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BORDER CARBON ADJUSTMENT. Aaron Cosbey, August 2008. In June 2008, the International Institute for Sustainable Development collaborated with the Government of Denmark, the German Marshall Fund and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development to convene a major seminar on trade and climate change in Copenhagen. Border Carbon Adjustment is one of the event’s six background papers. To access this paper, please refer to http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2008/cph_trade_climate_border_carbon.pdf.
MICROFINANCE AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION. By Anne Hammill, Richard Matthew and Elissa McCarter, September 2008. Can microfinance services (MFS) be used to support adaptation to climate change? Anne Hammill, Richard Matthew and Elissa McCarter explore this question in the paper “Microfinance and Climate Change Adaptation” published by the Institute for Development Studies. They suggest that MFS can play an important role in vulnerability reduction and climate change adaptation among some of the poor, provided services better match client needs and livelihoods.To access the paper, please refer to http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2008/microfinance_climate.pdf.
REGIONAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: ASIA AND PACIFIC. The International Monetary Fund, November 2008. The biannual Asia and Pacific Regional Economic Outlook focuses on the difficult economic environment facing policymakers in the region. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the outlook for the region. With growth slowing, and the global financial crisis increasingly affecting the region, macroeconomic and financial policies will need to be proactive. Chapter 2 looks more closely at inflation in Asia, finding that it is increasingly imported and volatile, which raises important questions about monetary policy frameworks in the future. Chapter 3 takes a longer-term look at how the expected rapid aging of the region may affect capital flows and financial markets in the years to come. For further information, please refer to http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.cfm?sk=22031.0.
THE AGE OF TURBULENCE AND POOR COUNTRIES: THE CASE FOR MDB HELP WITH RISK MANAGEMENT. By Nancy Lee, Guillermo Perry and Nancy Birdsall, November 2008. The past year has offered a vivid lesson in the problems that high volatility presents for developing countries. Only a few months ago, poor countries that import fuel and food were hit with sudden price surges. Now demand and prices are falling, and poor countries that depend heavily on commodity exports-or indeed on exports generally-face the prospect of a sharp drop in demand. Many developing countries are also confronting sharp upticks in financial market volatility and some face sudden reversals of capital flows. Although this extreme volatility did not originate in developing countries, they are being hit hard. Developing countries-and poor people-are highly vulnerable to such volatility because they lack the coping mechanisms that are common in high-income economies. Drawing on a forthcoming report by Guillermo Perry, this brief argues that the World Bank and other multilateral development banks (MDBs) can play an important role in helping developing countries to better cope with such risks. MDBs can help solve both demand and supply market limitations for risk-management solutions. But doing so will mean looking beyond their traditional financing tools. For further information and to access the brief, please refer to http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/967322.
WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2009: RESHAPING ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY. The World Bank, November 2008. This report is the flagship publication by the World Bank. This issue emphasises that economic growth will be unbalanced, but development still can be inclusive. The report argues that the most effective policies for promoting long-term growth are those that facilitate geographic concentration and economic integration, both within and across countries. It proposes spatial transformations along three dimensions: density and rapid urban growth and concentration; distance and migration for economic opportunities; and division and integration of economies in world markets. For further information, please refer to http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTWDRS/EXTWDR2009/0,,contentMDK:21955654~pagePK:64167689~piPK:64167673~theSitePK:4231059,00.html.
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