Finance & Development articles from September 2001

Finance & Development archives from September 2001

From the editor.
September 1, 2001... THE PROBLEMS created by steadily aging populations and the need to create adequate social safety nets challenge policymakers in many countries. Far-reaching social sector reform is particularly crucial in the former centrally planned economies,...

Social Sector Reform in Transition Countries.
September 1, 2001... Transition countries need to reform their social sectors to promote the welfare of their citizens and spur economic growth. In part, this means building up and redesigning social safety nets and addressing problems in such areas as social...

The Truth About Pension Reform.
September 1, 2001... Aging populations in industrial and transition countries have provoked heated debate about pension reform--in particular, about the desirability of abandoning pay-as-you-go schemes in favor of private, funded pensions. What kind of pension plan...

Debt Relief and Public Health Spending in Heavily indebted Poor Countries.
September 1, 2001... THE Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, launched in 1996, was the first comprehensive effort by the international community to reduce the external debt of the world's poorest countries. It went beyond earlier debt-relief...

Targeting Rich-Country Protectionism Jubilee 2010 et al.(trade barriers for developing nations)
September 1, 2001... EVEN AS the rich countries have lowered their trade barriers over the past five decades, they have continued to maintain a strongly protectionist stance against the labor-intensive products made in poor countries. This is deplorable fact that...

Trade, Growth, and Poverty.
September 1, 2001... How has many developing countries' increased participation in international trade affected their economic growth rates, and what implications has this had for the international distribution of income and the incidence of poverty? THE WORLD...

Was Suez in 1956 the First Financial Crisis of the Twenty-First Century?(speculation on pound sterling)
September 1, 2001... The IMF's lending to the four countries directly involved in the 1956 Suez crisis, and particularly to the United Kingdom, raised the institution's profile and established its role in helping member countries cope with international financial...

Lessons from California's Power Crisis.(power sector reform)
September 1, 2001... OVER the past 15 years, more than 30 countries or regions within countries have initiated major reforms of their power sectors. Typically, the reforms involve some combination of restructuring, privatization, and competition. While the reforms...

New Senior Appointments at IMF.(International Monetary Fund)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... In an important series of appointments at senior levels in the IMF, Anne O. Krueger has been selected to serve as First Deputy Managing Director and three new department heads have been named. Krueger, a U.S. national, is a distinguished...

Kohler Endorses New Initiative for African Economic Development.(International Monetary Fund managing director Horst Kohler)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... In an address to the United Nations Economic and Social Council in Geneva on July 16, 2007, IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler expressed strong support for a coordinated international effort to tackle the pressing problems of poverty in Africa....

IMF Releases Report on International Capital Markets.(International Monetary Fund)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Deteriorating global economic conditions and prospects and their effect on corporate earnings during the 12 months ending May 2001 have led to a reappraisal of financial risk, a rebalancing of portfolios, and asset repricing in a wide range of...

Conference Reviews Trends in Emerging Market Finance.(World Bank, Brookings Institution, and International Monetary Fund meetings)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... One of the more noteworthy financial developments in developing countries during the past decade is the enormous growth of foreign direct investment (FDI): from $36 billion a year in 1991 to $173 billion in 1997, according to the World Bank's...

Confronting the Challenge of State Capture in Transition Economies.(oligarchic corruption and economic reform)
September 1, 2001... "I only want to draw your attention straightaway to the fact that you have yourselves formed this very state, to a large extent through political and quasi-political structures under your control. So perhaps what one should do least of all is...

Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in Russia.(limitations of the new federalism)
September 1, 2001... Although Russia is legally a federation, it has experienced serious problems in developing and maintaining satisfactory fiscal relations between its central government and regional and local governments. How have these problems arisen, and what...

The Odessa Initiative: A Model for Institutional Reform in Eastern Europe.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... An initiative that involved local residents in reforming Odessa's housing and water sectors demonstrates how popular participation can contribute to the success of development projects. KNOWN AS the "Pearl of the Black Sea," the...

On the Global Digital Divide.
September 1, 2001... Why is the global digital divide an important issue, and what benefits would result from bridging it? THE DIGITAL and information revolution presents a historic opportunity for developing countries to take a quantum leap forward, develop...

Public-Private Partnerships.
September 1, 2001... What are public-private partnerships, and how do they differ from privatizations? PUBLIC-private partnerships (PPPs) are generally not "privatizations" in the sense that the latter term is most commonly used. (See Box 1.) A privatized...

Optimal Water Management in the Middle East and Other Regions.
September 1, 2001... Serious conflicts over water pervade the Middle East. How might these be resolved or eased, and how could water management models and international financial institutions help? WATER disputes over river basins--the Colorado, the...

The Wind of the Hundred Days.(critique of American-led globalization process)(Review)
September 1, 2001... Jagdish Bhagwati How Washington Mismanaged Globalization Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT Press, 2000, xxiv + 383 pp., $32.95 (cloth). Professor Bhagwati's innovative and wide-ranging contributions to trade theory and development...

Future Positive.(international co-operation analysis)(Review)
September 1, 2001... Michael Edwards International Co-operation in the 21st Century Earthscan Publishers, London, 1999 (repr. 2001, Stylus Publishing, Sterling, Virginia), xii + 292 pp., [pound]20/$29 (cloth). "Ownership" has "been a buzzword in...

The Elusive Quest for Growth.(Review)
September 1, 2001... William Easterly Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2001, 342 pp., $29.95 (cloth). For the past fifty years, economists have tried to determine how poor countries in the...

Financial Reform in China.(Review)
September 1, 2001... Bridging the Gap between Plan and Market Shaker Publishing, Maastricht, Netherlands, 2001, 247 pp., 79 Dutch guilders/36 euros (cloth). After more than 20 years of gradual reform, China should now accelerate its reforms to prepare for...

The Demand for Money in Malaysia.(Review)
September 1, 2001... A Study of M2 Southern Economist, Bangalore, India, 2000, xxiv + 471 pp., Rs750/$40 (cloth). The demand for money plays a major role in macroeconomic analysis. In this book, the author, an economist at the IMF, reviews the theoretical...

Emerging Markets.(Review)
September 1, 2001... A Practical Guide for Corporations, Lenders, and Investors John Wiley and Sons, New York, 2001, xv + 283 pp., $79.95 (cloth). The turbulence of the late 1990s in emerging markets has tempered the enthusiasm of many Western investors. In...

The International Monetary System.(Review)
September 1, 2001... An Issue of Convertibility, Stability, and Liquidity Karolinum Press, Charles University, Prague, 2000, 240 pp., $50.00 (cloth). Published to coincide with the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, held in Prague in September...

LETTERS to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2001... Kazakhstan's economy Emine Gurgen's article, "Central Asia: Achievements and Prospects," in the September 2000 issue presents a comparative analysis of five Central Asian economies. Although Kazakhstan has much in common with other...