Developing Countries Need Stability More Than Handouts

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ARE WE any closer to knowing what makes some economies grow and others languish? It's the question at the heart of economics and it seems particularly timely to raise it again amid all the attention focussed on economic development thanks to this week's summit jamboree in Johannesburg.

The United Nations fact sheets on growth and trade prepared for the summit imply that there's a straightforward answer. Item one on its development agenda is more official aid from the donor countries. The total has fallen from nearly $60bn (pounds 39.4bn) in 1990 to $43bn in 2000, declining as a share of donors' GDP from 0.33 per cent to 0.22 per cent - compared with a supposed target of …