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Project completed as of 2000 |
Overview and History | Discussion Paper Series
The CAER II Project: Consulting Assistance on Economic Reform
From 1995-2000, the Consulting Assistance on Economic Reform (CAER) II project served as the centerpiece of economic policy research for both the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID). The project's goal was to contribute to broad-based and sustainable economic growth and to improve the policy reform content of USAID assistance activities that aim to strengthen markets in recipient countries.
With 79 separate subprojects, CAER II embraced an exceptionally wide range of economic policy problems and delivered policy advice and training on many aspects of economic reform. Research topics ranged from such broad issues as the Asian financial crisis and the impact of privatization in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to more narrow issues such as estimating labor market participation in the Dominican Republic and assessing the macroeconomic consequences of the Russian mortality crisis. Researchers and advisors included colleagues from HIID's CAER II partner organizations and over thirty participating institutions in the developing countries.
In addition to its economic research and advisory activities, the project supported an ambitious program of publications, seminars, workshops, and conferences. Especially noteworthy was the conference Development Assistance in the Twenty-first Century (DA21). This brought together the CAER II researchers, host government policymakers, USAID and other donor agency officials to examine and discuss the research and its implications for development assistance programs and policies. To reach a wide policy audience in the developing countries and the development community, DA21 was conceived as an Internet presentation and discussion event. It attracted more on-line participants than Cambridge attendees. In addition to the transcripts of all sessions, audio recordings of them are included on this website with their simultaneous interpretation into French and Spanish.
As the final CAER II activity, USAID and Harvard economists and policy specialists worked together to create an analytical framework to assess the development progress, problems, and prospects of countries with USAID programs. This framework integrated CAER II research findings with development theory and experience. It was intended to provide guidance for USAID to develop baseline assessments of these countries' situations and performance. These analyses helped USAID missions to shape their five-year strategic assistance plans.
Awarded by USAID to the Harvard CAER II project consortium through a
competitive bidding process, the project began August 25, 1995 and ended
December 1, 2000. Bringing complementary skills and experience to the
project, the other consortium members were: Development Alternatives, Inc.
(DAI); International Management and Communications Corporation (IMCC);
Associates for International Research and Development (AIRD); Research
Triangle Institute, Inc. (RTI). All of the partners made major contributions
to the work and success of the project. Another key factor in the project's
success was the excellent working relationship between the consortium and
the USAID project management, especially the economists of the supervising
office, the Office of Emerging Markets within the Global Bureau's Center for
Economic Growth and Agricultural Development (EGAD/EM).
Overview and History |
Discussion Paper Series
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Overview of CAER II
Discussion Paper Series |
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Copyright
© 2007 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Last revised 10/31/2007