Beliefs are one component of culture. Data from the World Values Survey is available on a subset of beliefs concerning (broadly) meritocracy and poverty that appear relevant for economics. We document how they vary as well as their distribution across countries. We then correlate these measures of beliefs with economic growth and compare them with...

Knowledge is central to development. The World Bank invests about one-quarter of its budget for country services in knowledge products. Still, there is little research about the demand for these knowledge products and how internal knowledge flows affect their demand. About 49 percent of the World Bank’s policy reports, which are published Economic and Sector...

Summary In this Analysis Lowy Institute Melanesia Program Director, Jenny Hayward-Jones, argues that Australia’s massive expenditure of $2.6 billion on the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) was a high price to pay for restoring stability in a small country. She argues that although there were many laudable achievements, the key lesson of RAMSI...

Drawing on census data, this report identifies the major trends in the size and distribution of Australia's towns over the twentieth century. It examines the processes of change and the long term technological and economic factors driving development.

This report examines the long term economic viability of the Pilbara region. It gives an audit of infrastructure, policies, programs and initiatives, with a gap analysis of need and a comparison against other places in Australia and around the world.