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World Bank Group: Can Resource-Financed Infrastructure Fix the Natural Resource Curse?
By Håvard Halland, John Beardsworth, Bryan Land, and James Schmidt How can resource-rich countries ensure that a sufficiently large share of oil, gas, and mining revenues are used for productive investment rather than excessive or wasteful consumption? “Resource-financed infrastructure” (RFI)
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Graça Machel: The Only First Lady of Two Countries
She is the only known woman to have been the first lady of two countries. Graça Machel (68) is, however, best known for her dedication to the plight of refugee children around the world. She gained wide respect as an
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Zambia Set to Impress and Welcome Investors
Zambia has seen foreign direct investment (FDI) increase significantly to well over $1bn in 2013 – up 31% over the previous year. The number of projects receiving capital investment from outside the country went up as well. Greenfield investment in
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James Zhan, UNCTAD: Investing in Sustainable Development Goals
The SDGs, which are being formulated by the United Nations together with the widest possible range of stakeholders, are intended to galvanise action worldwide through concrete targets to 2030 for poverty reduction, food security, human health and education, climate change
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The Underrated Modesty of Executive Pay at the World Bank
There are moments in time when the proverbial storm in a teacup serves to underscore a point. The World Bank Group is living one such moment. The bank is in the midst of a possibly painful restructuring process that is
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Deutsche Börse and Thai Exchange Join Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative
The Deutsche Börse is the latest of a growing number of stock exchanges that have joined the United Nations-supported Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative aimed at encouraging listed companies to adhere to specific environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) guidelines.
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Angela Merkel: Managing Europe’s Manifest Destiny
The job of German chancellor is not one for the faint of heart. It all boils down to leading one of the world’s greatest powers, and safeguarding its many interests, without ever giving in to the temptation to actually flex
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Mukhisa Kituyi, UNCTAD: Sustainable Stock Exchanges and the 21st Century Challenge for Global Finance
Faced with common global economic, social, and environmental challenges, the international community is in the process of defining a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As part of the United Nations post-2015 agenda, the SDGs will play a crucial role
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Johannesburg Stock Exchange: Pioneering Sustainable Development
Shifting attention away from the next quarter’s results towards sustainability parameters indicative of long-term objectives, has been a challenge for stock exchanges the world over. Only recently has the concept of socially responsible investment (SRI) moved out of its niche
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Europe’s Original Sin and the Dangers of Doing Good
Carlos Rangel, the Venezuelan diplomat and essayist, once pointedly remarked that western nations often send their failed politicians – the dreamers, utopians, and other ineffectual romantics – to far-off places where they can do no harm other than to their
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