On June 11, 2003 the second regular round - table discussion within open discussion “Future of Russia: Global Competitiveness Development” took place in the Moscow Center of the EastWest Institute. The topic under discussion was: ”Financial System of Russia: Threats and challenges of the 21st century”.
Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:
The overall purpose of this project is to make detailed population and poverty projections
that take into account expected demographic changes (in terms of fertility, mortality,
migration, and education) as well as differentials in social mobility by household type.
Such projections could be useful for a variety of purposes ranging from assessment of
necessary social investments (education facilities, health facilities, pension systems, etc),
projections of the size of the working age population who will demand jobs, targeting of
poverty alleviation policies, projections of migration flows, to negotiations with external
donors and creditors.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, Migration, Poverty, Population, and Social Mobility
Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:
This study focuses on analysing the linkages between output growth, employment and poverty, at both the macro and micro levels. At the macro level, the linkage between poverty and output growth is conceptualised in terms of the average productivity of the employed work force, which in turn gets reflected in low levels of real wages and low levels of earnings in self-employment. At the micro level of a household, the same linkage between poverty and employment operates through the type and productivity of economic activities in which the earning members of a household are engaged, the low level of human capital of the members of the workforce, the dependency burden that limits participation in the workforce, and the availability of remunerative employment.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Poverty, Labor Issues, and Employment
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
In this paper we (a) review the literature on the so-called "African dummy"; (b) describe the system GMM method of estimation, by which Hoeffler (2002) shows the "Africa dummy" to be an artifact of the application of inappropriate estimation techniques; and (c) employ this technique to measure the impact of political variables - measures of stability, regime type, and violence - on economic growth in Africa.
Topic:
Development, Political Economy, Economic Growth, and Institutions
Afghanistan after the Taliban may easily turn into a quagmire for the international community, and the wrong kind of international strategies may easily worsen both its problems and ours. In particular, to begin with a grossly overambitious program of reconstruction risks acute disillusionment, international withdrawal, and a plunge into a new cycle of civil war and religious fanaticism.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Democratization, and Development
Now is the time to learn the lessons of the past decade in Afghanistan: how it declined from a failing state into a cesspool drawing in Islamic malcontents from all over the world as well as those, like Osama bin Laden, who could bankroll them. If we fail to do so, our freedom may regularly be challenged by threats emerging from the heart of Eurasia, from Afghanistan itself, or from the neighboring states whose fates are being reshaped by their troublesome neighbor.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Democratization, and Development
As governments and donor agencies struggle over questions of aid and international development, a growing consensus is emerging regarding the connections between poor governance and underdevelopment. An increasing number of initiatives, from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account to the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), explicitly link improving governance with pursuing sustainable development and poverty alleviation. Lack of pluralism and transparency, inefficient bureaucracies, and underdeveloped public institutions contribute to corruption, reduce governmental responsiveness to citizens' needs, stifle investment, and generally hamper social and economic development. A frequent donor favorite on the laundry list of “good governance” reforms advocated for developing countries is rule of law reform. The new development model contends that sustainable growth is impossible without the existence of the rule of law: a set of uniformly enforced, established legal regimes that clearly lays out the rules of the game.
The capacity of security forces to both prevent and provoke conflict is increasingly recognised. Police forces can play a vital role in providing the security environment necessary for peaceful political and economic development, and are at the forefront of tackling international security issues, including drugs trafficking, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and terrorism. A competent and democratised security sector is vital to enhancing governance and ensuring greater public trust in the state. Bad security forces, on the other hand, can provoke or deepen conflict and create environments where terrorism can prosper. Getting the security sector right is a key element in conflict prevention.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) emerged in a wave of euphoria surrounding the events of the late 1980s in the former Soviet bloc. Building on the achievements of its predecessor, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), it has played a key role in state-building and democratisation in many areas of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Put together under the tutelage of representatives of the international community in the aftermath of the November 2000 general elections, the ten-party coalition known as the Democratic Alliance for Change has governed the larger of Bosnia Herzegovina's two entities and led the state-level Council of Ministers since early 2001. Intended by its sponsors and members to sideline the three nationalist parties that had fought the 1992-95 war and ruled their respective pieces of BiH thereafter, the Alliance was also expected to undertake thoroughgoing reforms and to provide proof that implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords might yet produce a viable state.