Italy increases aid contributions but should address working practices, OECD says

Italy has raised its foreign aid contributions and its future targets, reversing a trend of falling development assistance, and now needs to improve the way it manages its development programmes, according to a new OECD review.

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• OCSE: l'Italia aumenta i contributi allo sviluppo ma potrebbe migliorarne la gestione

Aid to developing countries rebounds in 2013 to reach an all-time high

Development aid rose by 6.1% in real terms in 2013 to reach the highest level ever recorded, despite continued pressure on budgets in OECD countries since the global economic crisis. Donors provided a total of USD 134.8 billion in net official development assistance (ODA), marking a rebound after two years of falling volumes, as a number of governments stepped up their spending on foreign aid.

Switzerland on track to meet aid targets; should play greater leadership role

Switzerland provided USD 3 billion in official development assistance (ODA) in 2012, or 0.45% of its gross national income (GNI), in line with its goal to reach 0.5% of GNI by 2015.

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• Schweiz auf gutem Weg in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit - Größere Führungsverantwortung wünschenswert

Donors doing too little to strengthen domestic revenues in fragile states, OECD says

International donors are not doing enough to help fragile states increase their domestic revenue, according to a new OECD report that shows only a tiny fraction of development aid goes into programmes to improve tax collection.

Latin America: Tax revenues continue to rise, but are low and varied among countries, according to new OECD-ECLAC-CIAT report

Tax revenues in Latin American countries continue to rise but are lower as a proportion of their national incomes than in most OECD countries. Revenue Statistics in Latin America 2012 shows that Argentina and Brazil have the highest tax revenue to GDP ratio, while Guatemala and Dominican Republic stand at the lower end.

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• Los ingresos tributarios aumentan en América Latina, pero aún son bajos y varían entre los países

Norway high up the aid donor table but could improve allocation

Norway gave USD 4.8 billion in official development assistance (ODA) in 2012, or 0.93 percent of its gross national income (GNI). That made it the third most-generous member in terms of its ODA/GNI ratio of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which groups major donors.

Slovenia joins the OECD Development Assistance Committee

Slovenia has become the 29th member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the leading international forum for providers of development co-operation.

Poland joins the OECD Development Assistance Committee

Poland has become the 28th member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the leading international forum for bilateral providers of development co-operation.

Innovation, diversification and better logistics key to sustainable and inclusive growth, says latest Latin American Economic Outlook

After a decade of relatively strong growth, Latin America is facing headwinds associated with declining trade, a moderation in commodity prices and increasing uncertainty over external financial conditions, according to the latest Latin American Economic Outlook jointly produced by the OECD Development Centre, the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ECLAC) and CAF - Development Bank of Latin America.

Sweden is a generous aid donor that has put development at the heart of its foreign policy

Sweden delivered USD 5.24 billion in official development assistance (ODA) last year, or 0.99% of its gross national income (GNI). It is the second most generous member of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which groups the world’s major donors, when ODA is measured on a GNI basis.