[EQ] F&D: Restoring Hope: Reinvigorating the Millennium Development Goals

Restoring Hope: Reinvigorating the Millennium Development Goals

Finance and Development -- September 2010
International Monetary Fund – IMF

Available online PDF [60p.] at: http://bit.ly/9Nin93

“…..Assesses how the world is doing in meeting the MDGs--international development targets that all UN member countries and many international organizations have set for 2015. 

Lead article, 'Regaining Momentum,' says that while several of the MDGs are within reach, the global economic crisis has set back progress toward a number of the targets, especially those related to health. Developing countries will need the support of advanced economies in to get back on track.

Economist Jagdish Bhagwati calls into question the premise of the MDGs and argues that they should be rethought. Philanthropist Melinda Gates gives us the good news that maternal health has been improving, though we are not yet on track to meet the MDG target on maternal mortality.

Picture This takes a look at child mortality rates and finds a more sobering picture.

In related stories, economists Arvind Panagariya and Rodney Ramcharan have different views on how important it is to fight inequality.

This issue also examines the deterioration of fiscal positions in advanced economies--as a result of both the global financial crisis and the long-run health and pension costs of an aging population. 'How Grim a Fiscal Crisis?' argues that consolidation in advanced economies should focus on spending cuts, given the already high tax burdens in many countries.

In 'A Hidden Fiscal Crisis,' economist Laurence J. Kotlikoff examines the serious budget issues in the United States.  We also look at the expensive needs of a rapidly aging population in France, and steps China is taking to improve pensions and health care. ….” More…

 

Content:

 

REINVIGORATING THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The Promise of the MDGs

Regaining Momentum

  Progress on the Millennium Development Goals has been slowed by the crisis. The rest of the world has to help

  Delfin S. Go, Richard Harmsen, and Hans Timmer

Making a Breakthrough

  To accelerate progress toward the Millennium Development Goals, growth must happen in sectors that directly benefit the poor, such as agriculture

  Pedro Conceição and Selim Jahan

Saving Mothers’ Lives

  Countries must make maternal health a policy priority

  Melinda Gates

Time for a Rethink

  It is hard to object to the Millennium Development Goals, but that doesn’t mean they lay out an effective blueprint for development

  Jagdish Bhagwati

Half Empty or Half Full

  Does aid work? The net impact of aid surges depends on country-specific factors

  Andrew Berg and Luis-Felipe Zanna

Growing out of Poverty

  Economic expansion reduces poverty by creating employment opportunities and making anti-poverty programs fiscally feasible

  Arvind Panagariya

Inequality Is Untenable

  If policymakers neglect income distribution, the consequences for individuals and society can be grave

  Rodney Ramcharan

How Grim a Fiscal Future?

  For most advanced economies, both the near term and the longer term are tight, but there are ways to ease budget pressures

  Mark Horton

A Hidden Fiscal Crisis

  A noted U.S. economist says debt figures seriously understate long-term budget problems in the United States

  Laurence J. Kotlikoff

Building a Social Safety Net

  China embarks on an effort to improve both pensions and health care in the world’s most populous nation

  Steve Barnett and Nigel Chalk

The Long Run Is Near

  France, like many advanced economies, confronts the expensive needs of a rapidly aging population

  Kevin Cheng, Erik De Vrijer, and Irina Yakadina

 By the Rule

  In France, a commission proposes a rule-based framework to set the country on a path to balanced budgets

  Michel Camdessus and Renaud Guidée

 

 

Finance & Development is published quarterly in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish by the International Monetary Fund.

English edition ISSN 0015-1947 URL: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/fda.htm

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