Abhatoo - Centre Nationale de Documentation

This paper revisits global costing estimates of the size of additional financial resources needed in developing countries in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It argues that earlier approaches to calculating the cost of financing the MDGs focus narrowly on aid as the principal source of additional resources for MDG achievement without paying adequate attention to the scope for other resources to contribute to MDG achievement, such as domestic tax revenues or private capital flows. The approximate additional cost of achieving the poverty, education, and health Millennium Development Goals are calculated and an estimate of the scope for increased tax revenues in developing countries is provided. Although at the global level the magnitude of potential additional resources available from improved tax collection is similar to that of the additional resources needed to achieve the goals, on a country by country basis substantial external resources will still be needed. The paper suggests the international community needs to broaden its notion of development co-operation beyond official development assistance in order to secure sources for this additional finance.