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State Fragility: Concept and Measurement

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Author Info
Baliamoune-Lutz, Mina N.
McGillivray, Mark

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Abstract

The international donor community has grave concerns about the prospects for poverty reduction in what it terms fragile states. A state is classified as fragile if its country policy and institutional assessment (CPIA) score falls below a particular threshold. Recognizing that all states are fragile to varying degrees, this paper questions the method used by the international community to deem a country fragile. This paper develops a framework that uses fuzzy-set theory to deem a country as fragile. Fuzzy sets allow for gradual transition from one state to another while also allowing one to incorporate rules and goals, and hence are more appropriate for measuring outcomes that are ambiguous. Such ambiguity is an inherent characteristic of cross-country fragility classifications. The paper applies its framework to 76 low-income countries, for which the CPIA data are publicly available. The fragile state group that this framework provides is compared to that which the international donor community has constructed.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER) in its series Working Papers with number RP2008/44.

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Length: 14 pages
Date of creation: 2008
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Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:rp2008-44

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Related research
Keywords: fragile states; policies; institutional performance; CPIA scores; fuzzy set theory;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Baliamoune-Lutz, Mina N. & Mavrotas, George, 2008. "Aid Effectiveness: Looking at the Aid-Social Capital-Growth Nexus," Working Papers RP2008/75, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER). [Downloadable!]
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  2. Craig Burnside & David Dollar, 2000. "Aid, Policies, and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(4), pages 847-868, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Branchflower, Andrew & Hennell, Sarah & Pongracz, Sophie & Smart, Malcolm, 2004. "How Important Are Difficult Environments To Achieving The Mdgs?," PRDE Working Papers 12821, Department for International Development (DFID) (UK). [Downloadable!]
  4. Collier, Paul & Dollar, David, 2002. "Aid allocation and poverty reduction," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1475-1500, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Baliamoune-Lutz, Mina N., 2004. "On the Measurement of Human Well-being: Fuzzy Set Theory and Sen's Capability Approach," Working Papers UNU-WIDER Research Paper , World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER). [Downloadable!]
  6. Torres, Magui Moreno & Anderson, Michael, 2004. "Fragile States: Defining Difficult Environments For Poverty Reduction," PRDE Working Papers 12822, Department for International Development (DFID) (UK). [Downloadable!]
  7. McGillivray, Mark, 2006. "Aid Allocation and Fragile States," Working Papers DP2006/01, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER). [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Mina Baliamoune-Lutz, 2007. "Institutions, Trade, and Social Cohesion in Fragile States," ICER Working Papers 24-2007, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Mina Baliamoune, 2009. "Policy Reform and Aid Effectiveness in Africa," ICER Working Papers 19-2009, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
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