In The News

Water Meet Highlights Isolation

Chiu Yu-Tzu March 25, 2003
24,000 people from almost all the world's countries met last week in Japan for the 2003 World Water Forum. The over 100 new commitments signed by attendees addressed broad issues of water management, including education and access to information, as well as cultural diversity and traditional knowledge. Local activists in Taiwan, however, criticized their government's water regulation...

With Little Loans, Mexican Women Overcome

Tim Weiner March 19, 2003
Still struggling after decades of failed poverty alleviation schemes and IMF-imposed structural adjustment programs, poor women in some developing countries are finding hope and success in micro-loans. In Mexico, where banks have generally ignored the financial services needs of the poor, microcredit organizations offer poor people loans of a few hundred dollars to start new small businesses....

Food First or Trade First?

Vandana Shiva February 25, 2003
Implementation of the WTO’s trade liberalization rules marginalizes and hurts developing countries, says this opinion article in The Hindu, one of India’s largest newspapers. Trade liberalization is designed to eliminate tariffs and other barriers to trade, but developing countries cannot compete with foreign agricultural producers. The author further argues that developing countries should be...

The Administration’s Budget for Global Poverty and HIV/AIDS: How Do the Numbers Stack Up?

Lael Brainard February 24, 2003
The Bush Administration’s announcement of new funding for global poverty and HIV/AIDS has led to much rejoicing in many parts of the world, but it has also met with skepticism in some quarters. The Washington-based Brookings Institution offers an in-depth quantitative analysis of the offer and the establishment of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). The report summary presented here says...

The Middle East Belongs in the World Economy

Charlene Barshefsky February 22, 2003
As part of its long term strategy, Charlene Barshefsky, former U.S. trade representative, argues that the U.S. must promote economic liberalization in the Middle East. The region has more trade barriers than any other part of the world. It also has a fast growing population of young people without jobs. Eight of the eleven largest economies in the Middle East are not members of the World Trade...

Negotiators Meet Again; Minds Don't

February 19, 2003
Negotiations over cheaper medicines for developing countries and agricultural tariffs have again failed to make headway in preparation for the next meeting of the World Trade Organization's Doha round. The inaugural meeting of the Doha round, with the September 11 tragedy still in mind, seemed to unite rich countries in recognizing the need to tackle the problems facing developing nations....

E-JUNK: Loophole in dumping law 'hurts public'

Sirinart Sirisunthorn February 11, 2003
Technological junk from around the world is finding its way to Thai ports, where it becomes the government's property – and the government's responsibility. Since Thailand is not a member of international agreements banning trade in hi-tech garbage, it cannot send unclaimed shipping containers back to their country of origin. Instead, Thais must pay to have the contents processed and...