Economics

بنك تنمية جديد لعالم جديد

May 1, 2013 Nicholas Stern , Amar Bhattacharya, Joseph E. Stiglitz, and Mattia Romani

نيويورك ــ في ختام قمتهم التي استضافتها ديربان في شهر مارس/آذار، أعلن زعماء مجموعة البريكس (البرازيل وروسيا والهند والصين وجنوب أفريقيا) أعلنوا اعتزامهم إنشاء بنك جديد للتنمية يهدف إلى "حشد الموارد لتمويل مشاريع البنية الأساسية والتنمية المستدامة في دول البريكس وغيرها من الاقتصادات الناشة والدول النامية".

ولا نحتاج إلى المبالغة في التأكيد على أهمية هذا القرار. فهو بادئ ذي بدء يعكس النجاحات الهائلة في التنمية الاقتصادية على مدى العقود الأربعة الماضية (أصبح مجموع الناتج المحلي الإجمالي لدول البريكس الآن أكبر من مجموع الناتج المحلي الإجمالي للدول المتقدمة عندما تم إنشاء مؤسسات بريتون وودز) وما يحمله هذا في طياته من إعادة التوازن إلى الاقتصاد العالمي. والواقع أن القرار يُظهِر قدرة مجموعة البريكس على العمل الجماعي، من أجل صالح بلدانها وصالح العالم أجمع. إن الأسواق الناشئة والدول النامية تأخذ على عاتقها الآن رسم المستقبل ــ في وقت حيث تتخبط الدول الغنية في مشاكلها الخاصة التي جلبتها على نفسها.

إن الاحتياج إلى بنك تنمية جديد واضح. فمتطلبات البنية الأساسية وحدها في اقتصادات الأسواق الناشئة والدول ذات الدخل المنخفض هائلة ــ فلا يزال 1,4 مليار إنسان محرومين من الطاقة الكهربائية التي يمكنهم الاعتماد عليها، ولا يستطيع 900 مليون إنسان الحصول على المياه النظيفة، فضلاً عن 2,6 مليار إنسان ليس لديهم مرافق ملائمة للصرف الصحي. ومن ناحية أخرى فإن ما يقدر بنحو مليارين من البشر سوف ينتقلون إلى المدن على مدى ربع القرن المقبل. ويتعين على صانعي السياسات أن يضمنوا استدامة الاستثمارات بيئيا.

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Nicholas Stern

Writing for PS since 2009
11 Commentaries

Nicholas Stern, a former chief economist of the World Bank (2000-03) and co-chair of the international High-Level Commission on Carbon Prices, is Professor of Economics and Government and Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Amar Bhattacharya

Writing for PS since 2013
2 Commentaries

Amar Bhattacharya is a visiting professor in practice at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Joseph E. Stiglitz

Writing for PS since 2001
331 Commentaries

Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics and University Professor at Columbia University, is a former chief economist of the World Bank (1997-2000), chair of the US President’s Council of Economic Advisers, and co-chair of the High-Level Commission on Carbon Prices. He is Co-Chair of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation and was lead author of the 1995 IPCC Climate Assessment.

Mattia Romani

Writing for PS since 2013
1 Commentary

Mattia Romani is Deputy Director General of the Global Green Growth Institute.

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James Daniel Paul May 7, 2013

Is Bric Bank
a. Another salesman in ethnic clothing for country debt products with differential rate segment??
b. Signal the emergence of the new infrastructure cartels. (chinese teams working on Indian metros)
c. Discovering another slice of the pie left over by IMF, World Bank and RBDs
d. Are central banks are avoiding their respective sovereign debt because of corruption / external pressure?
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Robert Davies May 2, 2013

This article provides us with one hopeful and positive view from the BRICS fifth summit.

We should not forget, however, that there is another perspective which is to do with the accumulation of power. Typically, as the late Susan Strange proposed, nation states have access to two primary types of power. The first is the familiar hard-edged relational or military power. The second is structural power or the power to influence the shape of the global political economy. From these foundations we have then of course 'soft power', or the power of influence. Global architects need access to all three types of power and we should pause to think of the BRICS development bank from this perspective.

If we cast our minds back to the wording of the press release issued after the first G20 summit, then a new form of capitalism may be just over the horizon.
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Prashant Kumar May 2, 2013

Assuming the governance of this New Development Bank is similar to the governance of existing multilateral development organizations, how will it differ or protect itself from the political squabbles between countries. My worry is, like that in ADB, where China and India, when at odds with each other will try to block development projects, a bank that gives both these countries added prominence and control may lead to nothing actually being achieved. A bank as the authors have said, is clearly needed but the working of this bank will have to employ a new system that is more equitable than the current multilateral banking system. The nitty gritty of achieving an operating bank, especially in terms of, shares and control, with countries as politically egoistical as the BRICS nation, i fear, will impede the initiation of this development bank.
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Frank O'Callaghan May 2, 2013

BRICS. A grouping with very little in common other than having been included in an article designed to gain attention.

Development banks have developed their own welfare and that of their controllers at the expense of everyone else.
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Craig Hardt May 1, 2013

The authors two main conclusions -- that the significance of the New Development Bank cannot be overemphasized, and that the bank will be a driver of sustainable development and reform -- seem based primarily on conjecture. While it is certainly possible that the New Development Bank will prove a significant source of reform and a driver of sustainable development, it seems more likely that it will conflict with existing multilateral institutions and muddle the rules relating to sustainable development the existing institutions have tried to implement.

For the developing world, the primary focus is on fast economic growth to lift millions out of poverty, not on reform or sustainability. Ideally the first goal leads to the secondary outcomes, but from this perspective it would seem wise to withhold judgment until the BRICS create this new development bank and we see how it operates.
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