The Proliferation of Developing Country Classifications

We study the external and internal proliferation of country classifications in development policy. The number of classifications increased from four (1985) to 17 (2013) when the average in our sample of 111 developing countries exceeded three classifications per country. Based on historical overview and comparative case study for land-locked development countries and small-island development states (geographically defined classifications without overlap) we find that internal proliferation is associated with lacking a clear rationale, no definition of country characteristics, and possibly the direct involvement of developing countries in designing the category. External proliferation may reflect antinomic delegation, geopolitical and bureaucratic motives.     

Altruism but not Quite: the genesis of the least developed country (ldc) category

This article provides a historical account of the creation of the ldc category in 1971, analyses the motives of the main actors and examines the motivation of the UN to establish the category. A literature review, official document analysis and expert interviews indicate that, from the perspective of both developed and more advanced developing countries, the initial ldc identification process aimed to generate a reduced list of mostly small and economically and politically less significant countries. Contrary to the official narrative, this served the interests of both developed countries (by undermining the UN's implicit effort to normalise/depoliticise international assistance) and more advanced developing countries (disturbed by the discrimination created within the developing countries' group, favouring the most disadvantaged among them).