Substantial progress in the fight against extreme poverty was made in the last two decades. But the slowdown in global economic growth and significant increases in income inequality in many developed and developing countries raise serious concerns about the continuation of this trend into the 21st century. The time has come to seriously think about how improvements in official global governance, coupled with and reinforced by rising activism of 'global citizens' can lead to welfare-enhancing and more equitable results for global citizens through better national and international policies. This book examines the factors that are most likely to facilitate the process of beneficial economic growth in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. It examines past, present, and future economic growth; demographic changes; the hyperglobalization of trade; the effect of finance on growth; climate change and resource depletion; and the sense of global citizenship and the need for global governance in order to draw longer-term implications, identify policy options for improving the lives of average citizens around the world, and make the case for the need to confront new challenges with truly global policy responses. The book documents how demographic changes, convergence, and competition are likely to bring about massive shifts in the sectoral and geographical composition of global output and employment, as the center of gravity of the global economy moves toward Asia and emerging economies elsewhere. It shows that the legacies of the 2008-09 crisis-high unemployment levels, massive excess capacities, and high debt levels-are likely to reduce the standard of living of millions of people in many countries over a long period of adjustment and that fluctuations in international trade, financial markets, and commodity prices, as well as the tendency of institutions at both the national and international level to favor the interests of the better-off and more powerful pose substantial risks for citizens of all countries. The chapters and their policy implications are intended to stimulate public interest and facilitate the exchange of ideas and policy dialogue.

Does rapid population growth diminish countries' economic development prospects? Do policies aimed at reducing high fertility help families escape poverty? These questions have been at the heart of policy debates since the time of Malthus, and have been particularly heated during the last half-century of explosive Third World population growth. In this carefully constructed collection of recent studies and analyses, the authors offer a nuanced, yet clear and positive answer to these questions--a refreshing step forward from the ambiguous conclusions of much of the literature of the 1970s and 1980s.

This study brings readers up to date on the complicated and controversial subject of debt relief for the poorest countries of the world. What has actually been achieved? Has debt relief provided truly additional resources to fight poverty? How will the design and timing of the "enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative" affect the development prospects of the world's poorest countries and their people?

The study then moves on to address several broader policy questions. Is debt relief a step toward more efficient and equitable government spending, building better institutions, and attracting productive private investment in the poorest countries? Who pays for debt relief? Is there a case for further relief? Most importantly, how can the case for debt relief be sustained in a broader effort to combat poverty in the poorest countries?

Does rapid population growth diminish countries' economic development prospects? Do policies aimed at reducing high fertility help families escape poverty? These questions have been at the heart of policy debates since the time of Malthus, and have been particularly heated during the last half-century of explosive Third World population growth. In this carefully constructed collection of recent studies and analyses, the authors offer a nuanced, yet clear and positive answer to these questions---a refreshing step forward from the ambiguous conclusions of much of the literature of the 1970s and 1980s.

Substantial progress in the fight against extreme poverty was made in the last two decades. But the slowdown in global economic growth and significant increases in income inequality in many developed and developing countries raise serious concerns about the continuation of this trend into the 21st century. The time has come to seriously think about how improvements in official global governance, coupled with and reinforced by rising activism of 'global citizens' can lead to welfare-enhancing and more equitable results for global citizens through better national and international policies. This book examines the factors that are most likely to facilitate the process of beneficial economic growth in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. It examines past, present, and future economic growth; demographic changes; the hyperglobalization of trade; the effect of finance on growth; climate change and resource depletion; and the sense of global citizenship and the need for global governance in order to draw longer-term implications, identify policy options for improving the lives of average citizens around the world, and make the case for the need to confront new challenges with truly global policy responses. The book documents how demographic changes, convergence, and competition are likely to bring about massive shifts in the sectoral and geographical composition of global output and employment, as the center of gravity of the global economy moves toward Asia and emerging economies elsewhere. It shows that the legacies of the 2008-09 crisis-high unemployment levels, massive excess capacities, and high debt levels-are likely to reduce the standard of living of millions of people in many countries over a long period of adjustment and that fluctuations in international trade, financial markets, and commodity prices, as well as the tendency of institutions at both the national and international level to favor the interests of the better-off and more powerful pose substantial risks for citizens of all countries. The chapters and their policy implications are intended to stimulate public interest and facilitate the exchange of ideas and policy dialogue.

The reciprocal opening of markets for goods and financial services provides opportunities for foreign direct investment and its related fresh inflow of long-term capital, and developing countries must have sustained access to these markets in order to grow. Global integration efforts are essential in this process, but they need to be complemented by a certain degree of regional cooperation, which may include the provision of regional public goods and services essential for development that are not provided by markets of single nations. This report brings together the views of experts and policymakers on the benefits and limitations of regionalism. In dealing with the multiple issues of regionalism, the authors offer fresh insights and discuss ways in which Regional Development Banks (RDBs) may serve as catalysts for collective action. The authors also propose ways in which RDBs should modify current practices.

The relationship between the process of creating wealth and distributing it has been a subject of great analytical and policy interest to development economists for many years. Is there an inevitable conflict, or tradeoff, between wealth creation and wealth distribution? Can both growth and social equity increase simultaneously? What role can public policy play to affect growth-equity outcomes?
These questions are particularly salient both for Latin America, where inequality levels are among the highest in the world, and for developing countries in general. A key question is to what extent market-oriented reform, followed with great impetus in the 1990s in the developing and postsocialist world, is compatible with socially accepted patterns of distribution of income, wealth, and opportunities.
Part 1 provides the analytical-empirical perspective. Contributors explore alternative concepts of distributive justice and social equity and their links with macro policies, structural reform, and human development. Part 2 is written mainly by Chilean policymakers, who examine Chile's economic reform started in the 1970s under a military regime and continued in the 1990s by the democratic regime. They describe the process of very rapid economic growth matched by significant poverty reduction and persistent wealth and income inequality.
Such a theme requires a dialogue between professional economists, social thinkers, and policy practitioners both at the national and international levels. This book provides that dialogue on the issues of social equity, distributive justice, and economic development and will be important reading for development economists and Latin American scholars.
Andres Solimano is Director of the Country Management Unit for Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela at the World Bank. Eduardo Ananat is Minister of Finance of Chile. Nancy Birdsall is Chief of Policy and Research, Population Health and Nutrition Department at the World Bank.