D E V E L O P M E N T
Netherlands, Denmark 'Most Committed'
WASHINGTON The Netherlands and Denmark received top rankings for the second year in a row in the annual Commitment to Development Index (CDI), which is designed to measure the degree to which the world's wealthiest countries pursue policies that benefit the planet's poorest people.
Due to changes in the Index's methodology, the United States jumped from number 20 for 2001 to number seven in 2002 the last year for which full data on all of the Index' criteria are available largely on the basis of its relatively open immigration policies and the inclusion of private contributions in calculating the total amount of aid that it provides to poor countries.
Britain led all Group of Seven (G-7) developed nations in fourth place, followed by Canada, which also improved its standing over 2001 due to more liberal immigration policies, Germany and France which tied with the United States in seventh place.
As in last year's Index, Japan finished last among the 21, despite its status as the world's second biggest aid donor. Just above it in ascending order were Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Greece and New Zealand.
The Index, released in April by Washington-based 'Foreign Policy' magazine and the Centre for Global Development (CGD), is based on numerical calculations covering seven different national policies aid, investment, migration, environment, security, technology and trade that influence the welfare of the world's poorest nations.
The net inflow of people from poor countries to wealthy ones between 1995 and 2000 accounted for nearly two-thirds of the Index's migration score.
The rest was determined by the amount of aid host governments provide to refugees and asylum seekers and the percentage of students from developing countries among the total foreign-student population.
Using this new methodology, the Index found that Canada received the highest marks followed by the United States and Australia. At the other end of the spectrum, Japan scored lowest, followed by Spain, Belgium and Finland.
Finally, the Index's aid component assessed total official assistance including grants and low-interest loans as a percentage of the donor country's GDP. All aid that was "tied" to the purchase of goods or services from the donor nation was discounted by 20 percent, and debt payments by the recipient to the donor on past aid was also subtracted. (END/Copyright IPS)
