Linking Illicit Capital Flows, Tax Policies and Gender Justice
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- Written by Social Watch
- Category: Analysis
The loss of tax revenues due to international tax evasion and avoidance significantly reduce the funds available to finance policies aimed at fulfilling the human rights of women and girls and gender justice.
Due to the structural nature of gender inequality and its intersection with other categories such as age, race-ethnicity, sexual orientation and income, women in most of societies continue to be overrepresented in the lowest quintiles of the income distribution, continue to be the most responsible for unpaid and care work, continue to be concentrated in the most precarious and poorly paid jobs, are still a minority in the spaces of representation and leadership in political, labor or territories, still face gender-based violence, human trafficking, and continue to have their sexual and reproductive rights and autonomy limited.
Read more: Linking Illicit Capital Flows, Tax Policies and Gender Justice
How China is reshaping development finance
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- Written by Rajiv Biswas
- Category: Analysis
Over the past couple of months, China has played a major role in launching initiatives to increase infrastructure financing for developing countries. In July 2014, China, together with the other BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa - agreed to create a new development bank (NDB) that would have initial capital of 50 billion USD.
More recently, in October, 21 Asian countries agreed to establish a new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for which China will provide up to 50 percent of initial capital. The bank's aim is to provide funding for infrastructure projects such as roads in underdeveloped Asian countries. Just last week, at the APEC Leaders Summit in Beijing, President Xi also announced the creation of a new Silk Road Fund to improve connectivity in Asia, for which China will provide USD 40 billion of capital funding.
While the initiatives have been criticized by some as a way for China to simply challenge Western-backed institutions such as the World Bank or International Monetary Fund (IMF) - as a result of Beijing's growing discontent with these bodies - there are others who believe the new development banks might have a positive impact on emerging economies.
Radical left is Right about Europe's debt
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- Written by Wolfgang Münchau
- Category: Analysis
Let us assume that you share the global consensus view on what the eurozone should do right now. Specifically, you want to see more public-sector investment and debt restructuring.
Now ask yourself the following question: if you were a citizen of a eurozone country, which political party would you support for that to happen? You may be surprised to see that there is not much choice. In Germany, the only one that comes close to such an agenda is Die Linke, the former Communists. In Greece, it would be Syriza; and in Spain, it would be Podemos, which came out of nowhere and is now leading in the opinion polls.
Laying the Foundations of a World Citizen's Movement
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- Written by Anthony George
- Category: Analysis
Has organised civil society, bound up in internal bureaucracy, in slow, tired processes and donor accountability, become simply another layer of a global system that perpetuates injustice and inequality?
How can civil society organizations (CSOs) build a broad movement that draws in, represents and mobilises the citizenry, and how can they effect fundamental, systemic transformation, rather than trading in incremental change?
This kind of introspective reflection was at the heart of a process of engagement among CSOs from around the world that gathered in Johannesburg from Nov. 19 to 21 for the “Toward a World Citizens Movement: Learning from the Grassroots” conference.
Read more: Laying the Foundations of a World Citizen's Movement
Debt and the international context of North and South in the 21st century
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- Written by CADTM
- Category: Analysis
This article reviews a number of developments that occurred between 2000 and 2014 related to the debt issue, various aspects of the international crisis |1|, international financial institutions, the scope of attacks against social and economic rights, and CADTM priorities.
Several changes have occurred since the end of the 1990s.
The Future of the Planet and the Irresponsibility of Governments
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- Written by Roberto Savio
- Category: Analysis
Less than a week after everybody celebrated the historical agreement on Nov. 17 between the United States and China on reduction of CO2 emissions, a very cold shower has come from India.
Indian Power Minister Piyush Goyal has declared: “India’s development imperatives cannot be sacrificed at the altar of potential climate change many years in the future. The West will have to recognise we have the needs of the poor”.
Read more: The Future of the Planet and the Irresponsibility of Governments
Corruption is a first world problem too
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- Written by Pranjai Sharma
- Category: Analysis
After years of debate and effort, the fight against corruption is beginning to overcome its perception problem. This is that rich countries are honest and poor ones are not. A turning point may have come at the recent G20 summit in Brisbane, where world leaders agreed to share tax information of “shell” companies that help shield illicit earnings from scrutiny.
North South Differences over Financing for Development
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- Written by Bhumika Muchhala
- Category: Analysis
As intergovernmental discussions commence on a major financing for development conference to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July 2015, differing priority issues between developed and developing countries are already seen.
The process for the International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) commenced in the New York headquarters of the United Nations on 17 October 2014.
The third FfD conference, which will be held in Addis Ababa, from 13 to 16 July 2015, will gather high-level political representatives, including heads of state and government, ministers of finance, foreign affairs and development cooperation, as well as all relevant institutional stakeholders, non-governmental organizations and business sector entities.
Read more: North South Differences over Financing for Development
Disappointing G20 ...
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- Written by GFI
- Category: Analysis
G20 leaders met this past weekend in Brisbane, Australia for their annual summit, issuing a communiqué full of ambitious proposals for growing the global economy, but noticeably lacking in responses to illicit financial flows, one of the largest drags on development worldwide. Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization, expressed its disappointment at the underwhelming result.
Global Heath Watch Report is out!
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- Written by PHM
- Category: Analysis
With the world still battling the Ebola outbreak, the evidence of a clear link between the inability of affected countries to deal with the crisis and the collapse of public health systems is becoming stronger. Extreme poverty in the affected region, engendered by neo-liberal policies, further created the conditions for the rapid spread of the epidemic. This is the context that informs the contents of the 2014 Global Health Watch (GHW) report that was released today.
GFI Urges G20 to take action on country-by-country reporting at Brisbane Summit
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- Written by Clark Gascoigne/GFI
- Category: Analysis
As world leaders gather in Australia this week, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) called on the G20 to take strong action against illicit financial flows by embracing simple corporate transparency measures. Specifically, the Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization urged G20 leaders to endorse the creation of public registries of beneficial ownership information as well as require all multinational corporations to publicly report their sales, profits, and taxes-paid on a country-by-country basis, as necessary tools to detect and deter crime, corruption, and tax dodging.
Read more: GFI Urges G20 to take action on country-by-country reporting at Brisbane Summit
