The social dimension of globalization: A review of the literature

With globalization affecting so many inter-connected areas, it is difficult to grasp its full impact. This literature review of over 120 sources considers the impact of globalization on wages and taxes, poverty, inequality, insecurity, child labour, gender, and migration. Opening with some stylized facts concerning globalization in 1985-2002, the authors then highlight recent findings on these areas, reporting on controversies and on emerging consensus where it exists. There follows a review of national and international policy responses designed to make globalization more sustainable and equitable and to deliver decent jobs, security and a voice in decision-making

Plasma Neurofilament Heavy Chain Levels Correlate to Markers of Late Stage Disease Progression and Treatment Response in SOD1(G93A) Mice that Model ALS

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable neurodegenerative disorder characterised by progressive degeneration of motor neurons leading to death, typically within 3–5 years of symptom onset. The diagnosis of ALS is largely reliant on clinical assessment and electrophysiological findings. Neither specific investigative tools nor reliable biomarkers are currently available to enable an early diagnosis or monitoring of disease progression, hindering the design of treatment trials. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, using the well-established SOD1G93A mouse model of ALS and a new in-house ELISA method, we have validated that plasma neurofilament heavy chain protein (NfH) levels correlate with both functional markers of late stage disease progression and treatment response. We detected a significant increase in plasma levels of phosphorylated NfH during disease progression in SOD1G93A mice from 105 days onwards. Moreover, increased plasma NfH levels correlated with the decline in muscle force, motor unit survival and, more significantly, with the loss of spinal motor neurons in SOD1 mice during this critical period of decline. Importantly, mice treated with the disease modifying compound arimoclomol had lower plasma NfH levels, suggesting plasma NfH levels could be validated as an outcome measure for treatment trials. Conclusions/Significance: These results show that plasma NfH levels closely reflect later stages of disease progression and therapeutic response in the SOD1G93A mouse model of ALS and may potentially be a valuable biomarker of later disease progression in ALS

A Time to Act : Address to the Board of Governors, Washington, DC, September 29, 2002

This is the address to the Board of Governors, delivered by Mr. James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank. It was indicated that the development community has confirmed the Millennium Development Goals as our framework for action. Our thinking and action must be local, regional, and global, and we must work and act together. First and foremost, developing country leaders have asserted that the responsibility for the future of their countries is in their hands. They know that they must drive their development and create a constructive environment to encourage growth that is equitable and just for poor people, indeed for all people. This growth must be based on sound social and economic policies. To create the conditions for entrepreneurship, productivity, and jobs, the developing countries must invest in health and education, including early childhood education. These countries must also invest in effective legal and judicial systems; clear tax and regulatory frameworks implemented in approaches that fight corruption at all levels; and strong and well-regulated financial systems. It was also indicated that the Bank must focus on implementation of our promises to work toward the Millennium Development Goals. Our operations must become more transparent. We must support developing countries to better build their capacity. We must act now on our promises. We must deliver on them with a sense of urgency. This is our responsibility and our destiny

Address to the Bankers' Club, London

James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, made points on topics that link banking to the developing world: scourge of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), which has 16 million people suffering from that disease; crime; war; migration, because migration comes from countries that do not have economic opportunity; and trade. It is crucial that the bankers in the city, as the home of international banking and the largest center of international banking, recognize that there is something more than the profit motive. As far as development is concerned, it's no longer an issue of having government to government assistance. $230 billion of private capital went to the developing world, eclipsing the$50 billion of official aid. International institutions have to change. And private institutions have to change in thinking not just of themselves but of leveraging their activities and their interests to work in partnership with the governments

Keynote Address on Preserving the Architecture of Historic Cities and Sacred Places

James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, discussed the importance of preserving culture, cities and architecture, and sacred sites. The international system has to be built on structure, on governance, on justice, on legal systems, on social systems, but it also has to be built on history and culture. You do not have to have a dollar sign on something for it to be valuable or for it to be essential. You cannot have an international financial architecture built on sand. He discussed the overwhelming issue of poverty, concentration of people in cities, the pressure on public services and public spaces, and the degradation that accompanies movements of people into cities

Address to the Overseas Development Council

James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, reflected upon the Asian financial crisis. What lessons are there that need to be learned? How do you position the Asian crisis? What went wrong? It is very hard to generalize; there are problems in the banking sector, and the private sector. Yet, the achievements of Asia are real. Fiscal management is excellent. Savings rates are high. Primary school enrollment is near 100 percent. This is no Latin American-style crisis. The Bank is working on two paths to restore confidence in these economies. One is financial and the other is social. There is a need for change in the supervision and control of the banking systems, and for transparency in the corporate sector. The social implications of the crisis are that it is the standard of living of the poor that has suffered the most. Inequality, migration, and unemployment are rising at scary rates. The Bank believes that together with the governments we can look forward to a real future in Asia

Africa's Moment

This is a speech given by Mr. Wolfensohn to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, on January 27, 1998 at Addis Ababa. He presented a development agenda in Africa which covers: human resource development, capacity building, rural development and rural transformation, private sector development, infrastructure, conflict prevention and resolution, public sector reform and good governance, and gender and environment. To achieve all these, it is important to establish partnerships with the governments of the developing countries, donor community, private sector, and nongovernmental organizations and civil society. He also addressed the importance of relieving African debt

Challenges Facing the Bank in the 21st Century

James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, discussed the challenges facing the World Bank. The Bank is now working and trying to deal with the questions of poverty and equity. While poverty is rarely about the lack of one thing, but instead many, the bottom line is that poor constantly live with hunger. Poverty has important psychological dimensions such as powerlessness, noiselessness, dependency, shame, and humiliation. The poor lack access to basic infrastructure such as roads, transportation, clean water. The poor rarely speak of income but instead focus on managing assets and the environment, social and human