In the last decade, international development and donor agencies have paid increasing attention to the role of the private sector as an engine for economic growth and poverty reduction in developing and transition economies. Within this context, greater attention has also been given to the role of markets in development. In this paper, Simon White explores the role of private sector development (PSD) in development research and initiatives. The paper presents findings, conclusions and recommendations on PSD to guide the PSD-related investments of
IDRC’s Globalization, Growth and Poverty (
GGP) programme initiative, and to help
IDRC to reach a common vision of PSD, across all programming units, for future PSD-related investments. The paper first examines the concepts related to PSD and identifies the key rationale for PSD support by bilateral and multilateral donor agencies. Then, it explores the ways in which donor agencies support PSD and presents an account of the trends that influence the design and delivery of PSD support interventions. The major debates and controversies that surround the support of PSD are then examined and a number of suggestions are made to
IDRC for a PSD research agenda.
