Underfunded Regionalism in the Developing World

This paper argues that regional public goods in developing countries are under-funded despite their potentially high rates of return compared to traditional country-focused investments. In Africa the under-funding of regional public goods is primarily a political and institutional challenge to be met by the countries in this region. But the donor community ought to consider the opportunity cost of its relative neglect, and explore changes in the aid architecture that would encourage more attention to regional goods.