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Showing posts for "Global Poverty"

Poverty, Inequality, and Development

by Terra Lawson-Remer
Paraguayan peasants hold up pieces of wood as they arrive in Auncion for the annual "March of the rural poor" on March 28, 2012 (Jorge Adorno/Courtesy Reuters). Paraguayan peasants hold up pieces of wood as they arrive in Asuncion for the annual "March of the rural poor" on March 28, 2012 (Jorge Adorno/Courtesy Reuters).

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 21st century is the stubborn and often extensive poverty of middle income countries.

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New From CFR: Helen Clark on the 2013 Human Development Report

by Development Channel Staff

In a CFR meeting this week, Helen Clark, administrator of the United Nations Development Program, discussed the newly released 2013 Human Development Report and trends in global development. Among the topics was Africa’s economic growth. As Clark argued: Read more »

Human Development, Inequality, and the BRICS

by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Jacob Zuma, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a family photograph during the fifth BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa, March 27, 2013 (Rogan Ward/Courtesy Reuters). Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Jacob Zuma, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a family photograph during the fifth BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa, March 27, 2013 (Rogan Ward/Courtesy Reuters).

In South Africa this week a group of emerging nations, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa itself, known as the BRICs (the moniker given by Goldman Sachs in 2001), gathered to launch their own development bank. The New York Times called the move “a direct challenge to the dominance of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.”

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Question of the Week: Inequality Part II

by Development Channel Staff
People jostle for a fuel dispenser nozzle as a worker fills the tank of a car at a petrol station in Cairo, Egypt, October 3, 2012 (Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Courtesy Reuters). People jostle for a fuel dispenser nozzle as a worker fills the tank of a car at a petrol station in Cairo, Egypt, October 3, 2012 (Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Courtesy Reuters).

How does inequality affect economic growth?

Question of the Week posts review important questions and controversies in global development by providing background information and links to a full spectrum of analysis and opinion. Following a recent post on global trends in income inequality, today’s post examines the effect of inequality on economic growth.

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New From CFR: Foreign Affairs on the Millennium Development Goals

by Development Channel Staff
A man pushes his bicycle loaded with harvested grass in Mchinji, Malawi on April 21, 2008 (Siphiwe Sibeko/Courtesy Reuters). A man pushes his bicycle loaded with harvested grass in Mchinji, Malawi on April 21, 2008 (Siphiwe Sibeko/Courtesy Reuters).

In the March/April 2013 issue of Foreign Affairs, development scholar John McArthur, a former manager of the UN Millennium Project, reviews the history of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and takes stock of their progress. As he writes: Read more »

New From CFR: Gayle Tzemach Lemmon on Entrepreneurship and Poverty Reduction

by Development Channel Staff
Members of a sewing circle run by woman entrepreneurs pose with garments in the town of Fungurume, Democratic Republic of the Congo, January 30, 2013 (Jonny Hogg/Courtesy Reuters). Members of a sewing circle run by woman entrepreneurs pose with garments in the town of Fungurume, Democratic Republic of the Congo, January 30, 2013 (Jonny Hogg/Courtesy Reuters).

In an article in the Huffington Post, CFR fellow Gayle Tzemach Lemmon highlights the poverty-fighting potential of entrepreneurship, especially among women. As she writes:

All around the world, and in the countries and provinces and neighborhoods held captive by some of the most entrenched and toughest to battle poverty, women and men turn to business to feed their families… In the process many are doing much more than surviving. Read more »

New From CFR: John Campbell on Poverty and the Conflict in Mali

by Development Channel Staff
French troops drive to Segou in Mali on January 16, 2013 (Francois Rihouay/Courtesy Reuters). French troops drive to Segou in Mali on January 16, 2013 (Francois Rihouay/Courtesy Reuters).

Yesterday on his blog, CFR senior fellow John Campbell wrote about the dire poverty facing Malians, a situation only exacerbated by the current conflict. As he notes:

Infant mortality exceeds 10 percent. Life expectancy at birth is among the shortest in the world. Read more »

Question of the Week: Inequality

by Development Channel Staff
Clothes are seen hanging outside a bus which has been converted into a dwelling for Lu Changshan and his wife, near newly-constructed residential buildings in Hefei, Anhui province on November 12, 2012 (Jianan Lu/Courtesy Reuters). Clothes are seen hanging outside a bus which has been converted into a dwelling for Lu Changshan and his wife near newly-constructed residential buildings in Hefei, Anhui province in China on November 12, 2012 (Jianan Lu/Courtesy Reuters).

Where is global income inequality headed?  

Question of the Week posts review important questions and controversies in global development by providing background information and links to a full spectrum of analysis and opinion. Today’s post discusses global trends in income inequality.

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Democracy in Development: Five Development Innovations to Watch in 2013

by Isobel Coleman
Alcatel-Lucent contractors lay the East African Marine Cable (TEAMS) fibre optic cable on the Fujairah shore-end, United Arab Emirates, April 10, 2009 (Courtesy Reuters). Alcatel-Lucent contractors lay the East African Marine Cable (TEAMS) fibre optic cable on the Fujairah shore-end, United Arab Emirates, April 10, 2009 (Courtesy Reuters).

Yesterday on my blog, I highlighted five innovations poised to have a big impact on global development in 2013. As I write about one of them, Africa’s broadband revolution: Read more »

New From CFR: Foreign Affairs on Poverty in India

by Development Channel Staff
High rise residential buildings are seen behind a slum in Mumbai on July 20, 2010 (Danish Siddiqui/Courtesy Reuters. High rise residential buildings are seen behind a slum in Mumbai on July 20, 2010 (Danish Siddiqui/Courtesy Reuters).

A review by Andrew Nathan in the November/December Foreign Affairs examines two books on poverty reduction in India, home to some 35 percent of the world’s poorest people. The first volume is Poverty Amid Plenty in the New India by Atul Kohli. As Nathan writes: Read more »