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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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Global Prosperity Wonkcast
Archive for May, 2011IMF Leadership Struggle and CGD Survey Results: Nancy BirdsallMay 31, 2011Posted by Lawrence MacDonald in International Financial Institutions Tags: Agustin Carstins, Christine Legarde, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF, Kemal Dervis, Nancy Birdsall
The sudden resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn has sparked a global debate over the selection of the next head of the International Monetary Fund. French finance minister Christine Legarde, Europe’s nominee, has launched a round-the-world tour to promote her candidacy. Meanwhile, Agustin Carstins, the governor of the Bank of Mexico and the lone challenger so far to Europe’s renewed claim to lead the IMF, is seeking backing from European debtor nations and others by calling for greater flexibility in IMF bailout programs. Against this background, CGD is pushing ahead with a survey on the selection process, qualifications and candidates for the IMF top job. I asked CGD president Nancy Birdsall, who has been arguing for a more open, merit-based selection process without regard for nationality, to join me on the show to share her views on the IMF leadership selection battle and the initial results from our survey. Podcast: Play in new window | Download 2 Comments »Muhammad Yunus Forced Out –Whither Microcredit? David RoodmanMay 24, 2011Posted by Lawrence MacDonald in Finance Tags: David Roodman, Grameen Bank, Microfinance
Muhammad Yunus has been forced by a Bangladesh court to step down as the head of the Grameen Bank, leaving the world to wonder what will become of the institution that helped inspire the microfinance revolution. On this week’s Wonkcast, we consider the rise and uncertain future of microcredit, not so long ago the darling of development experts and activists alike, and discuss whether or not the arc of Yunus’s remarkable life serves as an apt metaphor for the microfinance movement. My guest is CGD senior fellow David Roodman, who has been tracking the Yunus trial since it began as part of his Microfinance Open Book Blog. The book in public on the blog, Due Diligence: An Impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance, is nearing completion and will be published before the end of the year. Podcast: Play in new window | Download 2 Comments »What’s Up with the U.S. Global Health Initiative? Nandini OommanMay 17, 2011Posted by Lawrence MacDonald in Global Health Policy Tags: Aid, Global Health Initiative, Nandini Oomman
When President Obama created the Global Health Initiative (GHI) in May 2009, health policy gurus welcomed it as a pioneering effort to make US involvement in global health more coherent, strategic and systematic. Two years later, there has been some modest progress but questions abound about how the initiative will take shape and deliver results. Nandini Oomman, senior associate at the Center for Global Development, joins me on the Wonkcast this week to assess the GHI’s progress on its second birthday. Her mounting impatience is nicely summed up in a blog post she wrote about the anniversary: Happy 2nd Birthday to the U.S. Global Health Initiative: Next Time I Want a Goody Bag! Podcast: Play in new window | Download Comment »Why U.S. Aid to Pakistan Still Makes Sense: Nancy BirdsallMay 9, 2011Posted by Lawrence MacDonald in Rethinking US Foreign Assistance Tags: Aid, Development, foreign assistance, Nancy Birdsall, Pakistan, US
Why are we providing some $1.5 billion per year in development assistance to a country that couldn’t be bothered to find bin Laden? Now that Osama is dead, what the heck are we still doing in Pakistan? On this special edition of the Global Prosperity Wonkcast I asked these provocative questions of Nancy Birdsall, president of the Center for Global Development. Read More… Podcast: Play in new window | Download 2 Comments »Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries: Kimberly ElliottMay 9, 2011Posted by Lawrence MacDonald in Trade Tags: Doha, Kimberly Ann Elliott, LDC, Trade, UN
“Duty free quota free access to rich country markets will definitely be one of the key asks of these LDC countries in Istanbul,” says Kim. “But I don’t expect there to be much progress, principally because the United States has shown no interest in moving on this.” Podcast: Play in new window | Download Comment » |
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This week, 10,000 representatives from around the world will head to Istanbul for the fourth decadal meeting of the UN conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV). Trade is likely to have a prominent place on the agenda. I invited senior fellow Kimberly Elliott, author of 
