Benchmarking America: The 2009 Commitment to Development Index

Congratulations to Sweden for ranking first in CGD’s 2009 Commitment to Development Index (CDI) for the first time since the creation of the Index in 2003. The United States, meanwhile, manages only a meager 17th place among the 22 wealthy countries ranked. In Benchmarking America, our second Global Prosperity Wonkcast, I ask CDI architect David Roodman to tell us why Sweden ranks first, why the United States gets such a mediocre score, and why Japan and Korea once again fall at the bottom of the list. Whether or not you are a podcast listener, I urge you to take a look at the greatly enhanced 2009 CDI Web site (now multilingual!). You can also watch the Webinar and read the brief or press release.

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