Transcript Slide 1
Dr Maurice Mullard Lecture 5 World Bank and UN argument that global is good for the poor World Bank yardstick of $1 a day to measure poverty – see Debate Ravillon Pogge and Dollar and Kray HDI measure and per capita GDP see IMF debates on HDI Increases in inequalities in OECD since 1990s highest inequalities US UK Gini coefficients– Transatlantic debate Atkinson Wage dispersions trade competition technology and policy choices Unemployment benefits and medical cover Obama package Problems of weak safety nets and unemployment USA unemployment rate 9.8 per cent Poverty in the developed economies exclusion low pay threat of outsourcing manual jobs Germany reform of welfare – pensions and sickness eligibility Italy pensions and social security reforms France reforms of pensions The EU and welfare Compare with USA Dealing with present recession Le Grand – welfare much as a savings bank life cycle Re-distribution to the Poor incomes primary education Welfare states in LDCs – pressures from World Bank Case studies of China and India Low Welfare safety nets high personal savings Africa pressure to reduce social spending Economic histories – UK tariffs protection, the idea of infant industries also the US Model Japan, Germany. The pressures for free markets Ideology of globalisation 1980s Liberalisation Privatisation Global challenges 2010 Understand the nature of elites first and the implications for inequality Research on corruption – clientele politics Passivity of welfare states us the poor Elites benefit from status quo Case studies Nigeria paralysis Good Governance 80 per cent of people are farmers living on less than 2 dollars per day EU 80 per cent self sufficient in food EU and US subsidies to agriculture failure in Africa to invest in agriculture spillover effect of cheap food imports Restriction on food exports Higher food prices and the price of oil Importance of food futures Recent experiences in Russia banning exports OECD Area approx 15 per cent food items have been rising at 35 – 100 per cent – cereals and rice Poor Countries food around 60 per cent of average incomes Economics of food are higher food prices good for farmers? Is there a politics of food Both Countries emerge as democracy after military rule All farmers are small farmers subsistence rather than agro business Farmers receive subsidies for fertilizers Lack of infrastructure roads technology Ethiopia great potential for growing food for export but too poor to develop Saudi Arabia buying tracts of lands for agriculture Will this benefit Ethiopia? Ethiopia is land of contrast. Second most populous country in SubSaharan Africa with a population of 67 million. Nigeria is the biggest country 25 per cent of population of Africa live in Nigeria approx 140 million Both countries have long history, mosaic (mixture) of peoples and diverse cultures. Muslim and Christian Sharia Law Agriculture future markets Bring marginal land into food production Higher food prices pay farmers more China and India changing diets Packaging and waste Food and shelter as human rights The Millennium Development Goals PRSPs World population 6 billion 800 million affluent consumers 2.2 billion 2 and 1 dollar a day 1 billion live in 59 countries Collier thesis on Good Governance Rising prices of raw materials oil iron ore lack of transparency in government contracts