The Great Bank Escape

Project Syndicate - A World of Ideas - the highest quality opinion ...
Corporate decisions taken in the name of shareholder value often benefit only those whose wealth is closely tied to the firm's profits, and may be harmful to many shareholders. If policymakers and regulators do not strengthen their reform efforts, taxpayers and shareholders – not bankers – will suffer the consequences of the next crisis.

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Will the Post-2015 report make a difference? Depends what happens next

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Will the Post-2015 report make a difference? Depends what happens next From Poverty to Power by Duncan Green An edited version of this piece, written with Stephen Hale , appeared on the Guardian Poverty Matters site on Friday Reading the report of the High Level Panel induces a sense of giddy optimism. It is a manifesto for a (much) better world, taking the best of the Millennium Development Goals, and adding what we have learned in the intervening years – the importance of social protection, sustainability, ending conflict, tackling the deepest pockets of poverty, even obesity (rapidly rising in many poor countries). It has a big idea ( consigning absolute poverty to the history books ) and is on occasion brave (in the Sir Humphrey sense ) for example in its commitment to women's rights, including ending child marriage and violence against women, and guaranteeing universal sexual and reproductive health rights. The ambition and optimism is all the mo...
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The Top 10 Books on the Economics of Poverty

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Zimbabwe introduces cash transfer scheme

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Zimbabwe introduces cash transfer scheme Global development news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk Education assistance and child protection and cash transfers at core of national action plan for orphans and vulnerable children Zimbabwe has launched a $75m plan to protect orphans and vulnerable children over the next three years. The money will come from the Zimbabwean government and donors, including the UK, the European Commission and the UN children's agency, Unicef. Some $45m of the money for a child protection fund has been raised from donors, leaving a $30m shortfall that will need to be covered before full national coverage can be ensured. The scheme is part of a national action plan for orphans and vulnerable children that involves education assistance, child protection and cash transfers to the poorest families. Cash transfers have been tried with some success in Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Zimbabwe is the latest country to adopt th...
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