In spite of the global economic turbulence of recent years, many countries in the global south are experiencing rapid growth. Cities are booming, infrastructure projects are expanding, and luxury goods are becoming commonplace. However, economic growth within a country does not necessarily bring shared benefits to all citizens. One of the greatest development challenges of the 21^st century is the stubborn and often extensive poverty of middle income countries.

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As my colleague Isobel Coleman wrote last week, Saudi Arabia has just leaped a small hurdle towards gender equality: announcing last week that it will allow female athletics in private schools. Until now girls have been prohibited from playing sports as a part of formal education. The move comes on the heels of last year’s decision to allow two Saudi women to compete in the Olympics for the first time in the country’s history.

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The African growth story continues as investors pour into Africa. Investment is booming and interest in the continent is surging as capital seeks regions still able to flourish despite the broader global economy’s fight to return to robust—or at least decent—health.

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Examining the economic fallout of the Arab uprisings is critical as societies struggle to move past the upheaval and fight for a measure of stability and security. Unemployment rates in the region have climbed in the last two years: Egypt’s official unemployment rate is now 13 percent, with nearly 80 percent of the jobless holding either high school or university degrees. Unofficial figures put that rate much higher. Growth barely hit two percent in 2012, well under half its rate before the uprisings. In Tunisia growth is declining while frustration and hopelessness grow. Official unemployment shows the jobless rate reached 19 percent in May 2012, up six points in two years. As a Brookings Institution paper noted, “youth, between 15 and 30 years old, make about one-third of the labor force and three-quarters of the unemployed.” Their unemployment rate tops 30 percent.

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Last night I had the privilege of hosting Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz at a roundtable at CFR. His wide-ranging remarks addressed many challenges at the nexus of poverty, inequality, and global economic governance, but one discussion stood out because it echoed and amplified a serious concern I’ve heard raised in a number of other fora over the past few months.

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Last week Lori Wallach, Director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, joined me at CFR for a rare on the record roundtable meeting. Living up to her reputation for incisive and provocative remarks, Wallach sparked a heated debate about the impacts of investment treaties in the global south. She argued that Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), which aim to protect foreign investors from unfair and arbitrary treatment by governments, are themselves arbitrary and unfair.

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In the aftermath of war securing economic stability and reviving institutions are among the first priorities. As a CFR Working Paper I wrote last year noted, “negative economic shocks of just 5 percent can increase the risk of a civil war by as much as 50 percent in fragile environments. Additionally, donor assistance, which can account for 20 percent to as much as 97 percent of a country’s GDP, is unsustainable in the long term. Building local business capacity and supporting homegrown entrepreneurs can help curb this risk.” The private sector plays a pivotal role as a “stabilizing force.”

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Brazil’s starring role among the booming quartet of emerging markets known as the BRICs is well documented: in a decade the number of people in relative poverty has fallen by half and the percentage of those living on $1.25 a day fell from 9.8 percent to 6.1 percent. Low inflation, strong reserves management practices, and robust economic growth have enabled this economic surge.

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Recently, CFR senior fellow Shannon O’Neil was interviewed on Jim Zirin’s Digital Age about Mexico’s relationship with the United States. Topics included the country’s burgeoning middle class, reform of telecommunications, and more. As O’Neil argues: Read more »