Obstacles To Implementing Lessons from the 1997-1998 East Asian Crises

Various different and sometimes contradictory lessons have been drawn from the 1997-1998 East Asian crisis experiences. The ideological implications and political differences involved have complicated the possibility of drawing shared lessons from the crises. The seeming calm and increased growth in most developing countries in the period since 2001 have also undermined the possibility of far-reaching developmental reforms following the experience. Perhaps most importantly, the vested interests supporting existing international financial governance arrangements continue to impede the possibility of implementing lessons drawn from the experience. Such interests are generally supported by conventional wisdom and reinforced by the financial media.Asian crises, currency crises

The Way Forward? : The Political Economy of Development Policy Reform in Malaysia

An inaugural lecture delivered at the University of Malaya on Tuesday, 20 July 1993

Economic liberalization and constraints to development in sub-Saharan africa

This paper critically reviews the impact of globalization on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) since the early 1980s. The large gains expected from opening up to international economic forces have, to date, been limited, and there have been significant adverse consequences. FDI in SSA has been largely confined to resource, especially mineral, extraction, even as continuing capital flight has reduced financial resources available for productive investments. Premature trade liberalization has further undermined prospects for SSA economic development as productive capacities in many sectors are not sufficiently competitive to take advantage of any improvements in market access.Development, Agriculture, Africa, Trade liberalization, FDI, Bretton Woods Institutions

Entrevista a Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Jomo Kwame Sundaram es asesor principal del Instituto de Investigación Khazanah, miembro de la Academia de Ciencias de Malasia, profesor emérito de la Universidad de Malaya y miembro visitante de la Iniciativa para el Diálogo Político de la Universidad de Columbia. Fue fundador y presidente de International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs), Subsecretario General de Desarrollo Económico de la ONU (2005-2012) y Subdirector General de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO) (2012-2015). Recibió el Premio Wassily Leontief 2007 por el avance de las fronteras del pensamiento económico

Reconsidering Public-Private Partnerships in Developing Countries

Where large-scale investments are needed, especially for infrastructure projects, public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been touted as an option. With encouragement by the international financial institutions, PPPs have been promoted in developing countries, especially those facing large public sector debt burdens. PPPs can be very diverse and complex. Many developing country governments lack the institutional and human resource capacity to handle the complexities of PPPs, and hence, PPPs may not yield the results promised. Complex financial contracts, involving commitments to future payments, often reduce transparency. Thus, PPPs can suffer similar problems – such as corruption, cronyism, monopolies – faced in privatization. The transfer of risks to private contractors may be partial, with the government having to step in if something goes wrong. A further consideration is to ensure equitable access for poor and low income households to maintain political support for PPPs. Even when PPP contracts take investments off government balance sheets, and thereby seemingly improve the fiscal balance, commitments to pay for future service flows and other contingent liabilities have similar economic effects to public debt. PPPs do not necessarily entail lower capital costs than investments financed by public borrowing.Public-private partnership, public debt, privatization, developing countries

Whither Income Inequalities?

Some major trends in world income inequalities and relevant economic trends are reviewed here. In recent decades, there have been indications of a reversal of the growing income divergence between North and South after over half a millennium, especially in the last two centuries. Meanwhile, income inequalities within most countries have been growing again, increasing social tensions, which may jeopardize growth in some countries and reshape global economic competition. In the 1960s, when the profit rate and capital’s share of national income in Western countries were highest, income inequality within countries was at a historical low. Since the 1980s, the increasing share of profits in national income and rising inequality within countries have gone hand in hand

<Review Articles>Capital, Colonialism and Contradiction in the Making of the Sino-Singapore Bourgeoisie

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