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Income Inequality, Wealth, And Illicit Financial Flows In Asia

Details: Written by Ann Hollingshead; Category: Analysis; Created: 04 August 2013

In recent years wealth among the wealthiest has increased. This trend is well-documented in the United States, where commentators have noted that since 1979, the rich have become richer and the poor have become (relative to the rich) poorer. Dubbed the “Great Divergence” by NY Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman, this phenomenon may be both a driver and the result of tax policy and tax evasion in the United States. But America isn’t the only country vulnerable to these kinds of trends. In fact, evidence from recent years has suggested that these trends are at play in several emerging markets, particularly those in Asia, where incomes are rising with steady economic growth.

InternationalTax system is failing rich and poor countries

Details: Written by Financial Transparency Coalition; Category: Analysis; Created: 28 July 2013

Today the OECD identified 15 policy action points and created a two-year timeline that it hopes will restore trust and fairness in what it concedes has become a flawed and discredited international tax system. The report, Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, recognises what the Financial Transparency Coalition (FTC) has known for years: That the integrity of the current global tax system has been undermined by multinational companies and their tax planners exploiting the boundaries of acceptable tax planning.

Looking Forward: Poverty In 2015

Details: Written by Ann Hollingshead; Category: Analysis; Created: 28 July 2013

Every year the OECD Development Assistance Committee publishes a report on resource flows to fragile states. This year’s report, Fragile States: 2013 Resource flows and trends in a shifting world, provides some fascinating insights into the future of global poverty, particularly among fragile states.[1] Coupled with our understanding of illicit financial flows from developing countries, we have an interesting picture of global poverty in coming years.

The BRICS lead by example in global governance reforms

Details: Written by Zhenbo Hou; Category: Analysis; Created: 28 July 2013

Two major multilateral agencies have elected BRICS candidates as the Directors-General in the last two months. Are we seeing signs of increased leadership in global governance from the BRICS countries?

Are Middle Class Protests Fallout from Poverty Alleviation?

Details: Written by Thalif Deen; Category: Analysis; Created: 21 July 2013

The rise of the “global middle class” is widely attributed to the gradual eradication of extreme poverty in the developing world, even as the United Nations says that millions of people in countries such as India, China and Brazil have graduated from the ranks of the indigent.

But is there unintended negative fallout indirectly linking poverty alleviation to the current rise in middle class street protests in Brazil, Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt, among others?

UNHRC adopts resolution on access to medicines

Details: Written by K.M. Gopakumar (PHM); Category: Analysis; Created: 21 July 2013

The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution on access to medicines despite opposition from the United States and the European Union.

This was at the 23rd session of the Council held in Geneva on 27 May-14 June 2013. The resolution was sponsored by developing countries as a follow-up to the Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Anand Grover, on access to medicines.

Are High Bribery Rates In Poor Countries Blocking Development?

Details: Written by Craig Fagan; Category: Analysis; Created: 21 July 2013

(from Transparency International’s Space for Transparency blog)

New findings from the United Nations show that global development commitments – called the Millennium Development Goals – are off track. Governance and corruption are one of the culprits.

Yet whole regions are behind on achieving the targets set for 2015, such as making sure all children are in school and that women get proper healthcare.

People from these same regions are more likely to pay bribes when using basic services, according to Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer 2013.

Promoting the Social Commons

Details: Written by Francine Mestrum; Category: Research; Created: 28 June 2013

Sustaining the planet, preparing the future, building another world … these are daunting tasks for the current generations. But their pursuit is also a promising manifestation of concern for the future of humankind and of nature.

We are living amidst a multifaceted civilizational crisis that forces us to reflect on our political, social and economic organisation. The current production and consumption models, particularly those of the rich world, are not sustainable.

We also know that the transition to another and better world cannot be achieved overnight. Unfortunately, while many proposals – and some achievements - are made for the preservation of nature, few forward-looking ideas are crafted for the protection of men and women.

World Bank Budget Overhaul to Achieve Poverty Goal

Details: Written by Sandrine Rastello; Category: Analysis; Created: 14 July 2013

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim is preparing an overhaul of the lender’s budget that he says could lead to “massive shifts” in funding to reflect changing priorities under his goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.

“We don’t really sit down in a corporate way and say how we’re going to move the budget next year, in the next two years, in the next three years,” Kim said in an interview in Lima, Peru, yesterday, the eve of his first anniversary in the job. “We’re going to start that next year and I think that’s when no one is going to have any doubts about how much the World Bank is changing.”