economy: production and consumption
Big Banks Draw Profits From Microloans to Poor
In recent years, the idea of giving small loans to poor people became the darling of the development world, hailed as the long elusive formula to propel even the most destitute into better lives. But the phenomenon has grown so popular that some of its biggest proponents are now wringing their hands over the direction it has taken. Drawn by the prospect of hefty profits from even the smallest of loans, a raft of banks and financial institutions now dominate the field, with some charging (...) read
date of on-line publication : 15 April 2010
The Political Economy of Earthquakes
The survivors of the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile are still scrambling to deal with the damage. Here, however, pundits are still scrambling to explain the dramatic difference in impact. Haiti’s quake on January 12 came in at 7.0 on the Richter scale, leveled the capital city, and left more than 200,000 dead. Chile’s earthquake on February 27 registered a magnitude of 8.8, which means it was 500 times more powerful than the Haiti shock. But fewer than 1,000 Chileans died, and the (...) read
date of on-line publication : 31 March 2010
World’s biggest cities merging into ’mega-regions’
UN-HABITAT launched its report State of the World Cities 2010/2011: Bridging the Urban Divide in the run up to the World Urban Forum 5 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The world’s mega-cities are merging to form vast "mega-regions" which may stretch hundreds of kilometres across countries and be home to more than 100 million people, according to this major new UN report. The world’s largest 40 mega-regions cover only a tiny fraction of the habitable surface of our planet and are home to fewer than (...) read
date of on-line publication : 23 March 2010
The Cleveland Model
Something important is happening in Cleveland: a new model of large-scale worker- and community-benefiting enterprises is beginning to build serious momentum in one of the cities most dramatically impacted by the nation’s decaying economy. The Evergreen Cooperative Laundry (ECL)—a worker-owned, industrial-size, thoroughly "green" operation—opened its doors late last fall in Glenville, a neighborhood with a median income hovering around $18,000. It’s the first of ten major enterprises in the (...) read
date of on-line publication : 26 February 2010
Microfin In Macro Mess?
WHAT began as a service aimed at empowering marginalised people like Kamlesh from East Delhi is being increasingly eyed by the corporates. If this happens, the entire microfinance (MF) concept could be turned on its head. Read more read
date of on-line publication : 15 February 2010
’To Resist is to Survive’ - worker-run cooperatives in Argentina
Nearly 10 years after Argentina’s economic collapse sparked a movement, worker-run cooperatives endure another crisis. Report from Argentina on the state of the workers’ co-op movement there, which sprouted in the aftermath of the country’s 2001 economic collapse. Divisions within the movement, apathy from the government, and a lack of capital threaten the future of workers’ factories. Read (...) read
date of on-line publication : 15 February 2010
dossier
Economic growth ’cannot continue’
Four years on from nef’s “Growth isn’t Working”, this new report goes one step further and tests that thesis in detail in the context of climate change and energy. It argues that indefinite global economic growth is unsustainable. Just as the laws of thermodynamics constrain the maximum efficiency of a heat engine, economic growth is constrained by the finite nature of our planet’s natural resources (biocapacity). As economist Herman Daly once commented, he would accept the possibility of (...) read
date of on-line publication : 5 February 2010
Farm suicides: a 12-year saga
In 2006-08, Maharashtra (India) saw 12, 493 farm suicides. That is 85 per cent higher than the 6,745 suicides it recorded during 1997-1999. And the worst three-year period for any State, any time. The dismal truth is that very high numbers of farm suicides still occur within a fast decreasing farm population. Read more read
date of on-line publication : 5 February 2010
A Bit Rich. Calculating the real value to society of different professions
This report takes a new approach to looking at the value of work. We go beyond how much different professions are paid to look at what they contribute to society. We use some of the principles and valuation techniques of Social Return on Investment analysis to quantify the social, environmental and economic value that these roles produce – or in some cases undermine. Read more read
date of on-line publication : 22 January 2010
Bad news: no progress in the global fight against poverty
The countries and regions of the world are becoming increasingly polarised in spite of their international commitments to fight poverty. This is what emerges from the 2009 Basic Capabilities Index (BCI) published today by Social Watch, an international network of citizens’ organizations whose headquarters is in Montevideo. Read more read
date of on-line publication : 5 January 2010
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