Book Description
The use and application of ICT continues to be an important factor driving economic growth. The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with INSEAD, is pleased to announce the release of the fifth edition of the annual Global Information Technology Report - a comprehensive tool for measuring the progress made in the adoption of the latest information and communication technologies and identifying the obstacles to ICT development in over 100 countries worldwide. The Networked Readiness Index included in the report provides the most comprehensive assessment of how prepared an economy is to capture the benefits of technology to promote economic growth and productivity. This study explicitly considers the roles played by the major stakeholders--individuals, businesses and governments, in relation to three dimensions: the environment for the development and use of ICT, the readiness of stakeholders to leverage the potential of ICT, and the degree of usage of ICT. The selection of insightful essays, detailed country profiles for more than 100 economies and data tables on approximately 50 different ICT indicators presented in the report provide a useful guide for the design and formulation of policy measures aimed at capturing the benefits of ICT.
Book Description
Worldwide, the construction sector is regularly rated as the most corrupt industry. Even so, the scale and effects of this corruption are frequently underestimated. The 2005 edition of Transparency International's Global Corruption Report shows that corruption in the construction industry has the power to shape and devastate economies. It has the power to ruin livelihoods and, under certain circumstances, to take lives. This book outlines the particular characteristics of the construction industry that enable the corrupt to plunder the vast amounts of international funds that pour into large-scale infrastructure projects. Whether through international bribes paid to secure contracts for the Lesotho Dam, or the politicians implicated in the purchase of a waste incinerator in Cologne, the report reveals how corruption steers money away from essential services and development projects. In a special section dedicated to post-conflict reconstruction, the report shows! how, from Angola to Iraq, the corrupt prey on the most vulnerable. The Global Corruption Report 2005 also shows that no matter how entrenched corruption seems, it can be beaten. Along with presenting measures specifically tailored to curbing bribery in construction, the report uncovers major trends in anti-corruption legislation and reforms in more than 40 countries. The book also offers the latest corruption research, including studies on the links between corruption and, in turn, issues such as pollution, gender and foreign investment.
Product Description
This Report examines the challenges of financing urban shelter development, focusing on the shelter needs of the poor and within the overall context of the United Nations Millennium Development target on slums. By 2030, an additional 3 billion people or about 40% of the current worlds population will need housing. If adequate financial resources are not invested in the development of urban shelter and requisite services, this additional population will also be trapped in urban poverty, deplorable housing conditions, poor health and low productivity, thus further compounding the enormous slum challenge that exists today.
Average customer rating:
- Wisdom from an educated man
- Interesting, but with a big flaw
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State of the World 2005: Global Security
Worldwatch Institute
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
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ASIN: 0393326667 |
Book Description
Tackles the pressing issue of international security and its ramifications on the health of our planet.
Since September 11, 2001, many governments have reasserted the centrality of traditional, military-focused security. Yet the aftermath of the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq underlines once more that lasting security is not found in soldiers, bullets, and tanks.
"Security" concerns are only in part about violent conflict, a worst-case outcome that results from a broad range of underlying vulnerabilities. Worldwatch offers a broader perspective on these issues by reaffirming the importance of other, less-publicized threats to global stability and security: the complex interactions between environmental degradation, poverty, and inequity; growing human populations; and the international proliferation of deadly weapons. Emphasizing the opportunities for creating a less vulnerable, more secure world, State of the World 2005 addresses a broad range of needed reforms, including those related to governance, economics, ethics, and education.
With easy-to-read charts and tables, this volume presents a view of our changing world that we, and our leaders, cannot afford to ignore.
Customer Reviews:
Wisdom from an educated man.......2006-04-09
I've listened to Mr. Brown lecture at the University of Washington and not only is he an excellent public speaker but it is clear that he is extremely well educated and comprehends our global situation better than 99.9% of our politicians.
We can only hope that more people will read and hear these words of wisdom and start taking steps in the right direction.
Interesting, but with a big flaw.......2005-04-12
What is it about the state of the world that ought to concern us now? Oil? Food? Water? Infectious diseases? Gratutitous terror?
This book tries to answer some of these questions.
The first main issue is the connection between population and security. Overpopulated countries with high birth rates are at risk of getting into wars. They also have potential worries about employment, as well as food and water shortages.
What about infectious diseases? Many people in Western nations can expect over 70 years of healthy life. But life expectancies in Africa are much less. How much less? Less than 30 years of healthy life in Sierra Leone, and under 35 years in six other African nations! We see some horrifying statistics on the effects of HIV/AIDS in many of these nations.
Food security has many aspects. The main one addressed here is defence against climate changes.
What about water? The problem here is not so much of not having enough to go around. It is that arguments about water can escalate into warfare. This is a good example of where environmental cooperation is important and achievable.
As for oil, there are three obvious concerns. First, if we keep doing what we've been doing, eventually we'll run out. Second, oil's value as a commodity is undermining efforts for peace in some areas of the world. Third, burning oil threatens the stability of our climate. The first suggestion here is demand-side management. Now, what about burning hydrogen? That looks like a technologically tricky idea. We may need to look at other options. Hybrid cars will help a little, but that still means using gasoline. I happen to favor an intermediate idea: cutting way back on gasoline and trying to make use of alcohol as a fuel.
The next chapter is on disarmament. That idea has not had a good history. People simply rearm. I think the whole topic needs a great deal more thought.
The final chapter is on laying the foundations for peace. Is the United Nations up to this task? My answer would be a clear no. This book strongly disagrees, although it does feel that some new ideas are needed.
I think the biggest weakness of the book is in addressing terrorism. The claim is made that terror can not be defeated by military means. Well, obviously more is needed than occasional use of force. But if the terrorists win militarily, the game is over. Unless our civilization can avoid being defeated militarily by terrorists, it may not have a chance at a future. I think defeating terror requires imposition of an authority that values truth and insists on teaching it to those who would otherwise be educated by terrorists.
What does this book say about that? Just that "terrorism is a path chosen by protagonists who tend to be politically desperate and militarily weak." And that "acts of terror are not going to disappear as long as the roots of extremist violence are not tackled."
This sort of stuff lowered my rating of this book. Terrorists are often simply aggressors and bullies whose goals are so unjust and extreme that they know they can not achieve them peacefully. The roots of extremist violence do need to be tackled. But they are quite different from what this book implies.
I found most of the book interesting, but this one flaw is very serious.
Book Description
The World Economic Forum's annual Global Competitiveness Report evaluates the potential for sustained economic growth of over 100 economies and ranks them accordingly. Since it first release in 1979, the Report has become the most authoritative and comprehensive study of its type.The 2004-2005 Report Contains:*Detailed country competitiveness provides of 104 economies*Data tables for survey and hard data variable ranking profiled economies*Complementary global rankings: the Growth Competitiveness Index (GCI) and the Business Competitiveness Index (BCI), measuring growth and productivity respectively*Exclusive Data from the Executive Onion Survey, with over 8,700 responses from business leaders worldwide.Produced in collaboration with a distinguished group of international scholars and a global network of over 100 leading national research institutes and business organizations, the Report also showcases the latest thinking and research on issues of immediate relevance for business leaders and policy-makers.
Customer Reviews:
Mundania.......2001-01-29
Good for research but not exactly coffee-table blurb.
Average customer rating:
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Global Development Finance 2005 (Global Development Finance)
World Bank
Manufacturer: World Bank Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Economic Policy & Development
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ASIN: 0821359851 |
Book Description
Global Development Finance 2005 I: Analysis and Statistical Appendix addresses two key challenges in development finance: first, how to raise resources flowing to low-income countries, which are heavily constrained in their access to market-based finance. Second, how to manage the vulnerability inherent in developing countries' access to finance -- vulnerability stemming from changes in the global macro environment, as well as from shifting donor priorities (affecting aid and concessional finance) and changing debt dynamics in developing countries.
Global Development Finance 2005 II: Summary and Country Tables includes a comprehensive set of tables of data for 136 countries that report under the World Bank Debtor Reporting System, as well as summary data for regions and income groups. It contains data on total external debt stocks and flows, aggregates, and key debt ratios, and provides a detailed, country-by-country picture of debt. Global Development Finance 2005 debt data are also available on CD-ROM and online, with more than 200 historical time series from 1970 to 2003 and country group estimates for 2004.
Vol II. Summary and Country Tables is not sold separately.
Download Description
"Global Development Finance 2005 I: Analysis and Statistical Appendix addresses two key challenges in development finance: first, how to raise resources flowing to low-income countries, which are heavily constrained in their access to market-based finance. Second, how to manage the vulnerability inherent in developing countries' access to finance -- vulnerability stemming from changes in the global macro environment, as well as from shifting donor priorities (affecting aid and concessional finance) and changing debt dynamics in developing countries. Global Development Finance 2005 II: Summary and Country Tables includes a comprehensive set of tables of data for 136 countries that report under the World Bank Debtor Reporting System, as well as summary data for regions and income groups. It contains data on total external debt stocks and flows, aggregates, and key debt ratios, and provides a detailed, country-by-country picture of debt."
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Global Development Finance 2005: Analysis & Statistical Appendix Mobilizing Finance and Managing Vulnerability (Global Development Finance) (World Bank)
World Bank
Manufacturer: World Bank Publications
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0821359843 |
Book Description
Global Development Finance 2005 I: Analysis and Statistical Appendix addresses two key challenges in development finance: first, how to raise resources flowing to low-income countries, which are heavily constrained in their access to market-based finance. Second, how to manage the vulnerability inherent in developing countries¡¦ access to finance -- vulnerability stemming from changes in the global macro environment, as well as from shifting donor priorities (affecting aid and concessional finance) and changing debt dynamics in developing countries.
Global Development Finance 2005 II: Summary and Country Tables includes a comprehensive set of tables of data for 136 countries that report under the World Bank Debtor Reporting System, as well as summary data for regions and income groups. It contains data on total external debt stocks and flows, aggregates, and key debt ratios, and provides a detailed, country-by-country picture of debt. Global Development Finance 2005 debt data are also available on CD-ROM and online, with more than 200 historical time series from 1970 to 2003 and country group estimates for 2004.
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Global Economic Prospects: Trade, Regionalism, and Development 2005 (Global Economic Prospects)
World Bank
Manufacturer: World Bank Publications
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ASIN: 0821357476 |
Book Description
The proliferation of regional trade agreements is fundamentally altering the world trade landscape. The number of agreements in force surpasses 200 and has risen eight-fold in two decades. Today as much as 40 percent of global trade takes place among countries that have some form of reciprocal regional trade agreement.
Global Economic Prospects 2005: Trade, Regionalism, and Development addresses two questions:
** What are the characteristics of agreements that most promote—or hinder—development for member countries?
** Does the proliferation of agreements pose risks to the multilateral trading system, and if so, how can these risks be managed?
The report argues that agreements leading to open regionalism—that is, deeper integration of trade as a result of low external tariffs, increased services competition, and efforts to reduce cross-border and customs delays costs—are effective as part of a larger trade strategy to promote growth. Such regional agreements can complement a strategy that, on the one hand, includes autonomous liberalization to promote productivity gains and, on the other hand, leverages domestic reforms to enhance market access.
Although regional agreements can prove beneficial to member countries, they can have adverse effects on excluded countries. Lowering of border barriers around the world is crucial to minimizing these effects. The completion of the Doha Development Agenda by all countries in the World Trade Organization will reduce the risk of trade diversion associated with regional agreements and will decrease trade losses of countries excluded from agreements.
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Global Monitoring Report 2005: Millennium Development Goals from Consensus to Momentum (Global Monitoring Report)
World Bank
Manufacturer: World Bank Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0821360779 |
Book Description
The year 2005 marks an important juncture for development as the international community takes stock of implementation of the Millennium Declaration--signed by 189 countries in 2000--and discusses how progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can be accelerated. The MDGs set clear targets for reducing poverty and other human deprivations and for promoting sustainable development. What progress has been made toward these goals, and what should be done to accelerate it? What are the responsibilities of developing countries, developed countries, and international financial institutions? Global Monitoring Report 2005 addresses these questions.
This report, the second in an annual series assessing progress on the MDGs and related development outcomes, has a special focus on Sub-Saharan Africa--the region that is farthest from the development goals and faces the toughest challenges in accelerating progress.
The report finds that without rapid action to accelerate progress, the MDGs will be seriously jeopardized--especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is falling short on all the goals. It calls on the international community to seize the opportunities presented by the increased global attention to development to build momentum for the MDGs.
The report presents in-depth analysis of the agenda and priorities for action. It discusses improvements in policies and governance that developing countries need to make to achieve stronger economic growth and scale up human development and relevant key services. It examines actions that developed countries need to take to provide more and better development aid and to reform their trade policies to improve market access for developing country exports. And it evaluates how international financial institutions can strengthen and sharpen their support for this agenda.
Global Monitoring Report 2005 is essential reading for development practitioners and those interested in international affairs.
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