In The News

Why Does One Country Draw More Investment Than Another?

David Dollar October 10, 2003
Why do some developing countries enjoy the highest growth rates in the world while others flounder? The World Bank set out to answer this question by comparing four developing nations - China, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh - that have grown at strikingly different rates. Though these countries were equally under-developed at the beginning of the 1990s, China’s economy has since soared, while...

Teenage Generation Is Biggest Ever

Shaoni Bhattacharya October 8, 2003
With 20 per cent of the world's population aged between ten and nineteen, Planet Earth's demography is witnessing the largest youth group ever. According to a new report from the UN Population Fund, about half of the world's population is now under the age of 25. This adolescent surge is posing an "economic opportunity" for countries, especially those in the developing...

Africa's Betting Public Lures Foreign Investors

Marc Lacey October 7, 2003
People across the world's poorest continent are gambling their limited incomes on scratch-off cards and lotto tickets. As countries ease betting restrictions to encourage economic growth, foreign companies have begun investing in Africa's new blossoming industry. "The African market is a relatively small part of the world market," one British investor noted, "but it...

Is the Arab Reform Chorus Serious or Fraudulent?

Rami G. Khouri October 1, 2003
Rami G. Khouri, executive editor of Lebanon's Daily Star, argues that the 'guns and cash' provided by donor nations influence the rhetoric of Arab states. Whatever the foreign donor takes up as an important issue, the Arab state parrots in turn. For example, Middle Eastern governments have adopted the rhetoric of human rights reform, equitable development, and now the 'war on...

A Very Dangerous Game

Martin Wolf September 30, 2003
Overspending in America to stimulate its economy has pushed the US fiscal deficit way out of balance – up to about six percent of US GDP. To service this debt, the US government has sold US$870 billion in Treasury bonds to foreign governments since 1999, creating a significant current account deficit. Martin Wolf argues that the US has mortgaged its economy by selling overpriced treasury bonds to...

Dateline Dubai

Mohamed Darwish September 29, 2003
In stark contrast to the scene at the WTO meetings this month, anti-globalization activists did not make their presence known at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting in Dubai, UAE. Air-conditioned tents set up for them by the government were left empty, as civil society representatives instead tried to engage in dialogue with the officials. Though hostilities with...

Too Soft, Too Open, Too Democratic?

September 26, 2003
Voting in the World Bank and IMF is far from democratic – votes are determined by the amount each state contributes to the coffers, leaving poorer countries with next to no say in decisions. This undemocratic system is in line with the original intent of the Bank and IMF: they were to be the lenders, representing creditor nations. No 'bank' allows the borrower to determine policy....