Development papers

Pofolia’s corpus holds 79 papers from Development (2012–2026), each with a short summary. Below, the 20 most-cited, then the most recently added.

At a glance

• Most cited: World Development indicators (2015, 6,760 citations).
• The 20 papers listed have 24,690 citations between them.
• 8 of the 8 with a known journal quartile appeared in a Q1 journal.
• 5 have a free full text (open access).
• Most frequent journals: Cambridge University Press eBooks, International Organization, American Economic Review.
• Published between 2012 and 2021.

Most cited

Ranked by citation count. Because citations accumulate over time, this list naturally leans towards work published a few years ago; for where the field is now, see “recently added”. How to read the signals

• World Development indicators

  Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) · 2015 · 6,760 citations

  This data file provides access to world development indicators sourced from the World Bank database.

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• Power and Interdependence

  International Organization · 2013 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 420.77 · 2,030 citations

  This paper introduces and analyzes the concept of 'complex interdependence' as a framework for understanding world politics, particularly in relation to international regimes.

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• US Food Aid and Civil Conflict

  American Economic Review · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 23.00 · FWCI 209.39 · 1,963 citations

  Increased US food aid is linked to a rise in the incidence and duration of civil conflicts in recipient countries.

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• Fundamentals of Corporate Finance

  2018 · FWCI 93.13 · 1,506 citations

  This textbook offers a foundational overview of corporate finance principles, covering corporate governance, capital budgeting, cost of capital estimation, leverage, capital structure, and working capital management.

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• On world development indicators

  Vestnik MIRBIS. · 2021 · FWCI 702.67 · 1,311 citations · Open access

  Existing world development indicators, such as GDP per capita, are insufficient for comprehensive country comparison due to increased global competition and the need for innovation.

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• Global Education Inc.

  2012 · FWCI 55.69 · 1,237 citations

  The abstract suggests that the rise of private and philanthropic solutions in education may signal a decline in state-funded welfare education.

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• Estimating Dynamic State Preferences from United Nations Voting Data

  Journal of Conflict Resolution · 2015 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 157.24 · 1,075 citations

  A new dynamic ordinal spatial model estimates state foreign policy preferences on a single dimension reflecting positions toward the US-led liberal order, using UN General Assembly votes from 1946-2012.

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• Participation: From Tyranny to Transformation: Exploring New Approaches to Participation in Development

  Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) · 2013 · FWCI 49.47 · 908 citations

  This book argues that participation, often dismissed as mere rhetoric, can lead to genuinely transformative processes and outcomes when approached politically rather than technocratically.

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• States and Power in Africa

  Princeton University Press eBooks · 2017 · FWCI 30.81 · 845 citations

  This book argues that prevailing international relations theories fail to explain African state-building due to a fundamentally different interaction of power and space compared to Europe.

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• Aid allocation and poverty reduction

  2013 · FWCI 244.30 · 814 citations · Open access

  Aid allocation could double its poverty reduction impact if donors utilized recent research findings on aid effectiveness. This 'poverty-efficient' allocation offers a benchmark for policy-makers interested in maximizing poverty reduction.

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• International Organizations as Orchestrators

  Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2015 · FWCI 40.55 · 757 citations

  International Organizations (IOs) can increase their influence and effectiveness by 'orchestrating' intermediaries like NGOs, shaping global governance through voluntary collaboration rather than direct regulation.

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• Innovation, Dynamic Capabilities, and Leadership

  California Management Review · 2018 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 121.52 · 752 citations

  Organizations can thrive in volatile environments by integrating business model innovation and dynamic capabilities, which are critically enabled by entrepreneurial leadership.

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• World Development Report 2013

  2012 · FWCI 37.88 · 656 citations

  Jobs are a powerful engine for development, driving poverty reduction, increasing efficiency, and fostering social cohesion, but the quality and type of jobs are crucial, not just their quantity.

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• Contested multilateralism

  The Review of International Organizations · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 84.14 · 617 citations · Open access

  This paper introduces 'contested multilateralism,' a concept describing how states and actors challenge existing international institutions by creating alternatives or threatening exit. It manifests as regime shifting or competitive regime creation across various global issues.

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• Adjustment with a Human Face

  Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · 2012 · FWCI 95.05 · 611 citations

  This piece, presented in 1985, argued for an alternative approach to IMF and World Bank structural adjustment policies that were causing severe human costs in developing countries.

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• International authority and its politicization

  International Theory · 2012 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 85.59 · 609 citations

  International institutions are increasingly facing politicization due to their growing authority, leading to strong contestation of their competencies, especially in rule definition, monitoring, interpretation, and enforcement.

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• IMF conditionality and development policy space, 1985–2014

  Review of International Political Economy · 2016 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 99.90 · 579 citations

  Contrary to claims of reform, IMF loan programs between 1985 and 2014 show little evidence of increased policy space for recipient countries, with conditionality actually increasing post-2008.

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• Stigma Management in International Relations: Transgressive Identities, Norms, and Order in International Society

  International Organization · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 88.15 · 576 citations · Open access

  International society is partly constructed not just by shared norms, but by stigmatizing norm-violating states, which actively manage this stigma through recognition, rejection, or counter-stigmatization, potentially challenging dominant discourses.

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• Digital transformation of business

  Trakia Journal of Sciences · 2017 · FWCI 41.93 · 554 citations · Open access

  Digitally mature businesses integrating social, mobile, analytics, and cloud technologies achieve higher revenues and market valuations than competitors.

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• The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development

  Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2013 · FWCI 39.73 · 530 citations

  Institutional reforms in developing countries often fail because they adopt unrealistic 'best practices' as signals for short-term support, leading to new forms that don't function.

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Recently added

• Foreign aid as soft power and the political economy of trade defection: evidence from Ghana’s intra-African trade

  African Journal of Economic and Management Studies · 2026 · Q2

  European Union (EU) foreign aid is negatively associated with Ghana's exports to and imports from other African countries, suggesting aid strengthens extra-regional ties at the expense of intra-African trade.

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• The Geography of Partnerships in Latin American Climate NGOs and the Limits of South–South Cooperation

  Bulletin of Latin American Research · 2026 · Q2 · Open access

  A network analysis of 195 Latin American and Caribbean climate NGOs reveals that while domestic partnerships are common (over 50%), cross-border ties are still dominated by Global North and multilateral actors, with South-South cooperation being secondary and largely regional.

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• The architecture of unequal partnership: power, knowledge, and North–South research collaboration

  Globalisation Societies and Education · 2026 · Q1 · Open access

  North-South research collaborations, despite narratives of mutual learning, are structured by deep inequalities in agenda-setting, resources, and recognition, often relegating Global South scholars to implementer roles.

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• The Persistent Fragmentation of Gulf Foreign Aid: Bilateralism and the Limits of Regional Humanitarian Coordination

  Global Policy · 2026 · Q1 · Open access

  Gulf foreign aid remains fragmented and predominantly bilateral, with no effective regional humanitarian coordination mechanism emerging since the 1960s, despite expanded donor institutions and recurring crises.

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• The spatial politics of International Climate Finance: A case of India

  Political Studies · 2026 · Q1 · SJR 1.00

  International climate funds in India are disproportionately allocated to constituencies represented by the Prime Minister's party, especially in competitive districts within opposition-governed states.

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• Does Aid Harm or Benefit Institutional Quality? Time Heals All Wounds

  Review of Development Economics · 2026 · Q1

  Foreign aid initially harms institutional quality by enabling short-term expropriation of revenues, but this effect reverses after a few years as development benefits emerge, leading to a net positive impact.

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• International climate finance and emission reductions: what do the last twenty years tell us?

  Environment and Development Economics · 2026 · Q1

  International public climate finance, intended to reduce emissions, may actually increase them, with adaptation finance driving even greater emissions growth, according to an analysis of 164 non-OECD countries from 2000-2017.

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• Signaling for aid? Effects of signing democracy-related provisions in preferential trade agreements

  The Review of International Organizations · 2026 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · Open access

  Signing democracy-related provisions in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) increases a country's likelihood of securing foreign aid, but this aid is not specifically for democratization or implementing these provisions.

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Journals in this field

The journals that publish most of this field’s papers. Quartile (Q1–Q4), SJR and h-index are from SCImago Journal Rank; “in this field” is how many of the journal’s pooled papers belong here. What is a Q1 journal? · What is the h-index?

Every journal in Development (Q1–Q4) →

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