The Role of Cultural Heritage in Poverty Reduction
We economists tend to see well-being, and poverty in particular, as a matter of finances and income. But fortunately, at least in the Bank, we have come a long…
On the relevance of trade for development
On the relevance of trade for development World Bank Trade Strategy tradewbvideo Published on May 5, 2010 https://youtu.be/FO5gudWN7EI
Subnational Debt Finance and the Global Financial Crisis
This note focuses on the impact of the global financial crisis on subnational debt financing. We approach the following questions: Why is subnational debt financing important? What are the impacts…
Paul Collier and his Plundering Planet: When Both Economists and Environmentalists Don’t Get it Right
Do you remember The Bottom Billion, Paul Collier’s 2007 book which became a classic? If you do, you will certainly like his latest work, The Plundered Planet. He came to launch…
No Safe Havens for Stolen Funds
Financial institutions must become a central part in efforts against theft to ensure there are no financial safe havens for stolen funds. They could begin by taking voluntary initiatives to show they are serious in ensuring that “corrupt money stays out of my bank!”
My Own View on Women
On Monday, the world marked International Women’s Day. As a husband and father of strong, wonderful women, I am always very much aware of the occasion. But as the Vice…
Export-Led Growth v2.0
The U.S. recession could hurt the South, particularly in oil and apparel exports, and Latin America and the Caribbean. But South-South trade is partly picking up the slack. Middle-income countries…
Stiglitz’s New Book and the Developing Countries
Joe Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate and former World Bank Chief Economist, is out again making headlines. This time because of his new book Freefall - America, Free Markets and the Sinking of the…
Natural Resources and Development Strategy after the Crisis
Recent events have rekindled interest in the role of primary commodities in development. Was the boom in commodity prices from around 2003 through 2008 just a cyclical event, or…
Don’t Blame Mother Nature
As my World Bank colleague Milan Brahmbhatt and I observed in a recent note, primary commodity exports remain crucial for most developing countries. When one takes a simple average across…
The Doha Trade Round is Worth Fighting For
November marks the eighth anniversary of the Doha Development Agenda– the first multilateral trade negotiation under the auspices of the World Trade Organization. But what started as a real…
The Arrival of Asset Prices in Monetary Policy
Once upon a (not long ago) time, there was a widely established set of blueprints for regimes of monetary and exchange rate policies expected to fit a full range…
In Times of Crisis, Women Can Be Agents of Change
In Times of Crisis, Women Can Be Agents of Change Gender Equality as Smart Economics Newsletter | October 2009 Gender Equality as Smart Economics sat down with OtavianoCanuto shortly after…
Vulnerability, Exchange Rate and International Reserves: Whither Brazil?
Picture a Latin American country sitting on US$350 billion of international reserves, while running current account deficit, fiscal deficit and paying an interest bill on public debt that hovers…
Decoupling, Reverse Coupling and All That Jazz
In PREM Note 141 released last week, Milan Brahmbhatt and Luiz Pereira da Silva point to several structural differences between the global economy today and in the 1930s that tend to…