The 2008 financial crash and the shift of power from west to east raise questions about the future of capitalism. Three new books, critical of the market fundamentalism of the past, begin to map out what a new economy could look like. A review by Robert Skidelsky. […]
The current free trade model promoted by the World Trade Organization prevents developing countries from introducing economic reforms suitable to their own poverty-reduction needs. A ‘one size fits all’ approach will never alleviate inequality and hunger, writes Justin Frewen. […]
Despite a commitment to allow developing countries greater policy space, the World Bank continues to influence economic reforms through loan conditions. If recipients are to successfully address poverty, such harmful conditionality must end, writes Nora Honkaniemi. […]
As long as economic growth remains the number one priority of governments, any effort to seriously address climate change will fail. Policymakers in the US and around the world should instead aim to create a steady-state economy that prioritises sustainability and well-being, argues Keith Harrington. […]
Creating a global economy that is both sustainable and equitable means adjusting the excessive resource use of the rich in order to meet the needs of the world’s poor. Such a shift requires state involvement in the market that is both internationally and nationally democratic, writes Jayati Ghosh. […]
European companies are buying land throughout Africa to grow biofuel crops that directly compete with food production. European Union countries must drop their biofuels targets or else risk plunging more Africans into hunger, says a report by Friends of the Earth. […]
The world is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal on halving the number of people living below the poverty line by 2015. The trouble is that this line – set at a dollar a day – is a deeply flawed and unreliable measure. We need a radical, new rights-based approach to defining poverty, argues David Woodward. […]
Pakistan's $3 billion annual debt repayments dwarf current levels of emergency aid pledged in the wake of recent flooding. Debt relief and grants, rather than new loans, are essential if the country is to recover and develop the means to withstand such disasters in future. […]
A growing grassroots movement is using the techniques of the South African anti-apartheid activists to challenge US support for Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. Could the economic pressure exerted through boycotts, divestment, and sanctions be enough break the blockade? By Phyllis Bennis. […]
In the aftermath of Pakistan’s devastating floods, the so-called ‘war on terror’ must be rethought. A new struggle against poverty and hunger is essential to secure a peaceful future for the people of Pakistan and the wider world, writes Mark Levine. […]
