The evolution of development
Guardian -- The future of development. What a title. It's fraught with hostages to fortune, bear traps and day dreams. I pick 2030 as "the future". Partly because, 15 years after the first set of millennium development goal (MDG) targets I expect poverty (percent and numbers) in Asia to be much lower, and in Africa I expect the decline to be strong too. But partly because it is far enough away to think a bit more freely. In 2030 the talk will be of global goods, not MDGs. Global goods will be measured by targets on emissions, trade, international finance, arms and crime, and will be underpinned by the governance to deliver them. They will apply to all countries, not just the poorer ones. They will be about stewardship of the planet and protection of global citizens from malevolence...
Rising food prices, Expert trade advice
ONE -- To prevent high food prices from going higher, experts from the World Bank to the US Department of Agriculture (located only a few blocks away from one another), continue to chant the mantra “free trade policy will solve high prices.” The benefit of refraining from export bans seems to make sense to me since they keep more food on the world markets, thus lowering prices some, although I understand why an exporting government might want one. However, I question some of the experts’ views on whether lowering import tariffs and taxes will protect the world’s poorest...
New one-stop business registry to boost Liberia economy
World Bank -- The Government of Liberia has opened new one-stop business registries in the country's three main cities, Monrovia, Ganta and Buchanan. The one-stop business registry system will greatly simplify and speed up the process of starting a business, allowing Liberian entrepreneurs to register their business in 48 hours instead of 99 days. "It is a new day for businesses in Liberia," said Abu Kamara, head of the new Liberia Business Registry office in Monrovia. "It will ease enterprise formalization and facilitate enterprise growth through improved access to information and finance"...
14,000 km of wire to transform Africa
ONE -- Work is currently underway for a new cable that will boost internet access in Africa. With four times more data, West Africa Cable System (WACS) will boost bandwidth for the world’s least-connected region. This new undersea communications cable will be laid along the coast of West Africa and will allow Africans a fast internet access for the first time. And the process is pretty insane. Ditches are being dug to accommodate the wax cable, which will run 14,000 kilometers and will land in at least 12 countries along the way from London to South Africa...
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