The concept of structural economic vulnerability and its relevance for the identification of the Least Developed Countries and other purposes (nature, measurement and evolution)

This paper was prepared by Professor Patrick Guillaumont, as a contribution to the expert group meeting of the Committee for Development Policy on climate change, conflict and other issues related to the review of the criteria for the identification of least developed countries (LDCs) which took place in New York, 2-3 February 2011. Structural economic vulnerability is a major obstacle for the development of LDCs. The paper discusses the conceptual, methodological and empirical issues related to the economic vulnerability index (EVI) developed and used by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) in the identification of LDCs. The note also addresses the relation between physical and economic vulnerability to climate change as well as the role of the EVI in allocating official development aid and as tool for development research.