Search

Begin New Search Topic International Affairs Author Homi Kharas

1. The New global agenda and the future of the multilateral development bank system

Author:
Amar Bhattacharya, Homi Kharas, Mark Plant, and Annalisa Prizzon
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The new global agenda, with Agenda 2030 at its core, is ambitious, comprehensive, and universal. The three central goals now are to reignite growth, deliver on the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and meet the ambitions of the Paris climate agreement aimed at mitigating climate change and adapting to its effects. Achieving these goals will require a significant scaling up and reorientation of investments, especially for sustainable infrastructure and human development. Implementing this agenda is urgent, as the world is witnessing the largest wave of urban expansion in history and more infrastructure will come on stream over the next 15 years than the world’s existing stock. This is also the last opportunity to manage remaining significant demographic transitions.
Topic:
International Affairs and International Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. Is a growing middle class good for the poor? Social policy in a time of globalization

Author:
Raj M. Desai and Homi Kharas
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Does an expanding middle class benefit society’s poorest? Much has been written recently about the rapid growth of the middle class as well as the rapid fall in absolute poverty (Kharas 2017; Kocharand Oates 2015; Burrows 2015). However, few studies seek to link these two trends. It is worth emphasizing at the outset that a growing middle class and a falling poverty rate are not simply two sides of the same coin; there is a large “vulnerable” (or near poor) cohort between the poorest individuals and the middle class. Additionally, the trends can be quite different. In the United States, for example, the percentage of middle-class households has steadily fallen since the 1970s, while the portion of households in the lowest income brackets has remained steady (Kochhar,Fry, and Rohal 2015). Similar trends have occurred in the European Union since the early 2000s (ILO 2015). By contrast, in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, most of those lifted out of poverty appear to have joined the ranks of the vulnerable rather than the middle class (Calvo-Gonzalez 2017; Chandy 2015). There, the middle class has stagnated despite reductions in poverty.
Topic:
International Affairs and Global Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. U.S. global development leadership in a changing world

Author:
Homi Kharas
Publication Date:
08-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
“Foreign assistance” combines two of the least popular words in United States politics. Since the end of the Cold War, isolationism has slowly weakened internationalism, perhaps because of the growing feeling that foreigners are freeloading on the U.S. as the world’s policeman and problem solver. Some indicators of popular attitudes toward foreign assistance are concerning, although these are not all consistent with each other. A 2016 Pew Survey found far more Americans responding that the U.S. does too much in terms of solving global problems (41 percent) than too little (27 percent). Similarly, a significant majority (57 percent) think that the U.S. should deal with its own problems and let others deal with theirs as best they can.
Topic:
International Affairs and International Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus