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The expected growth in the world's population over the next 25 years increases the urgency of addressing questions of poverty and development. This annual conference brings together leading international academics and practitioners to debate current issues in development policy and their implications for the global economy. This book contains the collection of conference papers from the 13th annual conference held in May 2001, which focused on two broad themes of globalisation and inequality; and health and development issues.
Information is a major development resource, joining the ranks with human, natural and financial resources. Therefore, development agencies must understand the role of information and information technologies (informatics) in the developing countries to respond to a rapidly evolving global environment. The ongoing information explosion in the industrialized economies contrasts sharply with the information poverty of developing countries. This poverty takes many forms, including poor information support for macroeconomic and sectoral policy formulation and implementation, limited access to information for rural populations, and isolation of researchers and professionals from international res...
This paper analyzes the benefits from female education (who gains and in what ways) and the constraints (direct and opportunity costs, reflecting economics and tradition). It then outlines promising approaches for increasing female education. The demand for female education can be strengthened gradually through economic and sectoral policies that increase the returns. But, this paper focuses on education policies, many of which could be adopted now, to lower the costs, improve the quality, and increase access to education in ways that will allow more girls to attend school. It reports evidence of effectiveness and gives examples, particularly from projects involving the World Bank. Especially in poor countries, projects succeed best when they include a "package approach" to address what are typically multiple and powerful constraints to female education. The paper calls for increased monitoring and testing the cost-effectiveness of the kind of innovative packages now being tried in several developing countries.
State-owned enterprises were the dominant players in socialist economies during the past four decades. Yet most such governments had become dissatisfied with these enterprises over time. Among the main problems were: -- Inefficiencies of production methods -- Stagnating production rates -- Poor quality of the items produced -- High pollution rates -- Lack of technological innovation This report review the attempts of seven socialist countries to reform their state-owned enterprises -- Algeria, China, Hungary, Laos, Mozambique, Poland, and Yugoslavia. The report assesses the experience of these countries to date and forecasts future prospects for reform. Through their analysis, the augthors provide guidance for other socialist countries seeking to open their economies.
This study makes a solid case for the now prevalent contention that the development model of East Asian NICs is less costly (i.e. over inflation levels and more equitable income distribution), more adaptive to fluctuating would market conditions (eg. successful adjustment to the two oil crises) and more sustainable (i.e. high growth rates, even in the turbulent 1970s) than that of the Latin American NICs. In considering these issues, this book examines the major Latin American countries' economic problems and development experiences in light of the more successful stabilization and development experiences of the East Asian countries, Taiwan and South Korea in particular.
Inequality in education accounts for a large share of the inequality in earnings in Mexico. But the increase in earnings inequality does not appear to reflect a worsening in the distribution of education. The cause instead appears to be skill-biased technological change facilitated by increased economic openness.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has had a profound impact on Mexico's economy and institutions. Mexico's tax reform should be guided not by NAFTA considerations, however, but by the objectives of higher revenues and a simpler, more efficient, and more equitable tax system.