Rob Vos - Böcker

This book assesses financing strategies in Latin America and the Caribbean, in pursuance of the United Nations' millennium development goals (MDGs) and their achievement in 2015. It looks at how to make public policies more conducive to support sustained growth and reduce the still widespread poverty and inequality in the region

The experience of many developing countries with the use of large inflows of commercial bank loans and offical development assistance in the 1970s and 1980s has manifested the continuous external vulnerability of their economies. This study provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the international aspects of development finance, credit-rationing rules set by bank mangers and donor governments, together with uncoordinated macroeconomic policies in the industrialized world, which tend to create unstable and inadequate external financing conditions for the developing world. This study not only makes clear that a global framework is needed to assess the contribution of external financial resources for development, it provides one as well.

The central argument of this study is that the segmented and oligopolistic financial and commodity markets, large income inequalities, and diverging accumulation behaviour of public and private sector agents are the structural and institutional features underlying the persistent macroeconomic imbalances.

It studies the impact of different sources of external finance on growth and development in different country contexts. An important finding of the study is that 'success' or 'failure' in the productive use of external and domestic financial resources cannot be explained on the basis of single factors such as external shocks or 'bad' versus 'sound' policies. Rather, they are outcomes of complex interactions between changes in exogenous factors (such as fluctuations in external finance and trade shocks), existing economic structures and the responses to shocks by domestic public and private sector agents. This finding also implies that there are no recipes in economic policy-making which are generally applicable; the 'best' policy has to be designed specifically for each country.

The issue of the pros and cons of free trade from the point of view of developing countries refuses to dissipate, and in Latin America, the debate rages most fiercely. Argentina is still licking its wounds after a catastrophic past five years, and Brazil and others have hardened their line – even going so far as to initiate the influential new G20 group of the most powerful LDCs.Who Gains from Free Trade examines the extent to which trade reforms have been an important source of the slowdown of economic growth, rising inequality and rising poverty as observed in many parts of the region. This volume presents a comprehensive analysis of this important topic, utilizing:research based on sixteen country narratives of policy reform and economic performancerigorous general equilibrium (CGE) modelling of the economy-wide effects of trade reform for all country cases application of an innovative method of microsimulations to assess the employment and factor income distribution impact of policy reforms on poverty and inequality at the household level.This important study, a valuable resource for postgraduate students of development economics and political economy, examines all the current issues and brings together some of the world’s leading experts.

The issue of the pros and cons of free trade from the point of view of developing countries refuses to dissipate, and in Latin America, the debate rages most fiercely. Argentina is still licking its wounds after a catastrophic past five years, and Brazil and others have hardened their line – even going so far as to initiate the influential new G20 group of the most powerful LDCs.Who Gains from Free Trade examines the extent to which trade reforms have been an important source of the slowdown of economic growth, rising inequality and rising poverty as observed in many parts of the region. This volume presents a comprehensive analysis of this important topic, utilizing:research based on sixteen country narratives of policy reform and economic performancerigorous general equilibrium (CGE) modelling of the economy-wide effects of trade reform for all country cases application of an innovative method of microsimulations to assess the employment and factor income distribution impact of policy reforms on poverty and inequality at the household level.This important study, a valuable resource for postgraduate students of development economics and political economy, examines all the current issues and brings together some of the world’s leading experts.

The dismal experience of many developing countries with the use of large inflows of commercial bank loans and official development assistance in the 1970s and 1980s has manifested the continuous external vulnerability of their economies. This study provides a rigorous theoretical and empirical analysis of the international aspects of development finance, Credit-rationing rules set by bank managers and donor governments, together with uncoordinated macroeconomic policies in the industrialized world, tend to create unstable and inadequate external financing conditions for the developing world. This study not only makes overly clear that a global framework is needed to assess the contribution of external financial resources for development, it provides one as well.

This book studies the impact of different sources of external finance on growth and development in different country contexts.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on bloomsburycollections.com.The global economic crisis of 2008-2009 exposed systemic failings at the core of economic policy making worldwide. The crisis came on top of several other crises, including skyrocketing and highly volatile world food and energy prices and climate change. This book argues that new policy approaches are needed to address such devastating global development challenges and to avoid the potentially catastrophic consequences to livelihoods worldwide that would result from present approaches. The contributors to the book are independent development experts, brought together by the UN to identify a development strategy capable of promoting a broad-based economic recovery and at the same time guaranteeing social equity and environmental sustainability both within countries and internationally. This new development approach seeks to promote the reforms needed to improve global governance, providing a more equitable distribution of global public goods. The contributors offer a critical evaluation of past development experiences and report on their creative search for new and well-thought out answers for the future. They suggest that economic progress, fairer societies and environmental sustainability can be compatible objectives, but only when pursued simultaneously by all.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on bloomsburycollections.com.Continuation along current development pathways is not sustainable. Available technology and production practices and the consumption patterns of modern societies are leading to global warming and ecological destruction. Business as usual is not an option. There is an urgent need to find a new development paradigm that ensures environmental sustainability while managing to provide, now and in the future, a decent livelihood for all of humankind. In Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development, experts in the area provide a variety of insights about the technical transformation needed for sustainable development. It spells out the behavioural and policy changes that would need to accompany the next technological transformation, taking into account the complexity of inducing technological change in the energy and agricultural sectors. The assessment suggests that this will require major, but doable improvements in national innovation systems and major, but affordable shifts in investment patterns and related macroeconomic adjustments.

This book spells out, in more detail than usual, what can and should be done to avert the real risks of disaster. It summons us to an endeavour worthy of the resources and ingenuity of the 21st century, towards bold initiatives with big costs, and much bigger benefits. It explores the interconnected issues of climate and development, laying the groundwork for such a new deal. It presents a challenging agenda, and highlights the needs and perspectives of developing countries which may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable to readers in high-income countries. The unfortunate truth is that any large country, or group of mid-sized countries, can veto any global climate solution by refusing to participate, so a solution will only work if it works for everyone.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on bloomsburycollections.com.How much would poor nations need to invest to eliminate poverty, get all children in school and provide adequate basic health care for all? Can they afford it? Financing Human Development in Africa, Asia and the Middle East provides some clear answers to these questions. The contributors assess feasible financing strategies underpinning actions to enhance human development in pursuance of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The contributors analyse these strategies in the context of broader concerns of economic development in nine countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The assessments stress the importance of redesigning macroeconomic policies so as to make these more supportive of long-term economic growth and employment creation, while ensuring sufficient investments in human development in order to end poverty and overcome deep-rooted inequalities.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on bloomsburycollections.com.How much would poor nations need to invest to eliminate poverty, get all children in school and provide adequate basic health care for all? Can they afford it? Financing Human Development in Africa, Asia and the Middle East provides some clear answers to these questions. The contributors assess feasible financing strategies underpinning actions to enhance human development in pursuance of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The contributors analyse these strategies in the context of broader concerns of economic development in nine countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The assessments stress the importance of redesigning macroeconomic policies so as to make these more supportive of long-term economic growth and employment creation, while ensuring sufficient investments in human development in order to end poverty and overcome deep-rooted inequalities.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on bloomsburycollections.com.In Retooling Global Development and Governance a team of UN experts debate new ideas about how to overcome deficiencies in the ongoing process of globalization and in the existing mechanisms for global economic governance. They do not claim to offer a blueprint, rather a set of ideas that could become the basis for a coherent "toolbox" designed to guide development policies and international cooperation.Promising directions for reform discussed in the book include:- Strengthening government capacities for formulating and implementing national development strategies- New strategies for ensuring that official development assistance is aligned with national priorities - Enhancing international trade and financial systems so that countries with limited capabilities can successfully integrate into the global economy- Creating new mechanisms for dealing with deficiencies, such as specialized multilateral frameworks through which to govern international migration and labour mobility, international financial regulation, multinational corporations and global value chains regulation and sovereign debt workouts. Above all, the book highlights the need for a strong mechanism for global economic coordination to establish coherence across all areas of global economic governance.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on bloomsburycollections.com.In Retooling Global Development and Governance a team of UN experts debate new ideas about how to overcome deficiencies in the ongoing process of globalization and in the existing mechanisms for global economic governance. They do not claim to offer a blueprint, rather a set of ideas that could become the basis for a coherent "toolbox" designed to guide development policies and international cooperation. Promising directions for reform discussed in the book include: - Strengthening government capacities for formulating and implementing national development strategies - New strategies for ensuring that official development assistance is aligned with national priorities - Enhancing international trade and financial systems so that countries with limited capabilities can successfully integrate into the global economy- Creating new mechanisms for dealing with deficiencies, such as specialized multilateral frameworks through which to govern international migration and labour mobility, international financial regulation, multinational corporations and global value chains regulation and sovereign debt workouts. Above all, the book highlights the need for a strong mechanism for global economic coordination to establish coherence across all areas of global economic governance.

Since the late 1980s, almost all Latin American countries have undergone a series of far-reaching economic reforms, particularly in the areas of financial and capital account liberalization and trade. This book provides a comparative and analytical framework for assessing the impact of these reforms upon 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, and Peru.The contributors analyse the complex interaction between macro policies, trade and financial liberalization. They illustrate that capital account liberalization in many cases has counteracted objectives of trade liberalization by provoking real exchange-rate appreciation and a profit squeeze in tradable goods sectors. The book concludes that structural shifts resulting from the reform process - such as greater demand for skilled labour and labour-saving investments in modern economic sectors - are major underlying causes of inequality and poverty. The authors ascertain that although these repercussions are strongly associated with the process of trade liberalization, in several instances the positive impact of macroeconomic stabilization and expansion of aggregate demand on employment and real incomes have counteracted these negative outcomes. Economic Liberalization, Distribution and Poverty will be of interest to scholars of economic development, policymakers in countries undergoing major economic reforms (Latin America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe), economic analysts at multilateral agencies (UN, IMF, World Bank, regional development banks, BIS), and international investment agencies including major banks. The book will also be important to aid agencies and those interested in a better understanding of the impact of globalization on the well-being of people across the globe.

In Uneven Economic Development, leading economists and development experts examine the causes and implications of international economic divergences. This comprehensive and timely book reviews economic growth and structural change patterns since the 1960s, before critically reviewing the respective role and impact of trade liberalisation, macroeconomic policies, governance and institutions on comparative national economic performance, particularly in developing countries. With country studies included to exemplify the issues at hand, this is a definitive Guide to identifying, addressing and perhaps even finding a solution to this global phenomenon.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on bloomsburycollections.com.This volume brings together new contributions from renowned academic scholars, from experts on economies in transition and from the United Nations, the European Union, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as well as other international agencies. It aims to answer fundamental questions and spell out policy options to address the challenges for economies in transition. The volume includes comparative studies focusing on all transition economies, including Central and Eastern Europe, as well as regions such as Western Balkans and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on bloomsburycollections.com.The world is witnessing the paradox of simultaneous increase in income and insecurity. According to available data, global average per capita income has increased in recent decades, while at the same time actual and perceived insecurity has also increased. This paradox is true for both developed and developing countries. However, the concrete form and causes of insecurity differs across these two groups of countries. To the extent that income levels in many developing countries are very low, economic insecurity in these countries takes a starker and chronic form. In Financing for Overcoming Economic Insecurity, leading experts examine the causes and consequences of rising economic insecurity and policy measures that can be adopted to overcome insecurity. The volume contains papers addressing issues of economic insecurity pertaining to both developed and developing countries and caused by both economic factors and natural hazards. It also discusses the issues at both macro and micro levels. The volume’s focus on policy measures, such as redistribution and reinvestment of profit income in developed countries and imposition of capital control and promotion of micro insurance in developing countries, should be of much help to policymakers as well as researchers.