Towards a Better Global Economy: Policy Implications for Citizens Worldwide in the 21st Century

Substantial progress in the fight against extreme poverty was made in the last two decades. But the slowdown in global economic growth and significant increases in income inequality in many developed and developing countries raise serious concerns about the continuation of this trend into the 21st century. The time has come to seriously think about how improvements in official global governance, coupled with and reinforced by rising activism of 'global citizens' can lead to welfare-enhancing and more equitable results for global citizens through better national and international policies. This book examines the factors that are most likely to facilitate the process of beneficial economic growth in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. It examines past, present, and future economic growth; demographic changes; the hyperglobalization of trade; the effect of finance on growth; climate change and resource depletion; and the sense of global citizenship and the need for global governance in order to draw longer-term implications, identify policy options for improving the lives of average citizens around the world, and make the case for the need to confront new challenges with truly global policy responses. The book documents how demographic changes, convergence, and competition are likely to bring about massive shifts in the sectoral and geographical composition of global output and employment, as the center of gravity of the global economy moves toward Asia and emerging economies elsewhere. It shows that the legacies of the 2008-09 crisis-high unemployment levels, massive excess capacities, and high debt levels-are likely to reduce the standard of living of millions of people in many countries over a long period of adjustment and that fluctuations in international trade, financial markets, and commodity prices, as well as the tendency of institutions at both the national and international level to favor the interests of the better-off and more powerful pose substantial risks for citizens of all countries. The chapters and their policy implications are intended to stimulate public interest and facilitate the exchange of ideas and policy dialogue.

Business & Money

Rodrik, Dani

Subramanian, Arvind

Birdsall, Nancy

Behrman, Jere R.

Fardoust, Shahrokh

Steer, Andrew

Allen,Franklin

Economics

Oxford University Press

Book by Akin, John S., Birdsall, Nancy, De Ferranti, David M.

Financing Health Services in Developing Countries: An Agenda for Reform (World Bank Policy Study)

World Bank

De Ferranti, David M.

Akin, John S.

This study brings readers up to date on the complicated and controversial subject of debt relief for the poorest countries of the world. What has actually been achieved? Has debt relief provided truly additional resources to fight poverty? How will the design and timing of the "enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative" affect the development prospects of the world's poorest countries and their people? The study then moves on to address several broader policy questions: Is debt relief a step toward more efficient and equitable government spending, building better institutions, and attracting productive private investment in the poorest countries? Who pays for debt relief? Is there a case for further relief? Most important, how can the case for debt relief be sustained in a broader effort to combat poverty in the poorest countries?

Delivering on Debt Relief: From IMF Gold to a New Aid Architecture

Williamson, John

Peterson Institute for International Economics

Until recently, students of development have put much more energy into understanding the causes and consequences of absolute poverty than of inequality. But globalization—with its new opportunities for winners and losers, and its new insecurities and competitive pressures—is changing that. Nowhere is the issue of inequality more worrying than in Latin America, the setting for many of the world's most unequal societies. This book presents a dozen ideas or "tools" meant to make life in Latin America more equitable and fair for the great majority of its people. It suggests policies and programs for making tax structures more progressive; giving small businesses a chance; protecting labor mobility and workers' rights; tackling corruption head on; and raising the levels of quality, efficiency, and equity of the education systems. Change and reform in the direction of greater fairness will require not only political leadership and technical know-how on the part of government officials and legislators, but support and input from the progressive business community, the increasingly effective and vocal civil society, and students and intellectuals.

Fair Growth: Economic Policies for Latin America's Poor and Middle-Income Majority

Torre, Augusto De La

Menezes, Rachel

Center for Global Development

Cash on Delivery (COD) Aid proposes a new approach to foreign assistance—one that links aid payments more directly to desired outcomes to promote accountability, responsibility, learning, and strengthening of local institutions.
 Using an example from education, this book outlines how COD Aid could work in practice. It offers guidance on the identification of measurable outcomes and mechanisms for verification and the management of a variety of risks. The authors provide practical advice, documents, term sheets, and other supporting material that donors and potential recipient governments can use as a basis for designing and implementing COD Aid in particular settings.
 It also shows how COD Aid could be applied to other sectors and includes guidance for assessing whether COD Aid is achieving its goals.

Cash on Delivery: A New Approach to Foreign Aid

Savedoff, William D.

Mahgoub, Ayah

Vyborny, Katherine

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Birdsall, Nancy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Birdsall, Nancy