Recovery with a Human Face
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Recovery with a Human Face

A discussion on alternatives for a socially-responsive crisis recovery
 

August 24th, 2014

8/24/2014

1 Comment

 
Dear Friends,

This is to share with you our Social Watch Report 2014. The report, launched on July 9th in New York during the ministerial meeting of the High Level Political Forum of the UN, is a summary review of fifty country reports and an analysis of global trends by civil society organizations. The report, titled "Ends and Means," monitors how government and international institutions are doing in implementing their solemn commitments to eradicate poverty, achieve gender justice and promote sustainable development.

The old debate around ends and means usually deals with unacceptable procedures claiming legitimacy because of the intended results. Not anymore. In the current international debate around development goals for the United Nations, the "ends" are set so low that no major effort is really required from anybody.

In country after country, civil society organizations find that the Millennium Development Goals that guided development efforts during more than a decade were set too low for many countries and diverted attention from growing inequalities all over the world.

In the Philippines, for example, more than three fourths of the economic growth of the whole country is concentrated in forty persons. Such "oligarchic economies" are more and more common in rich and poor countries alike, and yet alternatives are easily available: many South American countries are managing to reduce inequalities and grow at the same time.

The full contents of Social Watch Report 2014: Ends and Means can be accessed at

http://www.socialwatch.org/report2014

Best regards,

Roberto Bissio
Social Watch Coordinator
Mobile: +33 6 1279 4750
E-mail: rbissio@item.org.uy

1 Comment

August 22nd, 2014

8/22/2014

 
Dear all,

We are also pleased to share with you the response of the Campaign for Peoples Goals to the OWG outcome document.  The paper examines the OWG’s proposed goals and targets for sustainable development and the emerging Post-2015 development agenda within the larger context of current policy trends and strategies pursued by governments, Washington-based international financial institutions, development agencies, and the business sector .  It concludes that whatever lofty goals and targets are being proposed, they will not be achieved as long as neoliberalism and the global capitalist development model remains intact.

Thank you.
Paul Quintos
IBON International
3rd Flr., IBON Center
114 Timog Avenue,
Quezon City 1103
Philippines
Websites: iboninternational.org
peoplesgoals.org

August 21st, 2014

8/21/2014

 
Dear all,

I take the opportunity to share this piece of mine, appeared right after the Summit , even though I only thought it now it would be pertinent for this list.

https://www.coc.org/rbw/fortaleza-summit-brics-claim-role-force-emerging-economic-order-july-2014

Best,

Aldo Caliari
Director
Rethinking Bretton Woods Project
Center of Concern

August 20th, 2014

8/20/2014

 
Dear colleagues and friends,

The first phase of the MDGs-post 20 discussions has come to a close:  the Open Working Group (OWG) of the Rio process has presented its report to the UN Secretary- General http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/4518SDGs_FINAL_Proposal of OWG_19 July at 1320hrsver3.pdf. CSOs and progressive governments achieved a lot, in terms of issues they were able to raise, and keep, in the document. Nevertheless, many contentious points remain and will need to fought out in the next round of negotiations.

One serious risk is that the – conceivably welcome - move away from a patronising and obsolete North-South dichotomy could backfire, with the rich countries backing off from their responsibilities in terms of ODA and other forms of financing development requirements. Ranja Sengupta, Bhumika Muchhala and Mirza Alas have provided a brilliant analysis on this and why the term “means of implementation” was so beleagured  in the OWG discussions http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/unsd/2014/unsd140801.htm

A second serious risk is complacency over the very issue that, 15 years ago, triggered the Millennium Declaration and MDGs: poverty and hunger. The SDG position on this issue raises the question how poverty and inequality are to be treated in the post-2015 development agenda, and how much longer the world community would be willing to tolerate hunger and income poverty. Please see my thoughts on Network Ideas. 

http://www.networkideas.org/news/aug2014/news14_Gabriele_Kohler.htm

Best, 
Gabriele Köhler
Development economist, Munich
www.gabrielekoehler.net

August 03rd, 2014

8/3/2014

 
For your interest, here is my comment on the Argentine debt that places it in historical and political context:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johnweeks/argentine-debt-default-is_b_5640898.html

John Weeks
Professor SOAS
University of London
http://jweeks.org

August 03rd, 2014

8/3/2014

 
Dear friends and colleagues,

With apologies for the self-promotion, here is the link to the New York Times' Room for Debate with opinions by  Joseph Stiglitz and others (including myself) on the Argentine case:

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/08/01/the-justice-of-argentinas-default

All best,

Alan

--

Alan Cibils
Investigador Docente
Coordinador Área de Economía Política
Instituto de Industria
Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento
http://www.ungs.edu.ar/ecopol/
(+54-11) 4469-7500, int/ext: 7282

August 02nd, 2014

8/2/2014

 
Dear Isabel 

I would like to submit to your excellent network the following article I wrote with Giovanni Cozzi, published in the Financial Times The article proposes policy measures, such as  increasing further the capital of the European Investment Bank (the public development bank of the EU),  and  using the EU budget to encourage private investment; this could be accompanied by avoiding  any  further decline of public investment in member countries, especially in the European periphery. We present results of our simulations using the Cambridge Alphametrics model that show that such measures could increase employment  by up to 5 MILLION JOBS in the EU, as well as lowering public debt to GDP ratios , for example in the European periphery

Warmest Stephany

--

Professor Stephany Griffith-Jones
Financial Markets Director
Initiative for Policy Dialogue
Columbia University

Address for Correspondence:
12 Lenham Road East, Saltdean, Brighton, BN2 8AF, United Kingdom.
Phone: 44 1273 305819
E-mail: SGJ2108@Columbia.edu
Web sites: www.stephanygj.net, www.policydialogue.org
Twitter: @stephanygj https://twitter.com/stephanygj

Time for a Visible Hand: Lessons from the 2008 World Financial Crisis Edited by Stephany Griffith-Jones, José Antonio Ocampo, and Joseph E. Stiglitz Available now through all good bookshops, or direct from Oxford University Press at:
http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780199578818 (Paperback)
http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780199578801 (Hardback)

August 01st, 2014

8/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Dear friends and colleagues,

Indeed, as Guillermo says, Argentina has not declared a default. Furthermore, on June 26 Argentina transfered the funds to the Bank of New York Mellon to make the scheduled payment on June 30. However, Judge Griesa ordered the bank not to pay the bond holders, which is why bond holders haven´t been paid. So, this would be the first case of a sovereign failure to meet a scheduled debt service payment which is not the result of the sovereign´s inability to pay. Or, it is the first judge-induced non-payment.

The financial sector (S&P, the Bank of New York, ISDA, etc.) have or will declare Argentina in default, and the consequences will likely be the same as an actual default. However, this is a default forced on Argentina and not its choice.

If nothing else, it points to the profound insanity of a world ruled by Wall Street speculators and vultures.

Cheers,

Alan 

--

Alan Cibils
Investigador Docente
Coordinador Área de Economía Política
Instituto de Industria
Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento
Buenos Aires, Argentina
http://www.ungs.edu.ar/ecopol/
(+54-11) 4469-7500, int/ext: 7282

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