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This one-week Internet course is targeted specifically at trade practitioners in small or medium South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka, Pakistan, and Maldives). Its goal is to provide useful insights and better understanding of trade facilitation, transit, and logistics constraints preventing optimal export diversification in those countries. Apply on-line. Deadline to apply is April 18th.
Shanta Devarajan, Chief Economist of the South Asia Region at the World Bank, has recently started a blog to "create a conversation around how South Asia can end poverty in a generation". Its name: End Poverty in South Asia
Paul Krugman has also started blogging at the New York Times.
Welcome to the blogosphere ! 
The South Asia Region and the Poverty Reduction Group of the World Bank presented today its new publication: Ending Poverty in South Asia: Ideas That Work, edited by Deepa Narayan and Elena Glinskaya.
This is a collection of case studies that describe experiences by practitioners in the ground and ideas that have worked reducing poverty in the South Asia region. We can draw lessons from these success stories that could be applicable in other parts of the world.
In the presentation of the book today, Deepa Narayan warned against the temptation to apply literally the same projects in other countries, but mentioned four overall lessons from the book:
Many articles on India during the weekend, in part triggered by the largest foreign takeover ever accomplished by an Indian company (Tata Group has bought the Anglo-Dutch Corus Group).
Amelia Gentleman writes in the Observer about the contrast between the triumphalism in business and economic circles and the poverty still to be found all around the country: "India eyes riches at poor's expense".
In DNAIndia Gautam Adhikari also writes about these contrasts, which he describes as the Ying and Yang of India. India is poised, but it might freeze in its leaping posture...
The Economist wonders: “India poised”. But poised for what? It thinks that India is overheating and its growth is not sustainable.
Do you want to read more about India? Shashi Tharoor reviews in the Washington Post the book In Spite of the Gods by Edward Luce.
Nobel Peace Prize to Mr. Yunus and Grameen Bank
Numerous articles and comments about the Nobel Peace Prize. General agreement on a well deserved prize and some questions about microfinance itself.
In an article in The New York Times last Saturday, Celia Dugger summarizes what microcredit is about, mentions some of the criticisms it has received in the past and includes comments from Mr. Yunnus and other economists.
In BusinessWeek Jeffrey Gangemi writes about what the Nobel means for microcredit and discusses the link between peace, poverty and entrepreneurialism.
And in Bangladesh the Prize is seen as a great honour for the country.
(Via United News of Bangladesh Limited / Factiva. Oct. 13 2006) Audeamus includes many more related links.
On knowledge sharing
Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, writes in the Jakarta Post about Knowledge sharing and its importance in the fight against poverty. "Is knowledge sharing a utopia, the international community's new buzz word? We do not think so". (Via Factiva, Oct. 14 2006)
On Elections in Ecuador
The Economist describes Rafael Correa as "An enigmatic leftist". In today's Miami Herald, a comment on the first results and the upcoming runoff between a businessman and an economist. PADI, which stands for Poverty Analysis and Data Initiative, is a network of data producers, analysts and policy makers that had its original roots in East Asia. PADI has organized a number of training activities in East and South Asia. Now, the secretariat of this network is housed at the International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC).
For more information on East Asia PADI, have a look at their first newsletter. This is the title of a new report recently published by the World Bank's South Asia Region department.
Tha South Asia Region at the bank has also recently launched two websites dealing with poverty and growth in the region. A lot of useful information at the tip of your fingers:
A "handy guide to the leading Asia-Pacific think tanks working on development and economics", from our colleagues at the Asian Development Bank Institute.
Via Truck and Barter. Lawrence Summers delivered today at the World Bank his presentation “Almost a Free Lunch: Investing Foreign Exchange Reserves in Global Equity Markets”, following similar presentations at the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai or at the Center for Global Development in Washington DC.
Mr. Summers claims that the flow of capital today is exactly the opposite of what the “International Financial Architecture” had in mind after the World War. Today we see a net flow of capital from the poorer to the richer countries. In particular, large amounts from developing countries are being accumulated as reserves in US Treasury Bonds.
He sees two main problems here:
The gap between the return obtained at a typical central bank or what could be obtained with a typical pension portfolio or in stock is around 4 % or 5 % respectively (this gap would be of around 10 % if compared to the return of Harvard’s endowment while he was President).
Therefore, we have some of the most rapidly growing economies in the world, with high percentages of their populations living in poverty, with a “fair amount of money deployed in clearly suboptimal investment”.
And what is the cost of this excess of reserves invested in low yielding US Treasury Bonds? The excess of reserves for the 121 developing countries is, according to Mr. Summers, around $ 2 trillion, or 19 % of their combined GDP. If developing countries where able to deploy 10 % of their GDP in global equity markets that produced a 5 % extra return, the amount earned would clearly exceed the amount spent in foreign aid worldwide.
Food for thought … The conference Asia 2015: Promoting Growth, Ending Poverty was held in March, organized by DFID, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. Its web site has plenty of papers, speeches, presentations and in general materials on growth and poverty in that region.
The paper Meeting the Challenges to Growth and Poverty Reduction, published in the Development Policy Review, serves as an introduction to the papers presented in the conference.
(Via Eldis) |
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This blog is maintained by the Poverty and Growth Program (PGP) of the World Bank Institute.
We bring you timely news, resources, tools, ideas and commentary on poverty related issues.
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