Andy Sumner - Institute of Development Studies

IDS WORKING PAPER 349Country classifications – FCASTable A1 Key differences between FCAS listsFCASIndex/ListThe Brookings Index ofState Weakness in theDeveloping WorldCarleton UniversityCountry Indicators forForeign Policy projectWorld Bank’s CountryPolicy and InstitutionalAssessments List (CPIA)Definitionused forfragile andconflictaffectedBroadareascovered inindicatorsused inconstructingindexFragile states are thosecountries where there is‘occurrence and intensityof violent conflict or itsresidual effects (e.g.population displacement),illegal seizure of politicalpower, perceptions ofpolitical instability, territoryaffected by conflict andstate-sponsored politicalviolence and grosshuman rights abuses.’Bottom two quintiles ofrankings are FCASEconomic: recenteconomic growth; qualityof existing policies;conducive to privatesector development;degree of equitableincome distribution.Political: quality ofinstitutions; extent towhich citizens acceptlegitimacy of government;government accountabilityto citizens; rule of law;extent of corruption;democratisation; freedomof expression/association;ability of statebureaucracy.Security: ability of state toprovide physical securityfor citizens. Measures:occurrence & intensity ofviolent conflict or residualeffects (e.g. populationdisplacements); illegalseizure of political power;perceptions of politicalinstability; territory affectedby political instability andstate-sponsored violence& human rights abuses.Social welfare: how wellstate meets basic needsincluding nutrition, health,education and access toclean water/sanitation.Assessment of basicsecurity within borders,basic social needs and/orthe political legitimacy toeffectively represent theircitizens at home orabroad. Fragile stateslack the functionalauthority to provide basicsecurity within theirborders, the institutionalcapacity to provide basicsocial needs forpopulations and/or politicallegitimacy to effectivelyrepresent citizens athome and abroad.Governance: freedom ofpress; governmenteffectiveness; perceptionof level of corruption; levelof democracy; refugeeshosted; restrictions oncivil liberty; rule of law.Economic: GDP growth;percentage GDP percapita; total GDP; FDI;foreign aid, inequality; ginicoefficient; inflation;informal economy;unemployment; women inlabour force.Security and Crime:conflict intensity; humanrights; military expenditure;political stability; refugeesproduced; terrorism.Human development:access to water/sanitation;education; food security;health infrastructure;prevalence of HIV/AIDS;HDI; literacy.Demography: lifeexpectancy; migration;population density/diversity; populationgrowth; slum population.Environment: arable/fertileland; consumption ofenergy; disaster risk index;pollution; change in annualpercentage of forest cover.CPIA divide low-incomecountries into fivecategories, the lowest twoof which are fragile stateswho have a CPIA ratingof 3.2 or less. There is aseparate group ofunranked countries, alsodeemed fragile. Listexcludes MICs. Definedas fragile state if it is LIC,IDA-eligible, with CPIAscore of 3.2 or below.Core fragile is CPIAbelow 3.0, marginal ifbetween 3.2 and 3.0.Economic management:macroeconomicmanagement; fiscalpolicy; debt policy.Structural policies: trade;financial sector; businessregulatory environment.Policies for socialinclusion/equity: genderequality; equity of publicresource use; buildinghuman resources; socialprotection and labour;policies and institutionsfor environmentalsustainability.Public sector managementand institutions: propertyrights and rule-basedgovernment; quality ofbudgetary/financialmanagement; efficiencyof revenue mobilisation;quality of public admin;transparency/accountability andcorruption in publicsector.Sources: Brookings Index: www.brookings.edu/reports/2008/02_weak_states_index.aspx; World BankCPIA: www.worldbank.org; Carleton CFIP: www.carleton.ca/cifpNote: There is also the Foreign Policy/Fund for Peace ‘Failed States Index’. This assesses extremities –e.g. loss of physical control of territory. It is composed of 12 indicators. Seewww.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/21/2010_failed_states_index_interactive_map_and_rankings33