This could be through working with firms directly, with membership organisations to represent them, or through a range of areas of policy and regulation to promote functioning, competitive markets.
An April 2013 EPS PEAKS paper found a strong and well-established case for donors to intervene in private markets to deliver subsidies for development purposes.
The researcher found that the theoretical reasons for intervention were well established by the economics literature, but that the practical approaches and frameworks for delivering subsidies to private sector entities are more complex and less understood.
The researcher identified some key criteria that can be used to evaluate different approaches and instruments and gave examples of their usage by different donor institutions.
Low Emission Development Strategies (LEDS) are used to bridge the public and private sectors with the goal of enabling growth in a given industry or region.
[8] If managed appropriately, they argue, the challenge of responding to climate change could generate decent jobs and incomes for many millions of poor people.
Local Economic Development (LED) typically starts by analysing the economy of a particular region or municipality, identifying opportunities to enhance its prospects.
[11] Other PPP programmes assist companies in finding business partners in developing countries, or offer technical support and expertise.
Digital transformation of companies, industries and economies can boost productivity, innovation and access to global markets for producers in developing countries.
On the other hand, without the necessary infrastructure (e.g. access to reliable electricity and networks), a suitably skilled workforce and an enabling regulatory environment many poor countries are likely to find themselves at the wrong end of the global digital divide.
[16] The 2007–2008 financial crisis raised questions about the ways in which markets should be regulated to ensure long-term, sustainable development.
At the same time, with many countries faced with slower growth and higher unemployment, reviving economies by stimulating the private sector was seen by many as a global response.