Ideas to Action:
Independent research for global prosperity
Economist Stephany Griffith-Jones on the role development banks can play in innovation, how they should interact with private actors and governments, and what new institutions can learn from their predecessors.
When the finance ministers of the G20 countries set up an Eminent Persons Group 18 months ago, many observers were both hopeful and skeptical about the likely outcome. Now that the EPG’s report is out, what’s the verdict on how transformative its efforts will be?
Ongoing advances in AI, automation, and information and communications technologies (ICTs) may be fundamentally changing traditional paths to development. Academics, policymakers, and researchers in high-income countries have issued numerous reports and recommendations on the implications for jobs, education, and economic opportunities. But far less has been done to assess the effects on the developing world and global comparative advantage.
Although the new government has yet to take office, Imran Khan, who as of Monday has won the most seats in parliament, is expected to realize his long-term aim of becoming prime minister. Having run on a platform of ending corruption and promoting human development, expectations are high especially amongst his younger urban supporters. However, he takes over at a time when Pakistan faces a serious economic challenge and its relations with key global players are under strain.
The Center for Global Development is pleased to announce the launch of its new website! The modernized site brings you more of the same great research and analysis, with a renewed focus on how CGD’s research relates to current events and global development debates—and with a sleek updated design of course.
CGD and Brookings recently co-hosted Former Finance Minister of Nigeria and Distinguished Fellow Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to discuss her new book, Fighting Corruption is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines. The book is part memoir, part how-to, as she draws on her years of experience as Nigeria’s Finance Minister to describe the dangers of fighting corruption and how best to do it. I drew four main takeaways from our conversation.
When the world’s finance ministers and central bank governors assemble in Washington later this month. they would do well to focus on another looming debt crisis that could hit some of the poorest countries in the world, many of whom are also struggling with problems of conflict and fragility and none of which has the institutional capacity to cope with a major debt crisis without lasting damage to their already-challenged development prospects.
On International Women’s Day it is right to celebrate the huge advances in women’s rights during our own lifetimes. In almost every country in the world, women are closer to achieving equality in economic and social activity. However, even as we celebrate progress, we cannot lose sight of the road still to travel.
An increasingly common justification for European development assistance to Africa is the notion that it will reduce migration from the South. While this sounds intuitive and makes for an appealing argument, the research shows that it is highly unlikely. As communities become less poor, more people gain the abilities and wherewithal to undertake an expensive journey to a better life elsewhere. Development often increases migration—at least initially.
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim on robots in the workplace, multilateral cooperation, and the development potential of blockchain.
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