Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations and Acronyms -- Executive Summary -- Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) -- Overview: From Vision to Action -- PART I Framework -- 1 Monitoring Framework -- 2 MDG Prospects: Reasons for Optimism, Grave Concerns -- PART II Developing-Country Policies -- 3 Overall Picture -- 4 Improving Enabling Climate for Growth: Economic and Financial Policies -- 5 Upgrading Public Sector Governance -- 6 Strengthening Infrastructure -- 7 Accelerating Human Development -- 8 Promoting Environmental Sustainability -- PART III Developed-Country Policies -- 9 Fostering Growth and Stability: Macro-financial Policies -- 10 Dismantling Barriers to Trade -- 11 Providing More and Better Aid -- 12 Fulfilling Responsibilities for Global Public Goods -- PART IV Role of International Financial Institutions -- 13 Monitoring the IFIs' Contribution -- References -- Boxes -- Millennium Development Goals -- 1.1 An action plan for improving development statistics -- 1.2 Strengthening the links between PRSPs and the MDGs -- 2.1 East Asia and Pacific: Despite solid performance on MDGs, challenges remain -- 5.1 Improving fiscal transparency through ROSCs -- 5.2 The African Peer Review Mechanism: self-assessing governance -- 5.3 Governance in Africa-progress on a difficult agenda -- 6.1 Water supply and sanitation in the MDGs -- 7.1 Rwanda: HIV/AIDS and health expenditures -- 7.2 The case of the missing money: monitoring public expenditure -- 7.3 The Bangladesh Female Secondary School Assistance Program -- 8.1 Multisectoral interventions to achieve the MDGs: lessons from child mortality in rural India -- 8.2 The United Nations Task Force on Environmental Sustainability -- 9.1 Differences between remittances and capital flows -- 10.1 The EU's Common Agricultural Policy reform.

10.2 Lessons from Integrated Framework diagnostic trade integration studies -- 11.1 Estimating the cost of the MDGs -- 11.2 Measuring aid selectivity -- 11.3 Vietnam's comprehensive government-led harmonization program -- 12.1 International Task Force on Global Public Goods -- 12.2 Progress toward environmental sustainability through performance review and peer pressure -- 12.3 International environmental agreements: toward global cooperation, with some notable exceptions -- 13.1 Framework for assessing IFI contributions -- 13.2 Results-based CAS -- 13.3 Proposed IDA14 results-measurement system -- 13.4 Sectorwide approach to primary education development -- Figures -- 1.1 Framework linking policies and actions with development outcomes -- 1.2 Monitoring: dimensions of developing-country policies -- 1.3 Monitoring: dimensions of developed-country policies -- 1.4 Monitoring: dimensions of development agency support -- 2.1 Growth prospects improve, but not enough -- 2.2 Most regions will reach the goal of halving poverty by 2015, but Sub-Saharan Africa is seriously off track -- 2.3 Mortality at a given level of national income has been declining -- 2.4 A few regions are close to the target on primary education: others are off track -- 2.5 Prospects for reaching the child mortality goal are dim -- 2.6 Reform combined with stronger partner support can substantially boost prospects for achieving the MDGs -- 3.1 Developing countries' policies have improved -- governance and institutions lag -- 3.2 Other ratings corroborate that developing-country policies have improved but that governance and institutions lag -- 3.3 The transition countries are making broad progress in removing obstacles to business -- 3.4 The developing-country policy diamond shows progress, but much more is needed.

4.1 Faster growing countries typically have better macroeconomic policies -- 4.2 Better-off countries tend to restrict trade less -- 4.3 Overall policy on trade in services remains more restrictive in developing countries -- 4.4 Heavy regulation is associated with lower productivity -- 4.5 Heavier regulation contributes to the informal economy and corruption -- 4.6 More regulation does not necessarily produce better social outcomes -- 4.7 Protecting property rights is associated with more credit -- 4.8 Poor countries regulate the most -- 4.9 Low-income countries lag far behind best practice in promoting business -- 4.10 Low-income countries lag the most in property rights and rule of law -- 4.11 Countries are improving their private business environment -- 4.12 The financial sector is deepening in the developing world, but at a varying pace -- 4.13 Deposit growth has not been equally reflected in growth in private sector credit -- 4.14 Financial system strength is typically positively correlated with compliance with Basel Core Principles -- 4.15 Capital markets are shallow in low-income countries -- 5.1 The quality of governance is weak but improving in developing countries -- 5.2 Civil liberties are gradually improving in developing countries -- 5.3 Participatory processes are also improving in developing countries -- 6.1 Gaps in infrastructure call for significantly increased spending, which must be managed well for effectiveness -- 7.1 Investment in human capital is up, but more is needed -- 7.2 Developing countries are allocating more public spending to human development -- 7.3 Public spending covers more of the cost of health care in high-income countries than in low-income countries -- 7.4 Public spending on human development often benefits the rich more than the poor -- 7.5 Teachers' salaries absorb most recurrent education spending.

8.1 Environmental policy ratings are low but improving -- 9.1 A robust global economy requires orderly resolution of the large external and fiscal imbalances -- 9.2 Low-income countries receive little foreign direct investment -- 9.3 Private capital flows to developing countries are recovering, led by debt flows -- 10.1 Potential income gains from trade reforms are large and can help reduce poverty -- 10.2 Escalating tariff rates discourage development -- 10.3 Protection in agriculture is high-a multiple of that in manufacturing -- 10.4 Is overall trade policy pro development? Mixed picture -- 10.5 Potential gains from liberalization of services, especially migration, are large -- 11.1 Aid is rising but is well short of what is needed -- 11.2 The increase in ODA in 2002 was concentrated in special-purpose grants -- 11.3 The proportion of aid provided in cash and more flexible forms should be rising, not falling -- 11.4 Institutions and policies matter for aid effectiveness -- 11.5 More selective donors provide more aid per capita to countries with stronger policies and institutions -- 11.6 Aid fragmentation is high -- 11.7 Aid flows are typically more volatile than fiscal revenues in aid-dependent countries -- 12.1 MDGs and Kyoto Protocol call for reduction of greenhouse emissions, but results tell a different story -- Tables -- 2.1 Growth rates and decline in poverty by region, through 2015 -- 2.2 Projected per capita growth and improvement in poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000-2015 -- 2.3 Primary education completion rates, progress needed by region -- 2.4 Distance from the goal of gender parity in primary and secondary education, by region, circa 2000 -- 4.1 Macroeconomic indicators for low-income countries, by region, 1983-2008 -- 4.2 Quality of macroeconomic policies for low-income countries, by country characteristics.

4.3 Macroeconomic indicators for middle-income countries, 1983-2008 -- 4.4 Impact of financial crises on poverty, East Asia, 1997-98 -- 4.5 Decline in tariffs in developing countries, late 1980s to 2003 -- 4.6 Decline in core nontariff barriers in developing countries, 1989-94 to 2000 -- 4.7 Major users of antidumping, developing countries, 1995-2002 -- 4.8 Overall trade restrictiveness of developing-country groups, 2001 -- 4.9 Investment climate, selected low- and middle-income countries, 2002 -- 4.10 Summary of lessons learned from corporate governance assessments -- 4.11 Evolution of selected financial soundness indicators, 1998-2002 -- 5.1 Improvement in public financial management in developing countries, 1999-2003 -- 5.2 Public financial management benchmarks used in HIPC assessments -- 5.3 Central government tax revenue, 1990-2001 -- 5.4 Quality of public sector governance, 1999-2003 -- 5.5 Worldwide governance indicators, 1998-2002 -- 6.1 Distribution of studies according to their findings on impact of infrastructure investment on productivity or growth -- 6.2 Access of population to infrastructure services -- 6.3 Technical quality of infrastructure services -- 6.4 Quality of infrastructure services as perceived by commercial users -- 6.5 Electricity reform in selected countries, 2003 -- 6.6 Expected annual needs for new investment and maintenance in infrastructure, 2005-10 -- 6.7 Private commitments for infrastructure, 1990-2002 -- 7.1 Private health expenditure -- 7.2 Public spending on social protection for selected countries by region -- 7.3 Frequency of attended births by wealth and region, various years -- 8.1 Selected outcome indicators of environmental sustainability by region and country income category -- 9.1 Macroeconomic indicators for advanced economies, 1993-2008 -- 9.2 Global economic environment and developing countries.

9.3 Remittances to developing countries, by region, 2001-03.