Annual Editions: Developing World 03/04

UNIT 1. Understanding the Developing World 1. The Great Divide in the Global Village, Bruce R. Scott, Foreign Affairs , January/February 2001 While globalization offers developing countries the potential for progress, several factors prevent their ability to take advantage of this opportunity. Wealthy countries restrict immigration and protect their domestic markets. Poor countries have a difficult time attracting investment owing to weak institutions and reliance on primary products. 2. Prisoners of Geography, Ricardo Hausmann, Foreign Policy , January/February 2001 The prevailing wisdom is that poor countries fail to prosper because they do not embrace free markets and their institutions are weak. Ricardo Hausmann suggests that poor countries are disadvantaged by geography. Tropical and landlocked countries face obstacles because of their location, including higher transportation costs, disease, and a lack of regional integration. 3. The Poor Speak Up, Rana Foroohar, Newsweek International , February 11, 2002 Developing countries are uniting in their efforts to extract concessions from the industrialized countries, especially concerning trade issues. Shifting coalitions of developing countries are taking a pragmatic approach on issues that are important to them. 4. The Rich Should Not Forget the ROW (Rest of the World), Jose Ramos-Horta, New Perspectives Quarterly , Fall 2001 Despite the increase in the size of the world's economy, the gap between rich and poor remains. Jose Ramos-Horta proposes essential steps to address this gap, including debt cancellation, increased development assistance, improved access to industrialized countries' markets, and the formation of an antipoverty coalition. Globalization requires a cooperative effort to meet the challenges of the developing world and such a coalition could formulate a global strategy to fight poverty. 5. Putting a Human Face on Development, Rubens Ricupero, International Social Science Journal , UNESCO 2000 Rubens Ricupero notes that in the past too much emphasis was placed on macroeconomics without sufficient attention to inequality, the environment, sustainability, and the role of women, indigenous peoples, and minorities. A new paradigm must take into account the critical economic role of information, which is crucial to prosperity in developing countries. UNIT 2. Political Economy and the Developing World 6. The Free-Trade Fix, Tina Rosenberg, New York Times Magazine , August 18, 2002 Proponents claim that globalization is the solution to poverty in the developing world. To enjoy its benefits, poor countries are pressured to adopt policies designed to promote economic growth. Tina Rosenberg questions the rules of international trade, which she contends are stacked against the poor countries. She offers nine new rules to govern globalization and improve the lives of the poor in the developing world. 7. Trading for Development: The Poor's Best Hope, Jagdish Bhaqwati, The Economist , June 22, 2002 While acknowledging that the industrial countries maintain barriers against certain imports from developing countries, Jagdish Bhagwati maintains that poor countries hurt themselves through their own protectionism. He also faults the industrialized countries' preferential trade arrangements with the poorest countries, calling instead for reduction in trade barriers, coupled with technical and financial assistance. 8. Learning From Doha: A Civil Society Perspective From the South, Walden Bello, Global Governance , JulySeptember 2002 Walden Bello contends that the 2001 Fourth Ministerial Conference of the WTO failed to address outstanding issues left over from the Uruguay Round of negotiations and did not produce a quick end to agricultural subsidies or textile import quotas. Developing countries were often excluded from decision making, their fragile unity was undermined, and civil society organizations were not as influential as they could be. 9. Do as We Say, Not as We Do, Jack Beatty, The Atlantic Monthly , February 2002 Two recent studies criticize the Western industrialized countries for failure to adequately open their markets to imports from the developing world. Tariffs on products from the poorest countries cost those countries more than they receive in aid. Agricultural subsidies make commodities from the developing world less competitive in both export and domestic markets. 10. Spreading the Wealth, David Dollar and Aart Kraay, Foreign Affairs , January/February 2002 Critics charge that globalization widens the gap between rich and poor. Examining data from a select number of globalizing developing countries, David Dollar and Aart Kraay argue that the evidence suggests that the critics are wrong and that globalization has actually promoted economic equality and reduced poverty. They argue that successful reduction in poverty requires that rich countries avoid protectionism while poor countries make necessary reforms. 11. Surmounting the Challenges of Globalization, Eduardo Aninat, Finance & Development , March 2002 Will the world's poorest share in the benefits of globalization? Antiglobalization protesters have emphasized the costs of rapid economic change, loss of local control of policy, the erosion of communities, and the slow response of international institutions to these concerns. The debate now seems to have shifted toward how to best manage the challenges of globalization. Eduardo Aninat claims that the IMF is seeking to adjust its policies to meet these challenges. 12. The Sacking of Argentina, Tim Frasca, The Nation , May 6, 2002 Argentina's economic collapse can be attributed to globalization, neoliberal policies, and the corruption and greed of Argentina's political class. The currency has been devalued, and an extensive bartering system has emerged. Poverty and unemployment have skyrocketed and people have taken to the streets in protest against the established political order. The IMF's response has been to call for greater adherence to neoliberal policies; the future looks grim. 13. Safe Deposit: The Case for Foreign Aid, Gregg Easterbrook, The New Republic , July 29, 2002 Foreign aid has been much maligned by critics for its failure to alleviate poverty and promote democracy. Gregg Easterbrook argues that the positive effects of aid have been overlooked. While he acknowledges that significant amounts of aid have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, he contends that aid has made the world better than it would have been otherwise. 14. The Cartel of Good Intentions, William Easterly, Foreign Policy , July/August 2002 Western governments have recently pledged to increase foreign aid, but the benefits might not reach those who need them the most. William Easterly claims that the foreign aid bureaucracy demonstrates little cooperation aGriffiths, Robert J. is the author of 'Annual Editions: Developing World 03/04', published 2003 under ISBN 9780072838558 and ISBN 0072838558.