10-year-old WTO declaration has reinforced health policy choices
WTO News, 23 November, 2011
A decade-old WTO declaration has allowed the WTO and its partners to collaborate on helping governments target medical treatment for their poorer populations and understand their room for manoeuvre under intellectual property agreements, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said on 23 November 2011.
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Global economic outlook grim, China tells U.S
Reuters, 21 November, 2011
Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan warned on Monday the global economy is in a grim state and that an “unbalanced recovery” might be the best option, at talks where senior U.S. officials said the mood at home toward China was souring.
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Human and financial capital key to economic growth for Pakistan: OECD
Business Recorder, 21 November, 2011
Market-driven employment generation in Pakistan faces two main hurdles, highlighted Deputy Country Director UNDP, Jean-Luc Stalon. First, there is a dearth of key skills and competencies among many of the poorer segments of the population, especially the youth, and secondly, they do not have access to financial capital which is vital for the expansion of business.
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BRICs’ rapid growth tips the global balance
The Telegraph, 20 November, 2011
Investors need to grasp the opportunities afforded by rapid growth in Brazil, Russia, India and China, says economist Jim O’Neill in the second extract from his new book ‘The Growth Map: Economic Opportunity in the BRICs and Beyond’.
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China’s rural poverty falls but inequality rises, says white paper
The Hindu, 20 November, 2011
China has reduced the number of its rural poor by almost 70 million people over the past decade, a new government white paper has claimed. The paper, the first released on poverty since 2001, attributed the steep decline to the effectiveness of a series of subsidies for China’s farmers, including the removal of agricultural taxes and a new social security assistance programme
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United Nations urges poorest countries to put growth over exports
The Guardian, 17 November, 2011
The world’s poorest countries must forge closer links with fast-growing developing economies such as China and Brazil as the after-effects of the credit crunch continue to ravage the US and Europe, according to a report from the United Nations.
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Environment Ministry for new strategy to deal with green challenges
Business Line, 17 November, 2011
There is no doubt that globalisation has caused a real interdependency between nations, creating many opportunities but also increasing threats to the social and economic security of nations which have a reduced capacity to control their domestic markets. This particularly applies to the illicit drug trade.
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China reports dramatic drop in rural poverty
CNN, 17 November, 2011
China has reported a dramatic decrease in rural poverty over the last decade. The number of rural citizens living below the national rural poverty line fell from 94.2 million people (10.2% of the rural population) in 2000, to 26.88 million (2.8%) last year, according to figures released by China’s State Council.
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Americans are living longer but facing new social, economic woes
Los Angeles Times, 17 November, 2011
The number of Americans at least 90 years old has tripled in recent decades, according to a government analysis, a major shift in population that has implications for social policy, especially regarding housing and healthcare.
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Illicit drugs and the threat to development
ABC News, 15 November , 2011
There is no doubt that globalisation has caused a real interdependency between nations, creating many opportunities but also increasing threats to the social and economic security of nations which have a reduced capacity to control their domestic markets. This particularly applies to the illicit drug trade.
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PM calls innovation game-changer, focuses on poor
Hindustan Times, 15 November, 2011
Describing innovation as “a game-changer”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday called for devising a model that benefits not only the rich but also poor people through poverty eradication, development of agriculture and green energy.
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OECD says economic slump will deepen throughout the world
WSWS, 15, November, 2011
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a report forecasting a further slowdown in the world’s largest economies. The OECD’s survey of composite leading indicators (CLIs) for September, which predicts economic trends some six months in advance, shows economic activity slowing in North America, Europe, major parts of South America and most of Asia, including China.
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Poor states have less wiggle room as risks rise-IMF
Reuters, 14 November, 2011
A sharp slowdown in world growth would increase the risk of recession in poorer countries, whose budgets have barely recovered from the last economic slump just two years ago, the IMF said.
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Government eyes on tourism sector to bail out ailing economy
The Times of India, 08 November, 2011
With sluggish economic growth and burgeoning unemployment on its hands, the Government of India is looking at the tourism sector for a bail-out. The tourism ministry has set an ambitious target of creating 24.9 million jobs during the 12th Five Year Plan to increase the sector’s growth from 9% to 12%.
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Census Bureau measures more Americans living in poverty
The Korea Herald, 06 November, 2011
The main opposition Democratic Party stepped up its public campaign against the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement over the weekend, as the ruling Grand National Party mulled pushing a final vote at a plenary session Wednesday.
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Hard-up UK puts climate change on back burner
The Independent, 08 November, 2011
Britain’s carbon emissions grew faster than the economy last year for the first time since 1996, as a cash-strapped population relegated the environment down its league of concerns and spent more money keeping warm, according to a new report.
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Inflation could hinder India’s growth engine
DNA, 06 November, 2011
At a time when the Indian economy struggles to control increasing food inflation – last reported at 12.21% — experts gathered at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) felt that tolerating the high level of inflation for long could hinder India’s growth engine.
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World Population Reaches 7 Billion: Impact on Top 10 Megacities
International Business Times, 01 November, 2011
On October 31, the world population reached 7 billion, a milestone that the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) didn’t initially expect until the end of the year. Looking ahead, the 10 most densely populated megacities face unique problems based on their socio-economic status.
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From communist to consumerist: Is China’s boom sustainable?
Climate Spectator, 01 November, 2011
China’s transition from a centrally controlled command economy to a market-led economy has got to be one of the most dramatic stories of the 20th century – and certainly one with the most far-reaching consequences.
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