AFRICAAfrica Asia and Oceania Europe Latin America North America
Eleven southern African nations have approved a free trade agreement aimed at eliminating all tariffs in the region within 12 years. The leaders of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Mauritius and Malawi signed the accord in August 2000 at a Southern African Development Community summit in the Namibian capital, Windhoek. The accord which was put into effect in September 2000, aims to simplify investment and trade among SADC countries, which have a combined population of some 199 million people and a gross domestic product of $176 billion. Differences over a timetable for the reduction of tariffs and so-called rules of origin, which establish the source of products qualifying for tariff reduction, have delayed its adoption. Three of the grouping's 14 member states (the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and the Seychelles) are not party to the agreement, but may join later.
Under the deal, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland, which make up the Southern African Customs Union, must liberalize faster than less-developed SADC members. Signatories are expected to phase out a minimum of 85% of tariffs within eight years, and all tariffs by the end of 2012.
Two seemingly contradictory forces are shaping the world today: globalization (and its underlining regional integration) and fragmentation or tribalism. Globalization will increase the regulatory role of the state emphasis on rule of law worldwide. However, it must be noted that one of the reasons of the increase in poverty worldwide, especially in developing and former socialist economies is precisely because of the changing role of the state in society.
Of the 49 least developed countries in the world, 33 are in Africa.... People living in Africa south of the Sahara are almost as poor today as they were 20 years ago.
According to a UN report prepared for the June 2000 World Summit for Social Development session, growth rates of most African countries have continued to drop, despite increasing foreign investment. The report attributes recent low African growth to factors including dropping commodity prices, weather, armed conflict, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and fallout from the Asian financial crisis.
Another factor in the low growth rate argues IFAD is the pronounced urban bias in foreign investment. Eighty percent of Africans are farmers, yet in the past ten years a considerable amount of foreign aid poured into the cities. While widening the urban-rural income gap, the influx of money did little to propel the economy. Studies have shown that a one-dollar increase in agricultural production stimulates 2.5 dollars growth in the overall economy. It is vital for the region's development to focus on agriculture.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with more than 110 million people and the world's sixth largest oil-exporting country is also one of the world's most indebted. Nigeria owes external creditors more than $28,5 billion, according to government figures. At a conference sponsored by Britain's Department of International Development, in May 2001, with Nigerian policy makers, top World Bank officials and academics, Nigeria's Debt Management Office (DMO) Director-General Akin Arikawe said its goal was to send the message to Nigerians and the rest of the world that the time had come for his country to make sacrifices. "Nigeria is starting to make a major effort to restructure its economy," he said. "We want the severity of the debt to be apparent to the world after this conference, but more importantly, Nigeria must understand the magnitude of the challenges it must face." Nigeria's per capita income is $300 per year, according to World Bank figures.
In his opening address of the forum aimed to find a way to make Nigeria's foreign debt manageable, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo accused the World Bank, IMF and creditor nations of being unfair to developing countries trying to repay crippling external debts. "By 2020, for every one dollar Nigeria has borrowed, it will have paid five dollars," the executive director of the African Institute for Applied Economics, Charles Soludo, told the conference. He recommended an immediate ten-year moratorium on all external loans. (Bread for the World / debtproject@bread.org)
The IMF and the World Bank have agreed to back a bilateral and multilateral debt relief package for Chad worth $260 million. In present value terms, the relief is worth 170 million. The Fund has agreed to reduce the debt owed it by Chad by 18 million dollars and the World Bank by 68 million dollars under the joint IMF-World Bank HIPC Initiative. The Fund and the Bank will begin offering debt relief immediately. Chad will receive the bulk of its assistance when it prepares a strategy paper outlining measures to reduce poverty. (AFP, newsbureau@worldbank.org)
Jubilee-Zambia Co-ordinator Chrispin Mphuka, at the end of May 2001, thanked in a Press Release the Government of Italy for recently canceling 100% of Zambia's debt a and urged other creditors to emulate the Italian Government. In addition, he commended the European Union for showing willingness to cancel Zambia's debts at the coming G8 meeting in Genoa, Italy. However, he showed great concern over the World Bank's strategy of giving loans to Zambia for poverty alleviation. This is impossible because the capacity for Zambia to pay back these loans is not there, now or in the near future. These loans, no matter at what terms, simply push Zambia into more debts and a tighter debt trap. Mr. Mphuka explained that the most sustainable aid to Zambia should be in form of grants especially for poverty alleviation purposes. (Jubilee-Zambia Press Release, via <debtproject@bread.org>)
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) does not flow equally to all parts of the developing world. Asia receives almost 20 times more foreign investment than sub-Saharan Africa where the need is greatest.
Ethical markets are extremely important even from the perspective of selfishness of the rich.... We must promote foreign investment; reorient WTO towards meeting needs of developing countries, and reform of development aid.
Foreign companies could incorporate ethical practices with the pursuit of profit. The case of "business altruism" by Exxon-Mobile could serve as an example. Exxon-Mobile has agreed to World Bank guidelines to use proceeds from its oil drilling operations in Chad to help the country's people in need. When big multinational corporations take the initiative, the world takes notice and could follow suit and start a new trend in the way of conducting business.
The extraordinary success of the new global economy offers a great example and opportunities. However, at present, nearly half of humankind is missing out.... Almost all African countries have liberalized imports and lifted foreign exchange restrictions. However, their exports to Europe, Japan, and the Americas have not shown commensurate growth partly because of restrictions imposed by the developed world.
Market economies do not prevent the rich from getting richer; they prevent the middle class from slipping into poverty.... There will be two classes for many generations to come… Can "ethical markets" exist, if all markets are driven by "profit" motive?
What we need is a global policy that consciously addresses the growing gap between the rich and poor in a holistic manner that includes issues of trade promotion, development aid, and foreign private investment.
“There may be wars, famines and natural disasters but it is precisely
this attitude that inhibits the kind of progress we desire [in Africa],”
wrote a reader from Lagos, Nigeria in a letter to The Economist, May 2000.
“The West keeps trying to prescribe western one-size-fits-all solutions
because Africa is regarded as one big country. This stereotype has existed
for too long and is ridiculous. We in Africa want modernization but not
necessarily westernization. In Africa, success means making the best of
what have and not necessarily having the best material things in the world.
How else is it that we in Africa are much happier and more satisfied than
those in the so-called advanced world? Africa has many problems and they
may be self-inflicted, but the gun which you showed on your cover is not
made in Africa” [reference to The Economist, issue of May 13th, 2000]
ASIA and OCEANIA
The region has made a great deal of progress, emphasizes the Asian
Development Bank (ADB). Asian poverty was as bad in the 1960s as that in
Africa. In the past 40 years, Asia has undergone a great economic and social
transformation, achieving a status that took some industrialized countries
hundreds of years to achieve. Despite its 1997 financial crisis, Asia remains
the world's fastest growing region thanks to strong domestic demand and
healthy global economic conditions, the Asian Development Bank says. A
global demand for electronics, newly industrialized economies' success
and growing consumer confidence has fueled the region's resurgence. Although
the world will experience an economic downshift in 2001, the ADB predicts
the slowdown to be a short one and expects the Asia Pacific region to regain
an upward trend in 2002
Despite a strong recovery from the recent Asian financial crisis, IFAD notes 68% of the world’s extreme poor (living on $1 a day or less), which is 800 million people, live in Asia Pacific region, and a majority of them live in rural areas. ADB has made poverty reduction a top priority, intending to eliminate it by 2010. The bank announced a change in strategy to focus more on microcredit and reducing poverty. In a statement, ADB President said that the level of poverty in Asia is "unacceptable" and that "public policy and action can change this." Under the new policy, to be fully implemented by 2001, 40% of the ADB's lending will go to programs with a "specific purpose of reducing poverty," up from the current 34%, while the rest will go to such complementary efforts as rural electrification and farm-to-market roads. The bank will establish poverty-reduction programs with specific targets in member countries and work more closely with nongovernmental organizations to achieve them.
As an IFAD study has shown, in the last two decades rural poverty declined sharply in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. However, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and the Philippines saw no appreciable decline; rural poverty remains high in India and Pakistan.
Economies in the region are highly diverse, ranging from the world’s poorest, such as North Korea, Myanmar, and Laos, to the world’s richest, e.g., Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The challenge for the region is to integrate the poorest countries into the global economy. In order to achieve this, fundamental political changes must take place first. Japan has invested heavily in the region and has provided large amounts of aid for local development. Many countries see a regional model to economic development.
Corruption poses a stubborn threat to the region’s economic health. Many Asian countries practice guided lending, with the government deciding how to allocate financial capital. This practice breeds abuse and creates moral hazard. The lack of competition in the financial sector makes it inefficient. Corruption, inefficiency, and pegged currencies render the region especially vulnerable to financial instabilities. Despite reforms introduced after the 1997 financial crisis, old practices such as crony capitalism are difficult to change. While international institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF can play instrumental roles in reshaping the region’s financial landscape, ultimately success rests with the political will of the governments.
China's expanding private sector now contributes almost as much to the country’s gross domestic product, as do state-owned enterprises, according to the International Finance Corporation. However, "the definition of the private sector is a little vague in China.... [and] depending on where you draw the line between the state and the private sector, maybe anywhere between one-third and two-thirds of the economy is now under private control."
While privatization has fostered competition and increased productivity, the overall systemic restructuring has also created new problems such as high unemployment rate. Protests by laid-off workers, previously unheard of, have risen in recent years. The problem will become more severe when China joins the WTO and opens its domestic market to foreign companies.
Rapid urbanization and growth has fueled migration from rural areas to the cities. This reveals a deep dilemma facing the government: despite years of impressive urban growth, rural development has lagged far behind. Over the years the government’s attitude toward poverty reduction has changed. In the early years aid concentrated on whole areas—often as big as an entire province--that the government has designated as poor. However, data shows that pockets of poverty exist even in so-called affluent provinces. The new focus now is on the county and township level to better reach the truly needy.
On the national level, the western part of China is largely living in poverty. In contrast to the eastern provinces, especially the coastal regions, the western provinces stretching from Xinjiang in the northwest to Yunan in the south form a poverty belt. According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, residents of this poverty belt have an income level at only 65% of the national average, and the disparity is growing. Most of the area is rural. In 2000 urban workers enjoyed a 7% income increase, while farmers only saw a 1% growth. Geographically the rich-poor gap divides the east and the west, and rural and urban areas. As a result of the income and opportunity gap, migration from west to east, rural to urban has steadily increased in recent years, exacerbating unemployment problem in cities.
It has drawn the attention of the state’s anti-poverty campaign. The concern has as much to do with poverty reduction as with creating new markets for goods produced in the eastern regions and boosting domestic consumptions. In efforts to lure private and foreign investment to these land-locked areas with few job prospects, the government has introduced incentives for businesses, including easy access to financing, discounted fees for land and utilities. The government also started major infrastructure projects to build roads and rails linking the remote areas to new economic opportunities. So far the result of attracting new investments has not been very encouraging, mainly due to low returns and high costs. Moreover, critics contend that the large-scale public projects have little real impact on the lives of poorest.
Many argue that microcredit programs provide a good venue to reach the poor directly. China’s Agricultural Bank is a pioneer in this practice. Beginning in the mid 1990s international organizations have also initiated programs in coordination with Chinese poverty alleviation offices. Currently there are more than a dozen microcredit agencies working in China, covering 14 provinces and autonomous regions, most of them in the western poverty belt. Although holding great promise for farmers who don’t have access to commercial credit loans, studies by UNDP and the ADB reveal that the government and the central bank view microfinance as a form of welfare. As a result the state stipulates subsidized interest rates for microcredit loans, which threaten the long-term financial sustainability of the existing microcredit projects. In order for microfinance to have better impact and reach a greater number of the poor, the government and central bank must loosen their control and treat it not as a social program, but as a financial program. Thus far most of China’s microfinance programs have targeted rural areas. The ADB recommends that China also pay greater attention to urban microfinance needs.
Competition (encouraged by market economy), Symbiosis (encouraged by real socialism and some religions) and Self-reliance (encouraged traditional Chinese philosophies) are the triple stands for a sustainable society and the focus of a more ethical market economy.
The material civilization can combine with spiritual civilization.... China is undergoing a transition from planned to market economy. What kind of market economy should China pursue, ethical or early industrializing countries' economy? Evidence showed that an inappropriate market economy could also lead to disaster for social development.
There is a need to improve the understanding and tolerance of Asian cultures and practices by Western nations (especially the US) in that "ethics" is not an absolute term. New paradigms (rather than mutual finger pointing) need to be developed to reconcile cultural differences…. Some argue that market economics cannot be ethical, that it is a contradiction in terms, and that they do not need to be encouraged.
In India more than 400 million live on less than $1 a day, constituting a third of the world's extreme poor. According to the ADB, lack of capital has severely hampered agricultural development. Decreasing investment in irrigation has led to low agricultural productivity.
The Indian government has in recent years implemented more market-oriented financial policies. However, according to an ADB study, the country faces great challenge in its rural credit outreaching effort. Despite expanded public and private bank branches in rural areas, political abuse of the banking sector and heavy government intervention has resulted in compromised credit discipline and discouraging prospect of sustainability for many lending institutions.
Some 25,000 farmers in one of Sri Lanka's poorest southern provinces are benefiting from a UN Development Program marketing scheme to help them sell produce.
In poor countries such as Bangladesh, the biggest asset is the abundance of cheap labor. Bangladesh's $4.3 billion apparel industry constitutes a sizeable part of the country's exports. Fierce competition has driven down profit margins and given rise to thousands of poorly regulated garment factories that put workers' health at risk. Well-intended legislations in importing countries aimed at banning child labor only saw the laid off children from the garment industry re-employed in less paying and more dangerous jobs. A better alternative could come from industry buyers that set codes of conduct. However, any real effect requires more funds to implement safer measures, which leads to higher costs for clothes sold in developed countries. If no change occurs in public attitude or consumption patterns, it will be very difficult to encourage companies to possess the will to combat poor labor conditions across developing countries.
Ethical market economy is in accord with traditional equalitarianism of Korean agricultural community. However, North Korea has yet to join the world market economy. North Korea's centrally planned autarkic economy is near total collapse, and it has induced persistent famine since the early 1990s. As a result average life expectancy has dropped by more than 6 years in the past decade. There is a deep concern that North Korea's failed economy, if left reformed, could trigger a societal collapse and the creation of refugee tides, which in turn threatens the stability in the Northeast Asian region.
Ethical market economy is in accord with traditional equalitarianism of Korean agricultural community…. The question in South Korea is how can government's interaction in the market mechanism be positive.
Japan announced a $93 million initiative to reduce poverty in Asia, the Tokyo Yomiuri Shimbun reports. The aid package will be used primarily for educational and job training programs.... Japan is the biggest donor of ODA and humanitarian support for the poor nations.
Market economies are not really well-rooted in the country. Therefore, many leading Japanese companies are taken over by foreign competitors, especially in the financial field. Japan has huge foreign currency reserves, which could be used in crisis prevention.
Businesses should be basically self-regulated by common moral standards, but in reality require legislation to manage their competition.
Australia is experiencing an increase in the amount of income and wealth going to the top 10% of the population, and also an increase in the number of people in the lower income categories. Meanwhile social programs have been cut down drastically. Can markets ever hope to be or become ethical? Improve political/financial transparency and accountability of government and public corporate operations in Asian countries, especially China.... Leverage information technology to make education accessible to all.
Asia’s experience is paradoxical in that while the newly industrialized
economies have touted a uniquely Asian characteristic underlying their
rapid growth, the region is also home to the majority of the world’s poor.
With China and India predicted to produce one third of the world’s new
population in the next two decades, the question is, what kind of economic
environment will they be born into? If these countries could create a more
equitable society with opportunities for growth, then the additional population
could partake and also contribute to productivity. Otherwise, the swelling
population will keep exacerbating the social strains.
EUROPE
The EC’s $30 billion contribution to Third World development is the
largest in the world and three times the amount contributed by the US.
Ethical market economy as laid down by Adam Smith is the best known principle for achieving ethical markets and social equity, but by the same token it requires two conditions to be met: democracy of politics and freedom of cultural expressions (based on values globally valid and respected).... Becoming ethical is not one’s own decision only, but rather should be enforced by political measures, and informed consumer behavior.... There is a need to deregulate obstacles to productive activity, be they economic, social or cultural, but at the same time re-regulate the society according to peaceful coexistence of different realities.... The harmonization of different legal systems in Europe needs to be completed.
The importance of ethics and values in corporate decisionmaking has been understated for far too long. As a result the unregulated markets, new technologies are creating new forms of dependency and interdependence, which will not be easily desegregated. More and more large corporations should be persuaded to prepare statements of their ethics and good practice for presentation to annual shareholder meetings and annual reports. In turn these should be subject to scrutiny by impartial external observers and commentators.
Europe is experiencing a widening gap between haves and have-nots; the scourge of unemployment and advance of values such as Social Darwinism (instead of humanism) are responsible for that process.... The region has 50 million poor people. Europe had at times been more sensible to ethical questions of economy. Europe's socialist orientations (presently politically dominant!) have not yet adapted very well to globalization (if that can be done at all).
Greater business emphasis on values is easier when 'prosperity' encourages a long-term perspective. In contrast, recessions and crises tend to reduce concern for the long term and this leads to a reduced emphasis on values.
There could be twofold measures to improve the situation: Propelling of employment with the development of new markets and appropriate entrepreneurship in connection with sustainable development, and enhancement of participation of majorities as share holders to acquire wealth. Already some large corporations have made significant steps towards creating statements of ethics and values for submission to shareholders and wider public examination. These need to be further underpinned by scholarly consideration and detailed analysis. Year-to-year comparisons should also be made and published by outside observers - including NGOs.... Development of local initiatives, local economy, and the third sector as well as consciousness of ethically produced products should be encouraged. We should give tax relief and facilitate investments into the economy that helps create work in depressed areas.
Finland was ranked the world's most competitive economy in the latest global competitiveness rankings compiled by the World Economic Forum. The "current competitiveness" index reflects the ability of companies in Finland to compete in world markets and the general business environment in the country, including government policies and the quality of infrastructure and skills. Germany was third in the category, followed by the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Some consider "ethical market economies" a Western worldview trap and question its efficiency. They suggest instead exploring how ethical economic principles can be encouraged to reduce the gap between the rich and poor.
In Central and Eastern Europe, we have no tradition of an ethical market economy. A combination of policy, economic tools, and education will be necessary. Socialism was the period of total social nihilism (except the communist party bureaucracy and oligarchy). Vice versa with growing market economy we can observe the strong stratification of society according to incomes.
The challenge of encouraging ethical markets is very important for emerging donor countries that will work with poorer regions…. We need environmental tax reform.... The Czech Republic did not accept an "ecological tax" which is used in the EU.
In Russia the gap between poor and rich has increased substantially during the market reforms. Polarization of society is continuing. Poor countries usually have poorly educated people, but Russians are well educated and then lost buying power. Fortunately, Russians usually have a piece of land, a house and can produce a great part of food themselves. Yet, their knowledge and experience are currently under utilized. The small business development will reduce the income gap. A State committee has been established to support this enterprise development and a federal foundation provides a chance to participate in local development decisions, business incentives to comply with social and environmental goals, and access to land, capital, and information is intended to improve political stability.
The development of ethical markets in the transition economies will
require improved legal framework and legal consciousness, decentralization
of the economy and energetics, successful economic feedback systems, promotion
the middle class, training of new skills for workers to become re-qualified
for new jobs, and improvement of the welfare system. Growing social
capital (networks of trust and procedures within Civil Society) has to
be protected.
LATIN AMERICA
The Latin American and Caribbean economy grew 4% during the year 2000
and it is estimated to grow an addition 3.8% in 2001 according to UNECLAC;
however, unemployment for the region is 8.6%.
President Miguel Angel Rodriguez of the Republic of Costa Rica said before the UN Millennium Summit: According to the International Energy Agency, 77 million barrels of oil are consumed daily. Considering that the current overprice is close to 10 US Dollars per barrel, in a year we will end up paying over 281 billions dollars in excess…. With those same resources it could be possible to built 28 million homes for poor families in Latin America, Asia or Africa, or we could provide primary education to 550 million girls and boys or secondary education to 430 million adolescents.
Prime Minister Kenny D. Anthony of Saint Lucia said before the same UN Millennium Summit: So, Excellencies, I ask you, where is the hope when the World trade Organization has orchestrated the destruction of the economies of some small Caribbean countries, through a ruling that condemns the preferential marketing arrangements for their bananas in Europe as being anti free trade. How can this be just when these arrangements are a life force of the economies of these countries? How can this be defensible when the Caribbean banana trade represents only 2% of world banana trade? Where is equity, justice, and fairness when other developing countries participate in this attack on our livelihood? Where is the promise when the member countries of the OECD arrogate to themselves, the right to pronounce on the efficacy of the international financial services industries of a number of Caribbean countries; when they imperiously seek to determine the nature of our tax regimes by blacklisting those industries as harmful tax havens? Harmful to whom Mr. President? In this new age, we are exhorted to be competitive. Yet, whenever we manage to succeed in this endeavor, our developed world shouts foul and accuses us of being harmful and discriminatory
Although many countries in the region are middle-income as national economies, the economic disparity between the rich and poor is the greatest in the world. Now in the process of consolidating their transition to democracies, the region seems poised for more equitable growth.
According to World Bank report prepared for 2001, Latin America and Caribbean region (LAC) is ready to enter a decade of sustained moderate growth, with an expected increase of 4.1% in GDP in 2001 and the potential to double the per capita growth of the last decade, due to the stabilization of global financial markets and the burgeoning of global trade.
According to the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries 2001, economic growth in these countries is expected to reach 5% this year and 4.8% in 2002. But developments in oil markets and US non-inflationary growth remain major uncertainties. In this context, LAC’s GDP is expected to rise by 4.1% this year and 4.3% in 2002, with projected 3.0-3.3% per capita growth over the next ten years, double the rate seen over the past decade. The report credits international trade for this progress, which in tern was improved by technological innovations (that reduced the cost of transport and communications), and the reduction of trade barriers.
The LAC region has profited from a sustained improvement in such macroeconomic indicators as inflation, unemployment, human capital, investment flows, and exchange rates. Inflation has fallen from 24% to 6% over the last decade, allowing interest rates to continue on a falling trend. Unemployment has declined and real wages have risen in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico by comparison with average 1999 figures, although unemployment is still high in Argentina and Colombia. Enrollment figures in primary and secondary education have risen by close to 10 percentage points in the last 10 years.
Real investment as a proportion of GDP has increased by 2%, supported by strong foreign direct investment inflows, which surged to almost 4%, while greater openness and increased integration have led to doubling of the trade flow over the last 10 years.
Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries 2001 warns that “volatility in financial markets and primary commodity prices continues to pose a threat to the recovery in Latin America,” while swings in external financing are likely to remain a concern in the long run, but the consolidation of the region’s recovery in 2001-02 is likely, as adjustment in Brazil has been impressive so far, and new governments in Argentina and Mexico appear set to embark on a path of deepened reforms. Never the less, Argentina has shown little growth for nearly three years.
The continued growth in North America and Europe over the next two years is expected to increase tourism to the Caribbean islands. Finally, the strong flows of foreign direct investment in recent years into areas of the economy that could raise growth of productivity substantially – telecommunications, utilities, ports, and so forth – should produce dividends in the next decade compared with the relatively poor performance of the last 10 years.
Yet, much of the infrastructure to create equality and support does not exist in Latin America (which includes the attitude of the people). It takes time to build a balanced society with a range of jobs, talents, and opportunities to create the environment to close the rich-poor gap.
The gap between rich and poor has been a historic factor of perturbation and destabilization in Colombia’s quest for democracy. Social justice has fueled guerrilla actions since 1948. The Colombian people today are more aware of the effects of this factor, and also that the peace process will reduce the inequality between the classes.
Colombia must strive toward a more democratic socialism with integrated regional development, for all Colombians including the guerrillas. A genuine peace process will have to address concrete steps for addressing the inequality of wealth distribution, including land tenure, distribution of production tools, social justice, equality of opportunities, implications for the Constitution, improving the legal system, and the general development of the country.
In Brazil slum dwellers empower themselves by engaging in political clientelism. The urban poor participate in collective bargaining of their votes in exchange for political favors such as pavement of new roads and installation of plumbing. However, such practice does not yield long-term results; the poor must use their collective voice to shape decision making that influences the lives of generations. Participation in the political process is vital to empowerment of the poor.
The region's economy has revived after weak or negative growth in 1999.
The ADB's annual report indicates that strong growth in Mexico, Chile,
and Brazil has led the region to a 4% growth in 2000.
NORTH AMERICA
Region exhibits contradicory characteristics of ethical and unethical
markets.... There is a big service gap in this region in the mostly low-income
areas, which are difficult to finance because of the low tax base.
Ethical markets are created by correct prices that include social and environmental costs, socially responsible investing, fuller business disclosure, fairer tax codes (such as taxing things like pollution).... See WETV’s “the ethical marketplace”.... Most business is played "by the rules", but the intensity of competition is so high that weak players get eaten - not helped.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is a double-edged sword. It's a model of what behavior is required of the US-based companies, and it gives a competitive disadvantage if non-US companies behave to the lowest common denominator.
A "rising tide" of economic growth is the best approach. The poor in the wealthiest countries are generally much better off than the middle of the not-so-wealthy countries with transportation infrastructures including personal vehicles.... North America is the key to solving this dilemma.... There needs to be some monetary benefit to the corporations for them to become involved, and without their involvement it is not likely to be successful.... Improving global economy will increase the disposable income in key countries, and provide new customers for goods and services of this region. The U.S.’s liberal trade policy with Mexico is an example.
The region needs to come to psychological grips with the fact that one-third of the world consumption is done by 3-4% of the world population. A major values change is required. Achieving that would release resources for the rest of the world to use.... Japan with half the economy of the US is a bigger contributor of overseas development assistance, then the US, which spends about $9 billion per year. This is only 0.1% of the U.S.’s GNP, putting the U.S. in last place in foreign aid per GNP compared to Japan, Western Europe, and Canada.
The notion of a market economy fails to include genuinely 'ethical' attributes.... We need education with better teachers... Provide high technology goods and services to emerging and maturing market economies.
Related
Research Menu
Millennium Project Home Page