1999年-世界发展银行全球_Walter_Sterling_Surrey_Memorial_Lecture_7页_92kb

Walter Sterling Surrey Memorial Lecture Summary

Core Content

James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, delivered the Walter Sterling Surrey Lecture at the National Policy Association (NPA) in Washington, D.C., on April 7, 1999. The lecture focused on the need for a Comprehensive Development Framework that integrates macroeconomic policies with non-financial, structural, and human considerations to achieve sustainable development and stability.

Main Points and Key Ideas

1. The Role of the National Policy Association

• The NPA has a long-standing tradition of bringing together private sector, trade unions, rural communities, and academia in public policy debates.
• It emphasizes market economies and fundamental human values, making it a model for the World Bank's approach to development.

2. The Global Economic Crisis and Its Impacts

• A significant economic crisis in Asia in 1997-1998 rapidly spread due to globalization, technology, and market interdependence.
• The crisis led to massive capital withdrawals and reduced net flows from the private sector to developing countries, reaching $300 billion in 1997 and then dropping by $100 billion.
• This highlighted the interconnectedness of global markets and the need for a more holistic development strategy.

3. The Four Pillars of the Comprehensive Development Framework

Wolfensohn outlines four essential components that must be addressed alongside traditional macroeconomic policies:

• Good Governance: Effective and transparent governance is crucial for development. Corruption undermines even the best economic policies.
• Legal and Justice Systems: Without a functioning legal and justice system, distributive justice and equity cannot be achieved. Countries like Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia lacked effective bankruptcy laws and judicial infrastructure.
• Financial Supervision and Control: Strong oversight of banks, financial markets, and capital markets is essential to prevent systemic distortions and protect the poor.
• Social Safety Nets: A robust social system is necessary to support the vulnerable, including the elderly, children, and disabled. This can take various forms, such as familial or tribal systems, and is vital to prevent social unrest and political pressure.

4. Additional Key Elements for Long-Term Development

• Education: Access to education, especially equal education for girls, is a critical enabler of development and knowledge transfer.
• Infrastructure Development: Including water and sanitation, transportation, communications, and power.
• Environmental Sustainability: The world is degrading its environment, losing forests and biodiversity at alarming rates. Environmental protection must be integrated into development strategies.
• Rural and Urban Strategies: Both areas require tailored approaches. Rural development must go beyond agriculture to include systemic growth and trade, while urban areas face challenges due to the growth of megacities (24 in total, 20 in developing countries).
• Private Sector Strategy: The private sector plays a vital role in development, with its net transfers increasing from $40 billion in 1990 to $300 billion in 1997.

5. Shift in the Global Development Landscape

• Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) has declined significantly, from $60 billion in 1990 to $39 billion in 1997, now being only one-seventh of private sector flows.
• Civil society has become more active, with NGOs, foundations, and trade unions playing key roles in development.
• The World Bank and IMF are no longer the sole actors in development; bilateral institutions, regional banks, and the UN system are now involved, leading to fragmentation and lack of coordination.

6. The Need for National Consensus

• Wolfensohn emphasizes the importance of national consensus involving governments, international fund providers, private sector, and civil society.
• This approach ensures local ownership and effective implementation of development strategies.

7. Current Implementation

• The World Bank has initiated this framework in ten countries and is seeking to expand to another twenty.
• The framework is being tested over the next 12 months and is seen as a promising but politically challenging initiative.

Conclusion

Wolfensohn concludes that the National Policy Association's mission of bringing together different societal sectors to influence policy is exactly what the World Bank aims to replicate on a global scale. The Comprehensive Development Framework seeks to balance financial, structural, and social elements, ensuring sustainable development and social stability in the face of global economic changes and challenges.