a summary of issues for the consideration of the Expert Group.

Worldwide, the number of poor people increased during the past decade, despite technological improvements, more open trade, and improved policy frameworks in developing countries. Regional conflicts, adverse shifts in terms of trade, and marginalization of poor countries in the new global economy explain this outcome. This highlights the need to reform development assistance and improve its effectiveness. Making Development Work examines the four key principles of the Comprehensive-Development Framework, a World Bank initiative currently being piloted in twelve developing counties. The initiative promotes a holistic long-term vision of development, domestic ownership of development programs, and focus on results; and stronger partnership between government, the private sector, and the civil society. The first section of the volume describes the evolution in development thinking that culminated in this new consensus. The second focuses on country ownership of development policies and programs. Based on empirical evidence, it proposes a new view of the aid relationship as a mutual-learning process. The third section focuses on results and on the ways aid agencies might enhance development impact of their operations. It concludes with a preliminary assessment of strategies for scaling up from specific projects to sector and programmatic approaches, and suggests ways to adapt them to counter conditions. The experience of a bilateral aid agency, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is examined in this context. The fourth section focuses on partnership, emphasizing that aid agencies must be explicit about the kinds of partnerships they seek with countries and the kinds of strategic selectivity they will exercise. The final chapter pulls together the lessons of development experience at various levels of operation. It outlines key tensions between comprehensiveness and selectivity, ownership and conditionality, speed and broad-based ownership, focus on results and poor local evaluation capacity, and enhanced country focus and globalization. Promising approaches to manage these tensions are put forward to replace one-size-fits-all prescriptions with client empowerment and social learning. Making Development Work offers rich lessons on improving the effectiveness of aid. It will be of particular interest to development practitioners, students and professors of development economics studies. Nagy Hanna is a lead corporate strategist and evaluation officer at the World Bank. He has published extensively on development, management, and knowledge. Robert Picciotto is director-general of Operations Evaluation at the World Bank.

'The Commonwealth Yearbook 2005' is an essential guide to the 53 member countries of the Commonwealth and the many organizations that work to promote international cooperation among the governments, professions and cultures of nearly two billion people.

For too long a conventional wisdom has held sway, suggesting that poor people in poor countries are not supportive of democracy and that democracies will be sustained only after a certain average level of wealth has been achieved. Evidence from 24 diverse countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America examined in this volume shows how poor people do not value democracy any less than their richer counterparts. Their faith in democracy is as high as that of other citizens, and they participate in democratic activities as much as their richer counterparts. Democracy is not likely to be unstable or unwelcome simply because poverty is widespread. Political attitudes and participation levels are unaffected by relative wealth. Education, rather than income or wealth, makes for more committed and engaged democratic citizens. Investments in education will make a critical difference for stabilizing and strengthening democracy.

The Group was chaired by the Hon Dr Manmohan Singh, the current Prime Minister of India. This paper was written as a background note for the Expert Group (immediately prior to the first meeting) and as such it was very important in clarifying some of the major themes which were discussed in the deliberations of the Group.