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From the editor: The Art of the Doomsayer – Crisis? What Crisis?
Just as a broken watch still tells the right time twice a day, the persistent doomsayer will eventually be vindicated. In the financial world, entire reputations are built on predicting recessions, if not depressions: keep it up long enough and
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Michael Pettis: China – What the New Currency Regime Means and How It Affects the World
On Tuesday, August 18, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) surprised the markets with a partial relaxing of the currency regime, prompting a great deal of discussion and debate about the value of the renminbi (RMB). Part of the discussion
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IFC: Capital Markets Key to Development
Ending extreme poverty for good and building shared prosperity across the developing world takes money – a lot of money. Take infrastructure: for the foreseeable future, an estimated $50 billion per year is needed in Africa alone to deliver basic
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BRIC-à-Brac: Requiem for a Wishful Thought
In the end, it may have been nothing more than a flash in the pan. Unable to fulfil the promise of a new world order, the BRICS countries have largely ceased to be of note. With sputtering economies and political
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IFC: Corporate Governance Gains Prominence with the Forthcoming ASEAN Economic Community
One of the much-anticipated events in Asia this year is the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community which will allow goods, services, and investments to flow more freely across the borders of Southeast Asian countries. The potential economic upside is
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WGB Launches New Country Partnership Framework to Support Azerbaijan’s Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient Growth
The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors today discussed and endorsed the 2015-2020 Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Azerbaijan. This CPF represents a five year joint strategy of the World Bank Group comprising the International Bank for Reconstruction and
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Volatility in Chinese Stock Values: Potentially Much More Dangerous than a Greek Tragedy?
The problems facing the global economy in the event of a Greek exit from the euro zone could be dwarfed into insignificance by downward movements on the Chinese Stock Markets. In 1989, Margaret Thatcher famously declared: “You can’t buck the
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World Bank: Asian Countries are among Top Achievers on Sustainable Energy Progress
Asian countries are making a vital contribution to achieving global sustainable energy goals, a new World Bank report finds. But while the region performs strongly on ensuring electricity access for people and using more modern renewable energy, there is room
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The Time Is Now: Paradigm Shift Signals Opportunity
Few people realise that in 2013 a turning point was reached. In that year, emerging economies displaced developed markets as the main engines of global economic growth. This was not a one-off event or an oddity: it signalled no less
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IFC: The Art and Science of Benefits Sharing
Non-renewable natural resource projects – that is oil, gas, and minerals – are usually seen as part of a nation’s wealth. Accordingly, their use for the long-term sustainable development of a country is a prime objective of any legitimate government.
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