Finance & Development articles from December 1999

Finance & Development archives from December 1999

From the editor.
December 1, 1999... THE END of a millennium is an occasion to review and take stock of past achievements. More important, it is also an opportunity to look forward and gauge the potential for future progress. This issue of Finance & Development seeks to do just...

Challenges of the New Millennium.
December 1, 1999... What do you consider to be the most important events of the twentieth century and the greatest challenges facing us as we enter the twenty-first century? The twentieth century was marked by three great disasters--the two wars and the Great...

The World Economy.
December 1, 1999... The directors of the six IMF area departments assess the current situations in their regions, the challenges these regions face, and their opportunities for growth in the coming years. AFRICA Goodall Gondwe Director, African...

Is Liberalization Reversible?
December 1, 1999... On the eve of the millennium, "globalization" has become a catchphrase throughout the world. The nation-state, the driving force of the past two centuries, is dissolving under the pressure of cross-national integration. Despite its many...

The Changing Development Landscape.
December 1, 1999... The development landscape in the early twenty-first century will be shaped by globalization and localization. Although these forces offer poor countries unprecedented opportunities for growth, they may prove politically and economically...

From Centralized to Decentralized Governance.
December 1, 1999... Decentralization can foster political stability and economic development--if transfers of resources and responsibilities are carefully coordinated and intergovernmental relationships are clearly defined. AS THE twentieth century draws to a...

The World Trading System The Road Ahead.
December 1, 1999... All countries have much more to gain than to lose from opening up their markets. As a new round of trade talks begins, the international community should make a commitment to pursue further trade reforms. EVEN though many aspects of...

TRADE: An Engine of Growth for Africa.
December 1, 1999... During the new round of trade talks, African countries should use their bargaining power to gain concessions in the areas of most interest to them--liberalization of world agricultural markets and increased access to industrial country markets....

Components of a Future Development Strategy The Importance of Human Development.
December 1, 1999... Although current prospects for increased aid disbursements are not good, efforts to combat poverty could be more successful if aid were provided on conditions that included human, or social, criteria. THE IMF, the World Bank, and orthodox...

Governance in the Digital Economy.
December 1, 1999... The Internet and related technologies are revolutionizing the way people live, communicate, and work. What impacts will these far-reaching changes have on the structures and functioning of our governments? WHAT KIND of governments do...

Managing Global Finance and Risk.
December 1, 1999... The turbulence that swept through financial markets in the fall of 1998 was a wake-up call. It revealed that risk-management practices and supervisory and regulatory frameworks did not fully take account of the changing nature of private...

Integrated Financial Supervision Lessons of Scandinavian Experience.
December 1, 1999... Several industrial countries have recently merged their banking, securities, and insurance regulators. Of these, three Scandinavian countries have the longest experience with integrated financial sector supervisory agencies, which have enjoyed...

Death and Taxes Economics of Tobacco Control.
December 1, 1999... Contrary to long-standing beliefs, tobacco-control policies can lead to huge health benefits without harming economies. ABOUT 1.1 billion people worldwide smoke, and, with current trends, the number is expected to rise to more than 1.6...

The Return of Depression Economics.(Review)
December 1, 1999... Paul Krugman Norton, New York, 1999, xiv + 176 pp., $23.95 (cloth). THIS READABLE little volume is directed primarily to a lay audience rather than to professional economists. It describes in nontechnical language some of the burning...

Capital Flows and Financial Crises.(Review)
December 1, 1999... Miles Kahler (editor) Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 1998, xi + 268 PP., $49.95 (cloth), $19.95 (paper). THE EMERGING market crisis that unfolded in the summer of 1997 has catapulted the debate on capital inflows into...

Beyond Tradeoffs.(Review)
December 1, 1999... Nancy Birdsall, Carol Graham, and Richard H. Sabot (editors) Market Reform and Equitable Growth in Latin America Brookings Institution Press and inter-American Development Bank, Washington, 1998, v + 367 pp., $22.95 (paper). A...

Lombard Street.(Review)
December 1, 1999... Walter Bagehot A Description of the Money Market Wiley, New York, 1999, x + 359 pp., $34.95 (cloth), $19.95 (paper). IN THE Glorious Year 1688, the father of the poet Alexander Pope retired from the linen trade in London. Settling...

LETTERS.
December 1, 1999... Exchange rate stability I am an avid reader of Finance & Development and I generally applaud its policy recommendations and economic analysis. I was dismayed, however, at "The Case Against Benign Neglect of Exchange Rate Stability"...