Finance & Development articles from December 2000

Finance & Development archives from December 2000

From the editor.(poverty articles overview)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
December 1, 2000... LIKE some malignant disease, poverty saps the vitality of countries around the world, affects the health of large elements of their populations, and casts a cloud over their prospects for economic growth. Also, like a disease, poverty is caused...

How We Can Help the Poor.(world poverty statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2000... Of the worlds 6 billion people, 2.8 billion-almost half-live on less than $2 a day and 1.2 billion-a fifth-live on less than $1 a day. In the poorest countries, as many as one in every five children does not reach his or her fifth birthday and...

Broadening the Agenda for Poverty Reduction Opportunity, Empowerment, Security.(World Bank's World Development Report 2000-2001)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2000... Experience from the 1990s has led to a poverty reduction agenda that, in addition to promoting economic growth, addresses ingrained inequalities, institutional failures, social barriers, and other risks. BASED ON new evidence and a deeper...

Growth Versus Poverty Reduction A Hollow Debate.(world poverty and economic growth)
December 1, 2000... Should governments pursue economic growth first and foremost, or should they focus on poverty reduction? Recent debate on this question has generated more heat than light because it has become embroiled in broader political controversies on...

Supporting Poverty Reduction in Low-Income Developing Countries.(new World Bank and International Monetary Fund policy)
December 1, 2000... The International Community's Response ALTHOUGH economic growth rates in many developing countries improved during the 1990s, many of their people continue to live in extreme poverty. Progress is being made--for example, in increasing life...

Progress Toward the International Development Goals.(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report)
December 1, 2000... IT IS easy to lose track of the improvements that have occurred over time in the lives of poor people in many developing countries. It is just as easy to overlook the lack of progress in many countries where millions of people remain...

Poverty Is Powerlessness and Voicelessness.(World Bank research study)
December 1, 2000... THE WORLD LOOKS different when viewed through the eyes of a poor person. In preparation for the World Development Report 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty, the World Bank conducted a research study that brought together the experiences of over...

How the Poor Can Have a Voice in Government Policy.(International Monetary Fund and World Bank policy)
December 1, 2000... Development thinking has changed significantly in recent years. Policymakers have recognized the ability of the poor to make a valuable contribution to the analysis of poverty and are consulting them directly. This new participatory approach...

Rural Poverty in Developing Countries.(research)
December 1, 2000... How does rural poverty develop, what accounts for its persistence, and what specific measures can be taken to eliminate or mitigate it? ABOUT ONE-FIFTH of the world's population is afflicted by poverty. Poverty is not only a state of...

Raising Growth and Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa.(research)
December 1, 2000... Sub-Saharan Africa must increase economic growth to reduce poverty and improve living standards. This article discusses some obstacles to growth in the region, as well as some policy actions that would improve its prospects. SUB-SAHARAN...

Capacity Building in Africa.
December 1, 2000... The Role of International Financial Institutions This article reviews the evidence on the importance of domestic institutions for economic growth and examines the role of international financial institutions, and particularly the IMF and...

Food Production of Food Aid? An African Challenge.
December 1, 2000... Food production is not keeping pace with Africa's rapidly growing needs Aid programs in the 1970s and 1980s were considered a temporary solution to the most appalling famines, but Africa's food shortage appears to be worsening. This paper...

Debt Relief for Poor Countries.(Industry Overview)
December 1, 2000... Efforts to lighten the debt burden of poor countries go back at least two decades. The most recent, the enhanced HIPC Initiative, will provide faster and deeper debt relief to these countries while encouraging them to use the funds saved to...

How Oil, Gas, and Mining Projects Can contribute to Development.(extractive industries operations in developing countries: environmental aspects)(Industry Overview)
December 1, 2000... Oil, gas, and mining projects could be a boon for developing host countries, yet their environmental and social costs often outweigh their benefits. Partnerships between project developers, governments, and local communities are crucial for...

Toward a New Global Banking Standard The Basel Committee's Proposals.(Basel Committee on Banking Supervision proposes new global banking standards)
December 1, 2000... The Basel Committee's new capital framework proposals will have important implications for developed and developing countries alike. Although many details remain to be worked out, it is not too early for countries to start preparing for the...

The Role of Short-Term Debt in Recent Crises.(developing countries indebtedness)(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2000... Short-term debt owed by developing countries to foreign banks rose from $176 billion to $454 billion between 1990 and 1997. This rapid buildup of short-term debt was a key factor in the financial crises that rocked Mexico in 1994-95, East Asia...

Pressing Issues of Globalization and Poverty Reduction Are Focus of 2000 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings.(International Monetary Fund- World Bank conferences)
December 1, 2000... Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, one of the countries that has made strong progress in the transition to a market economy, was the appropriate setting for the 2000 Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. The meetings, which...

Power and Prosperity.(Review)
December 1, 2000... Mancur Olson Outgrowing Communist and Capitalist Dictatorships Basic Books, New York, 2000, xxvii + 233 pp., $2B/Can$42.50 (cloth). THE LATE Mancur Olson summed up his life's work in this short but remarkably insightful book. He...

CLARIFICATION.
December 1, 2000... In the article "Funding the IMF: The Debate in the U.S. Congress" in the September 2000 issue of Finance & Development, the accompanying box misstated the relationship between the U.S. budgetary process and IMF quota increases. A clarification...

New Markets, New Opportunities?(Review)
December 1, 2000... Nancy Birdsall and Carol Graham (editors) Economic and Social Mobility in a Changing World Brookings Institution Press/Carnegie Endowment for international Peace, Washington, 2000, x + 331 pp., $24.95 (paper). NANCY BIRDSALL and Carol...

Central Banking in Theory and Practice.(Review)
December 1, 2000... Courtney N. Blackman A Small State Perspective Caribbean Center for Monetary Studies, St. Augustine, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago, 1998, xx + 303 pp., $25 (paper). THIS COLLECTION of 15 essays has the unmistakable style of an...

CORRECTION.
December 1, 2000... In the article "Estonia Moves Toward EU Accession" in the September 2000 issue, there was an error in Table 2, "Foreign direct investment in Central and Eastern European countries." The denomination for Column 2, which listed "Cumulative...

L'economie palestinienne.(Review)
December 1, 2000... Jacques Bendelac De la dependance a l'autonomie L'Harmattan, Paris, 1999, 157 pp., FF 90 (paper). A NUMBER of recent publications on the economy of the West Bank and Gaza, including some produced by international organizations and...