Economic Policy
North’s policies are exposing South’s economies to shocks
By Kinda Mohammadieh
Since the onset of the global economic crisis, the South Centre in its analysis had indicated that the policy responses to the crisis by the US and EU are exposing developing countries to serious shocks in the future. Dr. Yilmaz Akyuz (Chief Economist of the South Centre) notes that these arguments are no longer predictions but hard reality. He was speaking at the South Centre Conference in Geneva. (more…)
What Explains the South’s Recent High Growth — And Can It Continue?
By Yilmaz Akyüz
Recently there emerged a view that developing countries had “de-coupled” their economies from the developed countries and had taken off to a path of high growth. But this is an overly-optimistic view. This article by the South Centre’s Chief Economist examines the growth record of developing countries and analyses how the good performance was based mainly on external factors that no longer exist. The next issue of SouthViews will have a follow-up article on the need for a new development strategy in the South.
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Re-making Financial Policy to Meet Society’s Needs
By Yaga Venugopal Reddy
The future of finance, and in particular saving it from a popular backlash against the global financial crisis and related crisis-management policies, has rightly become a matter of great concern. There is broad agreement that finance has, as in the past, the potential to do good, which should be harnessed by all. However, it is essential to minimise its potential to do harm. From a central banker’s point of view, there are several issues in this search for good finance for the future, but there are three inter-related issues that I want to comment on today: (a) how to ensure that the financial sector serves the society better; (b) how to integrate financial sector policies better with national economic policies; and (c) how to ensure that the financial industry functions as a means and not as an end in itself?
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