The World Bank’s annual Global Development Finance combines a diagnosis of recent trends and prospects for capital flows to developing countries with an analysis of important policy issues. Amidst global economic recession and financial-market fragility, net private capital inflows to developing countries fell to $707 billion in 2008, a sharp drop from a peak of …
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Category:Economy
God, man and growth
Some research was carried out in 2003 to explore the connection between religion, religiousness and economic growth. The story is told in this article by The Economist: God, man and growth. The conclusion supports the thesis that values are key to social and economic success, not religion itself. It is the belief in being part …
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Global military spending rose 45% between 1999 and 2008
Global military spending rose 45% between 1999 and 2008, fuelled by the US-led “war on terror” and by increased wealth in China, Russia and the Middle East. In Western and Central Europe, military spending increased at a much slower rate than in any other part of the world, while the US accounted for 58% of …
Continue reading Global military spending rose 45% between 1999 and 2008
Females more valuable, but still undervalued.
The Irish Central Statistics Office has just released a study on gender demographics for Ireland with some comparisons to the EU. The data shows that females are better educated, healthier and more peace-abiding than men, but they still earn far less and don’t get as much say on how the country is run. This may …
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The problem with optimism.
Some readers might be turned-off by my insistence on identifying risks. But if we assume everything is alright and do not focus on the problems, we are acting out the same folly that fed the economic crisis. We engender moral hazard and have no incentive to fix the system. I reiterate these concerns now because …
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Crisis and Recovery
The IMF’s WEO Crisis and Recovery is available online. It is sober reading. And valuable reading being considered, researched and impartial. Their summary: Global Economy Contracts, With Slow Recovery Next Year A little ironic that it has been released on Earth Day (today). Or maybe a sign of that economic solutions lie in ecology and …
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Economic meltdown? Don’t forget the ecological meltdown …
Losses of $ 4 Trillion (that’s 12 zeroes).
The IMF has warned that potential losses from the credit crunch could reach $4 trillion and damage the financial system for years to come. It says that even if urgent action is taken to clean up the banking system, the process will be “slow and painful”, delaying economic recovery. It says that banks may need …
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Get happy – get off the earnings ladder!
People who compare their earnings with others are damaging their health, becoming less happy, more depressed, and less satisfied with life overall, according to new research by Professors Andrew Clark and Claudia Senik from the Paris School of Economics, to be presented at the annual conference of the Royal Economic Society. (BBC report here.) This …
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Looking for the bottom; but it’s not over yet …
The IMF is talking straight. That’s good because we need to be realistic. And realism will rejuvenate confidence. False starts just create pain. The IMF warns that the global recession is likely to be “unusually long and severe, and the recovery sluggish”. See IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) Crisis and Recovery April 2009 here. BBC’s …
Continue reading Looking for the bottom; but it’s not over yet …