Ambitious in nature, the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) adopted by the Fourth United Nations Conference on the LDCs (UN LDC IV) in 2011, sets out a development path for LDCs for the coming decade. Successful implementation of the IPoA requires identification of delivery tools for specific targets, provision of necessary financial and non-financial resources, and a strengthened monitoring mechanism. LDC IV Monitor, an independent partnership of eight interested organisations, aims to add value by enhancing transparency, accountability and efficiency of the official monitoring and review mechanism of the IPoA. LDC IV Monitor’s first set of two reports, produced outside of the official intergovernmental process, provide credible, evidence-based and policy-oriented assessment of the delivery status of the promises contained in the IPoA. The Synthesis Report, derived from the critical analyses of the state of play concerning the IPoA, presents the broad messages and key recommendations. The volume on Analytical Perspectives addresses a wide spectrum of issues including articulation of a composite IPoA index, building of productive capacity, trade in goods and services, delivery of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), flows of different forms of development finance, and consequences of climate change. The publications seek to contribute towards crafting national and international policies to support graduation of the LDCs through structural transformation of their economies.

Table of Contents:
About LDC IV Monitor Foreword by Gyan Chandra Acharya, USG and High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS Foreword by Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary-General Preface from the Chair List of tables, figures and boxes Abbreviations and acronyms 1. The Challenges of Structural Transformation and Progress towards the MDGs in LDCs by Debapriya Bhattacharya and Towfiqul Islam Khan 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Graduation challenge of the LDCs 1.3 Structural transformation 1.4 Attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 1.5 Concluding remarks 2. The Istanbul Programme of Action for LDCs: A Monitoring and Benchmarking Exercise by Yurendra Basnett, Jodie Keane and Dirk Willem te Velde 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Overview of the IPoA objectives 2.3 Indicators for benchmarking and monitoring IPoA 2.4 Creating a country-level IPoA index for structural transformation 2.5 Conclusions 3. Assessing the Prospects of Accelerated Graduation of LDCs by Alassane Drabo and Patrick Guillaumont 3.1 Introduction: the context of prospects 3.2 Graduation prospects according to the ‘two criteria’ principle 3.3 Graduation prospects according to the income-only rule 3.4 A step further: revising or simply refining the graduation criteria? 3.5 Conclusion 4. Infrastructure for Development in LDCs by Sebastian Nieto-Parra and Noemie Videau 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Monitoring infrastructure, energy and water actions 4.3 The sources of investment 4.4 The role of public policies in infrastructure 4.5 Conclusions and policy recommendations 5. Agriculture and Rural Development Status in LDCs by Hoseana Bohela Lunogelo and Solomon Baregu 5.1 Introduction 5.2 IPoA on rural development 5.3 IPoA on food and agricultural productivity 5.4 Some preliminary results on productivity changes 5.5 Conclusion 6. Commodities and the Istanbul Programme of Action: The First Two Years by Mehmet Arda 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Commodities and LDCs’ dependence on commodities 6.3 The general framework 6.4 Commodity-specific measures for diversification and value addition 6.5 Conclusion 7. Harnessing Trade for Structural Transformation in LDCs by Vinaye Ancharaz, Christophe Bellmann, Anne-Katrin Pfister and Paolo Ghisu 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Why structural transformation in LDCs? 7.3 Trends in LDC trade 7.4 Multilateral developments 7.5 Other international/regional co-operation arrangements 7.6 Global value chains – a boon for LDCs? 7.7 Conclusion and the way forward 8. Facing Climate Change in the LDCs: How to fit the Istanbul Programme of Action by Patrick Guillaumont and Catherine Simonet 8.1 Introduction 8.2 To what extent are LDCs particularly vulnerable to climate change? A preliminary to the assessment of the IPoA as regards adaptation 8.3 The international support for adaptation since IPoA 8.4 Conclusion 9. ODA to and External Debt in LDCs: Recent Trends by Fahmida Khatun and Mazbahul Ahamad 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Role of aid in LDCs: evidence in the literature 9.3 ODA flow to LDCs: some major features 9.4 IPoA targets on ODA and external debt: a review of progress 9.5 Conclusions and recommendations 10. Foreign Direct Investment for Development and Productive Capacity Building in LDCs by KG Moazzem and Saifa Raz 10.1 Introduction: objective, scope and structure 10.2 Literature review 10.3 Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA): a critical overview on FDI-related issues 10.4 Domestic investment and FDI flow in LDCs during the 2000s 10.5 Factors responsible for FDI in LDCs during 1990–2010 and their implications with regard to IPoA: an econometric exercise 10.6 Possible monitoring indicators for FDI-related actions 10.7 Challenges for implementation of FDI-related actions of the IPoA 10.8 Conclusion 11. Leveraging Migration and Remittances towards Graduation of the LDCs by Mustafizur Rahman and Md. Zafar Sadique 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Distinctive features of migration from, and remittance flows to, the LDCs 11.3 Remittances and the issue of resource mobilisation in the LDCs 11.4 IPoA targets: a critical review of the current situation 11.5 Monitoring the IPoA goals and targets: tools and policies 11.6 Concluding remarks 12. Domestic Resource Mobilisation in the LDCs: Trends, Determinants and Challenges by Debapriya Bhattacharya and Mashfique Ibne Akbar 12.1 Introduction 12.2 The dynamics of domestic resource mobilisation 12.3 Recent trends in savings rate in the LDCs 12.4 Trends in revenue generation 12.5 Major messages and policy outlook About the authors Index