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Fragile States 2014
Report

Fragile States 2014

Domestic Revenue Mobilisation in Fragile States

OECD, 2014

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Analytical
  • Well Structured

Recommendation

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) generated this report to spur donors worldwide to focus on domestic revenue development in fragile states. Its dire scenarios pose ominous threats. The current pattern of unequal distribution of ever-decreasing aid funds provides only a miniscule investment in “domestic resource mobilization.” Lopsided deals with multinational corporations, small tax bases, ill-conceived tax exemptions and feeble “institutional capacity” hobble progress in the 51 diverse fragile states studied. OECD recommends that donors eliminate illegal financial flows and develop transparent tax systems. Fragile states are home to 1.4 billion people, a number that will grow to include two-thirds of the world’s destitute population. getAbstract recommends this well-illustrated and well-designed report to investors, NGOs and futurists, as well as to managers in government and economic development.

Summary

Fragile States

Development agencies, developed nations and donors worldwide must be newly alert to the difficulties confronting fragile states, which are trying to build revenue to support the overall improvement of their societies. The following 10 questions address the complex issues of fragile states’ revenue sources and the role of the international community:

1. “What Are the Key Trends in Fragile States Today?”

Some fragile states are repressive; others are democracies. Roughly half of the 51 states classified as “fragile” are “middle income” and enjoy natural riches. Their growing population of children is double the number of youth in other nations. Some 40% of the children in fragile states are younger than 15; in other states, this age group makes up only 25% of the youth population.

Thirty-five fragile states met at least one of the United Nation’s eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG). They show successes in gender equality, water quality and poverty reduction, but their overall progress is disappointing, particularly in improving nourishment and sanitation. Given available data, of the seven countries that “are unlikely to meet any MDG...

About the Author

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is a forum within which governments cooperate to solve worldwide economic, social and environmental problems.